Here we go. She’s here – it’s finally Meditation Teacher Training (MTT) night one, and what a blur! Here I am, meeting everyone in my class and trying to remember everyone’s names while huge African butterflies swarm in my stomach in anticipation of what was to come! It’s Friday night, I hadn’t slept since Wednesday. I landed on a flight from SEA to DFW at 6AM that morning, worked, taught my yoga class, worked some more, snarfed some lunch down, worked once again, had a call for a DōTerra venture and then made my tired, worn down, heartbroken way to class for the first night. What a start! (It’s a start nonetheless, and a baseline I will continue to check back into as time progresses).
Some of the first words I hear in class:
“One does not simply “DO” meditation, one BECOMES meditation…”
Hell to the yes – this is something I can get behind. I am craving to hear more…
“Meditation is EVERYTHING. It’s sitting in complete silence, it’s being present, it’s drawing attention to your breath, it’s closing down your eyes, grounding through your sits bone, lengthening through the spine, relaxing the jaw and just being…”
Being. [ bee-ing ] Noun. Definitions include (from dictionary.com):
1. The fact of existing; existence (as opposed to nonexistence)
2. Conscious, mortal existence; life.
3. Substance or nature
4. Something that exists
5. A living thing
CONSCIOUS EXISTENCE – a.k.a. a person being present in the moment and playing an active part in their human experience.
How many times can you count where you’ve gone through a day and don’t remember who you met, what you said to those you encountered or even what the heck you ate…I’ll wait. So many of our days are like this! We go through the motions and blindly step through it one meeting, meal and mention at a time without actually being – consciously existing in our very own days!
Granted I am taking time to reflect on weekend one from MTT right now, but after 30 minutes in the classroom, this idea of being started weighing on my heart. I was salivating at the mouth ready to hear more. Encore!
Through my MTT, we will be learning 21 different styles of meditation… TWENTY-ONE! Did y’all know there were so many ways to meditate?? That many ways to sit, make space, reflect, focus, relax, be still. Needless to say, my eyes got HUGE and swelled with excitement when we heard a rundown of everything in our schedule for the next fourth months. From sound baths to visits with a Shaman to teaching at least 10 of our own meditation sessions even before we graduate – I cannot wait to begin.
And boy did we begin.
Friday night, tears silently welled out of my eyes during our closing meditation. All of my surface level sadness, anger, depression and emotions from recent months pouring out of my soul. I can’t quite explain it, but it was just what I needed. They were ready to be released.
Saturday and I already was the “chosen one” to hold space for my class’s final meditation for the day. Sooo this basically means that led a room of 17 regularly practicing meditators in their final meditation practice. On day two. GULPPPP!! I sure as heck did it though, and I felt so empowered afterwards.
Sunday was full of knowledge bombs dropping left and right. All of us saddling up for an intensive four months of learnings.
As I reflect on weekend one, the word gratitude keeps circling. Gratitude for this training – the timing, the people, the leaders, the lessons to be learned and the self-discovery that awaits.
I’m ready to settle in and just be – I hope you are too.