Sure, meditation is deemed totally cool, and Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon is in on it, but there are still some of us out there who find difficulty sitting, whether on a zafu or any other whosiwhatsit.
Luckily for us, author and yoga teacher, Charlotte Bell has some helpful tips in her book Yoga for Meditators: Poses to Support Your Sitting Practice.
As Charlotte writes, “Asana practice, by its very nature, is about preparing the body for meditation. So a book on yoga for meditators may seem redundant. All yoga is for meditators, after all. Still, there are poses that I have found to be optimal in addressing the specific physical challenges that arise during meditation, and it is in this spirit that I offer the practices in this book.”
WIN: We’re giving away THREE copies of Yoga for Meditators by Charlotte Bell courtesy of Rodmell Press.
TO ENTER: Meditation can be beneficial all on its own. But we’re going to take it one step further with a yogi spin on the old “who would you like to have dinner with?” question for funsies. So here it is, if you could chill and sit in meditation with anyone, dead or alive, real or fictional, who would it be and why? Tell us in the comments!
For us it might be Forrest Gump. Because sit happens 🙂
The giveaway closes 11:59 EST Tuesday July 24th. Three winners will be chosen at random and announced soon after. Good luck!
UPDATE: We have winners! Congrats to…Leslie, Angela D and Pam! Thanks to all for your fun, inspiring and very entertaining meditation partners 🙂
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Earlier…
- Superhero Yoga from the Land of Geekdom
- Making Time: The Ultimate Mommy and Baby Yoga Experience
- ‘Learning to Breathe’ Book Review + Interview with Priscilla Warner on Finding Relief from Anxiety
- Yoga for Depression and Anxiety – Interview with Amy Weintraub
- Sit, Yogis, Sit: Meditation is Totally Cool Now
I would want to sit with Ghandi as to why – well who wouldn’t lol
My husband–because I would like him to enjoy the benefits of meditation.
With my grandfather, because I never did while he was alive.
Krishnamacharya because he was the teacher of teachers, a healer and without having for his purpose brought yog to the modern world.
Hands down, the Dalai Lama. Not only is he a lot of fun, but he has a lot of wonderful energy that would be beautiful to be around while meditating.
dali lama–the energy and light would be so encompassing!
Georgia OKeefe. High on the buttes in new mecico.
my mother. i miss her wisdom, guidance, opinion, outlook, fire, passion, touch, look, hugs, LOVE!!!
Mandela, because I would to feel his energy, and peace!
Hands down the Dali Lama. I got to meet him and it was an amazing experience. To sit with him would be undesirable! His energy and peace are contagious.
Pema Chodron. I’d like to share presence and space with her.
Charlotte Bell! She wrote the book! Plus she is willing to teach about it.
Miyamoto Musashi. The fierce warrior energy tempered by delicate brush painting & poetry. I’d love to sit with the soul of a samurai.
Meditation is such a personal experience. All of the great leaders that I might choose, would distract me from the act of meditating. I would just want to listen to them and ask questions. I guess I’m just not that good yet.
My spouse. Because I’d actually be comfortable enough and unpressured with her to sit quietly. Still too new at meditation, I guess.
Barack Obama because he needs it, and I’d like to see the power meditation has within the powerful.
It would have to be Michelle Bachmann. I want to know what the he&$ makes that woman tick. Plus, she could could use some meditation and positive thinking.
My Dad! If I win a copy of this book, I will give it to him, to help him sit more comfortably as he ages.
I would like to sit with Osho because he was equally comic and enlightened master! Laughter is yoga too!
My first inclination would be the Dalai Lama because to sit and meditate with him would be like bathing in pure love. BUT, I will say my husband Aaron. He is a true guru/teacher to me, so gentle, so wise, so accepting. We had children together when we were young and we have made it 13 years together! He often goes on ten day meditation retreats alone and I would LOVE to join him someday, but now I have to be with our children. <3
Erich Schiffmann, the yoga and meditation teacher, because his teachings have truly helped me become a regular meditator, and sitting in the same space with him is clear and delicious.
Janis Joplin, patron saint of crazy girls.
He seems to be the popular choice, but I gotta go with the Dalai Lama because he just seems like peace and compassion personified. Or Kwame Kwei-Armah–his energy is so positive and energizing. I don’t know if he meditates, but he has something special.
Patanjali would be so amazing to sit with! Maybe get a glimpse into who he really was, and just soak in the knowledge of that enlightened master!
