Jan
2018
22
A Simple Guide to Meditating in your Hot Tub
Personal meditation has proven to be one of the most beneficial practices to enhance wellbeing – and the benefits have been well documented. Regular meditation sessions can: reduce stress, improve mental focus and enhance general health. With meditation, practice is the key to results. Meditation can be practiced anywhere, however individuals who choose to do meditation in their hot tubs find it to be extra relaxing because of the soothing waters. In fact, the comforting warmth and physical dynamics of a hot tub can help both mind and body to relax – it’s a quiet and serene environment.
Meditating in your hot tub is a journey
Clearly, for a beginner, the concept and process of meditation can be hard to grasp. Even the idea of having an “empty mind” is foreign to many. When meditating in your hot tub, experts stress the need to focus and concentrate on the breath process. This gets things off to a good start. The hot tub temperature should be comfortable. The water jets should be turned off. And the ambiance should be quiet without distractions. If you’re a first timer meditating in your hot tub, it’s wise to start with a 10-minute meditation, and then build up to 15 and 20 and 30 minutes.
Focus on breathing and feel the hot tub
While meditating in your hot tub, there are various sitting options, all depending on the size and shape of the tub. Whatever the resting position, it’s important to keep the spine straight. The beauty of meditating in your hot tub is the natural buoyancy that allows the body to totally relax. Most essential to meditation is to continually breathe slowly and deeply. Focused and constant breathing, in and out, is the key to deep meditation. For the more experienced, body scanning and other techniques will enhance each session. The aim is to notice and sense every part of the body. A unique aspect of meditating in your hot tub is to actually “feel” the hot tub surroundings. This requires a focus on the hot tub itself, the seating setup, the warmth of the water, and the soothing effects on the body. Overall, there should always be a re-focus of attention on the breathing.
In practice, meditation makes a difference
Beginner or intermediate, it’s difficult to maintain complete focus and concentration during a meditation. There is nothing wrong with this, because meditation is a learning experience and an ongoing understanding of the process. What’s vital is to always re-focus the mind on breathing. Meditation techniques vary widely, and everyone’s personal aims will also vary. Whether it’s in a hot tub or not, meditation practice always makes a difference. Here again, each practice will yield a different benefit to the individual, with positive affects that are measurable and long lasting. Philosophically, the ultimate goal of meditation is what enthusiasts refer to as “liberating the mind”. For the average hot tubber, however, it’s all about maintaining a relatively calm mind and a sense of inner harmony.