Do you have trouble just sitting in silence?
Are your thoughts relentless and chaotic?
Well, here’s some good news… You’re not alone. Not at all.
In our culture of busyness and information overload, it’s nearly impossible to just sit in silence and instantly find peace like a yogi in the Himalayas.
We have work, responsibilities, stress, to-do lists, bills to pay and so much weighing on our mind. Without first addressing your stress, tension and cluttered mental-emotional state, it’s really difficult to just shut your mind off.
The solution to this is active meditation. Active meditation uses movement to cultivate stillness. It allows you to release all of the baggage you’re holding onto and clears the space to rest in the peaceful bliss at the core of your being.
Not only is active meditation highly effective, it’s also a lot of fun.
Meditation can be broadly defined as anything that brings a state of mindfulness, consciousness or awareness. And active meditation uses movement to get to this state.
I recently came up with an active meditation that I call Primal Meditation. I naturally found myself doing this the other day. And intuitively, I was guided to do it in a particular order, which felt so natural. Its foundation is drawn from Osho’s active meditations, along with the influence of Elliott Hulse and much of my own experience.
The whole thing only takes about 20-25 minutes. Anyone can do it, no matter your schedule or meditation experience. And the best thing about it is that it’s a whole lot of fun to do.
Primal Meditation
Part 1. Shake and Dance
Shake your body. Bounce gently at first and shake your arms and legs. Dance with the intent of working out kinks and energetic stuckness. Shake and flow. Engage in non-linear movements (wiggles, not right angles). Don’t try to look good, focus on flowing and releasing stuckness.
After just a few minutes of this, you will literally feel your energy become unblocked and begin to circulate more freely.
Music: Syria (Satori Remix) by Unders
Length: 8-9 minutes
Part 2. Gibberish
Freestyle rap or sing in gibberish. Pretend it’s a language you’re making up. The key is to not say anything with meaning, only nonsense. Let it flow out without judgment. Make any noises or sounds you feel like making. Get your body involved too while doing it.
Music: 808 TRAP BEAT INSTRUMENTAL – Strip Joint by 808 District
Length: 4-5 minutes
Part 3. Deep Breathing
Breathe deeply to the song. Find your own rhythm. As long as you’re breathing deeply, into your belly, that’s all that really matters. You can move your body intuitively as you breathe too, almost like tai chi or qigong.
Music: Breathe by Fabolous (Instrumental version)
Length: 4-5 Minutes
Part 4. Lay on the Floor
Lie on your back with your palms facing up (like savasana, or corpse pose, in a yoga class). Let go of any remaining tension you’re holding onto. Notice how your body feels. Notice any thoughts that arise in your mind. Become the observer. Allow yourself to just be.
Music: Silence
Length: Until you feel like getting up
To end the meditation, sit up, hold your heart with both hands, feel gratitude, then go about your day.
A note on customization: You can pick your own songs to use, as long as they don’t have words (because words can be distracting). But the songs I listed work as a good starting point, especially in terms of the vibe of each stage and the general amount of time.
The Benefits of Shaking and Dancing
Shaking breaks up neurotic holding patterns we have. It’s the simplest way to release tension and stress held in the body. When we hold emotions, they manifest in the body. Stress, for example, will result in tightening muscles throughout the body and clenching the jaw. There’s a reason why we use the expression “shake it off.” We’re literally shaking off our fears, anxieties, worry, stress, tension, frustration, sadness, grief…etc.
Dancing is a brilliant form of self-expression using the body. When the body flows physically, we allow our energy and emotions to flow as well, instead of becoming stuck. Dancing is also a means of releasing pent up energy. Most people in today’s world hold onto a lot of stress and fear, and don’t move their body as much as they should. And rarely do we move our bodies in an intuitive, non-linear and flowing way. The more flowing movement allows the analytical brain to relax, the ego to loosen its grip and all forms of fear to melt away.
We all know how good dancing feels, especially when we let go of judgment and really get into it.
The Benefits of Gibberish
“Gibberish is one of the most scientific ways to clean your mind and break the habit of continual inner
verbalization.”
-Osho
Gibberish is a brain dump of language. We’re crammed with words throughout our whole life, starting from the day we’re born. Gibberish allows you to break free from incessant internal verbalization and creates space for silence, peace and deep bliss.
It may sound crazy, but you can literally feel the benefits of gibberish within seconds.
The Benefits of Breathing
Obviously, breathing is necessary for even surviving. But conscious, deep breathing is important for THRIVING.
The breath is the bridge between the conscious and unconscious mind. It is the gateway to self-mastery. When done consciously and deeply, breathing has some profound benefits.
In relation to this meditation, the breathing stage rebalances your whole being and allows you to integrate the space you’ve created by shaking, dancing and speaking gibberish.
Deep breathing also floods your body with chi, or prana, and gives you a calm energy. It cultivates an environment of mindfulness, bliss and inner peace.
Dancing, shaking, gibberish and deep breathing allow you to clear your mental chatter, unkink emotional stuckness and release into a state of peace and clarity.
This meditation basically creates the space for inner peace to blossom.
For those who want a deeper dive into active meditations and clearing negativity, I highly recommend my course Primal Release. You can get the course by clicking the image below.
Much love.
– Stevie P!
