Meditation on the Go

Finding Time to Meditate When You Don’t Have Time

by Steve Gordon
Co-Founder of Sequoia Records, Composer and Producer of Award-Winning Meditation Music

Do you meditate regularly, once in a while or are you just starting out?

David and I discovered meditation about 30 years ago. As musicians we were inspired to create
music for meditation because music and meditation have a lot in common in the way they focus your mind and how they can effect your state of mind. Since then we have released many albums of serene healing music.

Here are some techniques you can use to bring meditation into your life when your time is limited.

Start to look for times during the day when you could meditate for short periods.

1. Before eating

Let's say you are about to eat your lunch or dinner. Instead of beginning your meal in the less than relaxed state you are probably in, try taking 5 slow deep breaths. While you breathe in and out, let your thoughts clear and focus on your breath. If you have a thought, don't fight it, just let it go by and return to your breath.

You will be surprised at just how fast you can transform your body and mind from a state of being stressed out to calm and serene. By the time the 5 breaths are done you will feel much more relaxed and your mind will be more clear and less filled with whatever it was you probably thought was important before you started. Now you can enjoy your meal much more since you are peaceful enough to really experience it fully.

2. Meditation Breaks

During your workday, if you have the ability to find somewhere you can sit undisturbed for five minutes, close your eyes and do a short 5-minute meditation. You don’t have to sit in the lotus position or even cross-legged. Any where with a chair, bench or someplace you can sit is fine. You can focus on your breath or do a mantra if you prefer. In 5 minutes you can reach a very peaceful state of mind. The more you practice getting into a meditative state in shorter time periods the faster your mind will go to a deep place.

If it is a public place and you don’t want to close your eyes, you can leave them open. Just find somewhere to look that has little going on like the sky or a tree or a wall.

If you don't have the ability to find a place to sit undisturbed, you can go for a 5-minute walk. Do a walking meditation instead. As you walk, clear your mind of thoughts and focus on your breathing. Walk slowly and keep returning to your breath or your mantra if your mind wanders. After 5 minutes, return to your work and you'll feel completely refreshed.

If you can’t do an entire 5 mintues or even get away from your desk, you can take 10 slow deep breaths. That’s plenty of time to completely transform your state of mind not to mention relaxing your body.

3. Driving Meditation

A good time to get a little meditation in is while you drive. Of course when doing a driving meditation, you need to keep your eyes open! You can't go into a super deep state of meditation, but it is possible to clear your mind of thoughts and experience a rejuvenating break from the activity of your day.

To do a driving meditation, either keep your stereo off or play some soothing meditation music. Focus on your driving as you normally do and then let your mind clear of thoughts and focus on your breathing. If you are playing meditation music, you can focus on the music or if you prefer to use a mantra you can focus on that. If your mind starts to wander to what you have to do later or anything else, just return to your driving, your breathing, the music or mantra.

You would be amazed at just how peaceful you can become while you are driving. I used to get upset when I got stuck in traffic but when it happens to me now; I look at it as an opportunity to transform something stressful into something relaxing by doing some meditation instead.

Here are some albums of good music that would work well for driving meditation that David and I have recorded: Music for Meditation – Inner Stillness, Soothing Sanctuary and Sound Peace. (These would make great links to the album pages on the Spirit Voyage website)

4. Shower and Bathroom Meditation

Every day we spend a certain amount of time in the bathroom taking a shower or bath, brushing our teeth, grooming, etc. If you don't have time to meditate that day, try making your time in the bathroom a sort of mindfulness meditation. Focus on your breathing or your mantra and do everything you normally do but with total mindfulness.

The shower is a great time to practice meditation. Instead of thinking about all the things you have to do that day, let your mind become serene and clear. Feel how good the warm water feels and really experience the shower. Then later in the day you'll find you will know just the right thing to do because you are more in touch with your inner center.

Read more about David and Steve Gordon and hear sound samples of their music.

Steve Gordon

David & Steve Gordon

Sequoia Records Meditation Music

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