John Taylor Gatto
W. Somerset Maughm
Either john waters or marilyn manson. Both are shockingly simple, honest, and wise
I would like to sit and chant with George Harrison.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar. I want to see how this very tall person sits in meditation. Plus I love him.
I would choose the woman who first introduced me to yoga and vegetarianism. This is Tilla Petra-Gil a woman from Austria who took care of me when I was about 5 years old. It took me close to 35 years to discover yoga on my own but I feel like it has been in my body my whole life. I often think of her as a guru and mentor and feel my connection to her although it has been 35 years since I have seen her.
I would sit with Yoda, so the force would be with me.
George Harrison <3
My husband–so he could enjoy the benefits of meditation.
I’d just like to sit with more strangers — if it were someone famous, I think I might be nervous. If I chose someone famous, maybe Jack Kornfield.
Elvis, I want to experience his charisma.
Defenitelly dharma from dharma and greg, bcause she’s awsome funny and a really funny fictional yogateacher :).
The wonderful women who work retail with me… because they all have big hearts, are on their feet so much of the time, and would certainly appreciate the benefits of a nice meditation together. : )
I would love to sit with my Mom. I don’t know if I would be able to meditate with her as she passed away 11 1/2 years ago, before I got married and became a mother. I would have so many questions and things to discuss with her and of course I would be hugging her the entire time.
I would want to meditate with the Buddha – I feel like there is no explanation needed as to why!
I’d say with my husband….because I think it’d allow us to connect on a different level and learn even more from each other.
Oh, Marie Antoinette definitely! She had a very religious upbringing and wasn’t as ditzy as some would lead you to believe. When she wasn’t busy doing queen stuff I can imagine that she just took time to stop and ponder all of the things going on around her…whether it was the threat of revolution or all of the ridiculous ettiquette at Versailles. And I bet she would have beautiful brocade pillows for us to sit on!
Jim Morrison
Tara Brach. She is my favorite Buddhist speaker, and she seems very warm, authentic and approachable.
I would love to meditate with Andy Cohen. I have a huge crush on him even though he is into guys.
Maya Angelou for sure. She seems so calm and wise. Hopefully some of that would rub off on me. 🙂
My somewhat estranged husband. After a recent bout of terrible pain and an ensuing breakdown, he needs to find some peace with himself!
Jesus
Hmm . . . Either Jesus or the Dalai Lama.
Eknath Easwaran
the Dalai Lama!
Marc Holzman
I would meditate with Frida Kahlo–I would love to learn from and commune with her ability to express herself in such raw, open, honest art.
I would choose Thich Nath Hanh, seeing his videos giving talk in google office enlighten me.
My sister. She’s a teenager, but even if it was 2 minutes, I think she might like it and that it might help her…and it might help me too, I’m still pretty new to this!
Jose Silva, because through his writings and audiocassettes I had been given an accessible means of meditation. To which I’d become addicted for seven years. Partial reason for later getting into yoga …
and I would also like to meditate with Drisana Carey, because I had catalog pictures of her to motivate me when I could afford no live yoga teacher …
Jesus, because He is my joy <3
I’d meditate with my husband for many reasons. Most importantly, because he is the person I am most comfortable and relaxed to be around. And for me, seated meditation is the opposite of comfortable or relaxing – it causes me a lot of tension. I’d love to share this book with him!
With all my Jewish relatives who perished in the Holocaust. And with their friends and loved ones, especially those who died in sorrow. To revel in their joy and their wisdom, and their eternal “presence.” Shalom!
What a thoughtful response, Stewart! I just read Night by Elie Wiesel. Your choice touched those raw spots left from reading his story.
Thanks for sharing that Lorraine!
I’d meditate with my daughter who lives 860 km from here, because I think I can learn so much from her …
John Nordstrom, the founder of Nordstrom department stores. I find them to be my sacred spaces ;-).
No more words. Hear only the voice within.
~Rumi
I like to think I would meditate with anyone and everyone. Every person’s practice/approach/journey is valuable and offers opportunity to learn.
jane goodall — because she’s awesome and wise and inspiring.
Swami Vishnu Devananda because he was such an inspiration to me and to my yoga community. He was such a jolly fellow, full of light, even in photos he gives off this energy.
I want to meditate with Sting. As I hope that after the meditation, both of us will practice Kirtan… And I know that he is going to be a great Kirtan singer. Yes, I believe that. Namaste 😉
I would want to meditate with someone with a stressful life like President Obama. If he can meditate effectively, so can I!
