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Athletes, musicians, actors and other performers commonly use ritual to prepare themselves for a performance. Prior to lifting, a weightlifter might eat complex carbs, dress in her favourite lifting clothes, and do some cardio exercise to warm up. During the warm up, she might even listen to a playlist designed to energize her. A singer might do some deep breathing, complete some vocal exercises, and eat a green apple prior to a performance. And, you can use a warm up routine to prepare for meditation.

Warm up rituals prepare an athlete or performer to achieve optimal results. They set a tone conducive to the upcoming activity, and help the performer detach from the other activities and unrelated thoughts. In this way, warm ups improve focus.

A pre-meditation ritual can help you settle into meditation, too. Warm ups provide a little separation between your upcoming mediation and whatever activities you were doing and thinking about prior to meditating. They can help you focus your attention on meditating.

Warm up rituals can be particularly helpful on days when you don’t feel like meditating. On these days, perform the ritual. By the time you’re done, you’ll likely feel more like following through with the meditation.

The best rituals include activities that are meaningful and directly contribute to a good performance. As meditators, we don’t want to get caught up in judging how well we’re performing, though. After all, meditation is the practice of awareness of the present moment without judging it. But, while we want to avoid setting up expectations and judging outcomes, there’s nothing to say we can’t engage in warm up activities that facilitate our practice.

 

This Week's Peaceful Moment: Ferns, Nanaimo, BCThis photo is protected by copyright and used with permission.

 

Look for ritual activities that you can perform every time you meditate, regardless of when or where you’re practicing. You can choose one activity, or multiple activities. You’ll notice the following examples include some activities that I routinely include in my guided meditations, because they help meditators settle in:

Set an intention for your practice - You might have a general intention (e.g., I intend to put my full attention on my breath), or a specific one for the day (e.g., I intend to practice lovingkindness today).

Bow to your cushion or chair - This is a ritual practiced in some Buddhist communities. It is intended to express gratitude for the opportunity to meditate.

Settle into your posture by swaying - Sit on your chair or cushion, and sway your body back and forth, gently. Start with a big side-to-side movement and gradually make it smaller and smaller until you become still.

Calm the body by shaking your hands - A little physical activity can help your mind settle. Just shake your hands vigorously for about one minute, then place your hands in your lap.

Practice one or more yoga poses, qigong moves or stretches - such physical activity can release energy and loosen muscles, making it easier to sit.

Take a few slow, deep breaths - as you exhale, consciously relax the body. You might like to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth to facilitate relaxation. Let your breathing return to normal before meditating.

Check your posture - Good posture allows you to sit more comfortably for longer. Make your spine erect, but not rigid. Ground yourself (feet or knees on the floor). Close your eyes gently. Keep your head facing straight ahead and tuck your chin in slightly.

Use a practice poem to guide the first few breaths - You can learn more about practice poems...