I learned to meditate when I was in my late twenties. Prior to it I started practicing Yoga and relaxations when I was around fifteen years old. First, I was told meditation is a kind of relaxation.
However, when I learned to practice meditation with the guidance of my meditation teacher thirty years ago and started to meditate daily, I realized that meditation is the process of training our untrained mind to better manage its thoughts, emotions, and feelings, stay present and focus with any anything we do.
Meditation is inner reflection, when we practice, we go within and observe what is present in our inner world moment by moment. We learn about our own conditions and notice them without judgments, with kindness and curiosity.
We learn that all feelings and emotions are ok to have. It is ok to be angry, sad, frustrated, or having any strong emotions. After all we all are human and are conditioned to our life situations. Sometimes we are happy, sometimes sad, sometimes excited, and sometimes disappointed.
When we practice meditation, we observe our emotions and feeling in the moment. We understand and name our emotions, allow them to be as they are, feel them in our bodies and let them pass through our mind and our body…., coming back to this moment more present and focused.