Steve Jobs, hands down.
Tripitaka, can tame the Monkey Mind
http://www.greatsage.net/monkey/characters_tripitaka.php
John Lennon – imagine!
For me, I think it would be Pema Chodron, for her amazing wisdom and wit. And if my husband and teenage son (who also sit regularly) could be there with me, my world would be complete.
To choose one would be hard. I think that Dalai Lama because I would learn a lot just from sitting in his presence, let alone meditating with him. I also would like to meditate with my parents because I have longed to help them find peace with this world and their health issues. Their unexpressed anger and frustration could potentially dissipate with practice. While I have tried and not gotten them on a path, I would like this chance to do so.
I would love to sit and meditate with Deepak Chopra. He’s an inspiration to me and I really feel I could learn a lot from a conversation with him.
I would like to sit and meditate with Deepak Chopra. He has been an inspiration to me and his teachings have helped me change my life for the better. I think I could learn a lot from a conversation with him.
My husband -because we are sharing the rest of our lives together
I would love to meditate with S.N. Goenka. After sitting many Vipassana courses and hearing him speak and chant on tape and TV it would be a real joy to sit with him and his wife in person.
no one. the form ceases to be important when one enters into samadhi, when you’re meditating you’re already with every being that has ever and will ever live.
And if we’re going with Patanjali’s definition, when you get really good, kaivalya. Which literally just means alone-ness. So the answer is the same. nobody, no one, no-thing.
I would like to have my sister, Juliette, sitting nearby. Even though we are each on our own journey, I have never met someone I look up to more than her. My sister lives about 20 hours away and we don’t see one another very often. However, our souls & hearts are very connected.
Today I’d choose Kali in her wrathful form. I’ve been thinking recently about wild feminine power and what it means with regard to our yoga and its origins. So it would be rather interesting to sit down with Kali, maybe on a mountain top overlooking the ocean, and see if I could maintain some inner focus as the breeze rustles her skull necklace.
I’d want to meditate with whichever of my friends was feeling the most troubled at the moment. Sounds like a totally hippie-dippie thing to say, but I really honestly believe that meditation can help you become a calmer, happier person, and I would love to be able to share that with my friends who need the help.
Anakin Skywalker. Dude needed to chill.
I would sit and meditate with Rumi
“May the beauty you love be what you do there are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground”
The Dalai Lama ~ just to be near him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mmmm, id love to meditate with krishna. to hear and feel his love. to have it be felt through all parts of my mind, body and soul.
I would choose Johnny Depp, anytime
Iyengar….and totally cool if he was just chilling in Sirsasana while I meditate. So many years of wisdom and inspiration.
George Carlin because he knows “Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things.” Perfect motto for a yoga teacher, or just Bikram Choudry. I’m sure any meditation session w/ Carlin would quickly escalate to a laughter yoga sesh. 🙂
it would have to be yoda…the yogi from another planet…possibly he could teach me that levitation trick he does
Gandhi- learning from the best is the best!)
Honestly, I would choose to meditate with someone (or a group of someones!) who has never done meditation or yoga before. It is a beautiful thing to see someone experience the opening of their body and mind for the first time 🙂
I’d love to sit down with Anselm Kiefer and learn w hat is going on in his paintings. He looks to need some mediation.
I would love to meditate with the whoever the next person is who enters the room.
Looks like Scott might want to sit with me – I’m good with that and I’m choosing “d” up there with his nothingness. To my mind, that makes us 3 absentees.
Freat question. Thanks for the opportunity.
The Dalai Lama, my choice for a real person and for a Fictional person, Mr Spock. Live long and prosper!
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.
She tried morning meditation while her kids were in bed.
To find peace in her heart and clear the thoughts in her head.
I’d love to join the old woman to begin my day.
Two mothers sitting in stillness silently pray.
I’d like to meditate with John Cage (the composer). I’ve started reading “Where the Heart Beats,”which tells the story of how he became a Zen Buddhist. It would be interesting to see how meditation helped him create his art.
I would meditate with Philip Carey from Of Human Bondage. When I read the book years ago, I really related the character as a child and young adult.
Lon Chaney Sr., to explore his mind and find out where all those characters came from.
I would like to meditate with author Neil Donald Walsh, because I know there is no way he would judge me!
Osho, because he’s the coolest guru ever and he’s got jokes.