So I'm looking seriously into starting a meditation routine in hopes of putting my mind a little more at ease. It's something I've been interested in for a while and now that I'm in Portland, I really don't have an excuse not to pursue it.
The first class I tried was a yoga/meditation class at the The Movement Center. Having never taken yoga or done meditation before, I figured this was as good a place as any to start. They have a beginner class once a week on Wednesday nights. The first hour is beginners yoga followed by 30 minutes of meditation. Trying anything new is a little scary and yes, there were times (like every few minutes) when I seriously questioned what the hell I was doing there, but when you just let go and stop thinking about how insane you must look, it makes it much easier. I went a few times to this class with mixed results. It really depends on the instructor and since they changed instructors every week it made it difficult to get into a routine. I feel like I need a more structured and challenging yoga class and I wanted to look at some other meditation options.
I started looking around at different meditation options again earlier this week and also looking into a few Buddhism classes to better familiarize myself with the different flavors of Buddhism. The great thing about Portland is there are a ton of things going on - almost too many. I stumbled across a Sunlun Vipassana Meditation class offered for free at the Bhodi Tree Center. The price was certainly right, but I really should've looked into Sunlun Mediation before I jumped at the free class. Had I read this FAQ, I might have been better prepared for what came next.
The class started off normal enough - nice Asian lady explaining the origins of Sunlun Meditation to the class of about 8 people. However, when she got around to explaining the breathing process, things took a turn for the weird. Sunlun requires you to breath rapidly (and loudly) in and out for the first half of the meditation session. When she demostrated it, I had one of those 'oh shit' moments - like, oh shit, how do I get out of here before I have to do that? Of course there wasn't a way to leave without looking like a complete jackass, so I just settled in and rode it out. When the bell sounded, we all started our rapid breathing - a big group of creepy heavy breathers. The good thing was everyone was doing it, so we all looked nuts, not just me.
The session lasted for 40 minutes, which may not seem like a long time, but trust me, it took forever. The problem for me wasn't the creepy heavy breathing or the quiet breathing, it was trying to stay focused. All I could think of was one-line zingers and wished I could get to my iPhone to type them into Twitter. Of course this is the same problem I had at the last medition class I took, lack of concentration. Hopefully with more practice and patience, it'll come together. But that's the tough thing about settling on a class or style, knowing which one is right for you. I'll go to the Sunlun class next week, but I also plan on continuing to look around for other classes.
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