Imagine sitting in a space where you hear nothing but the natural elements of the Earth. You are free of electronics and the daily distractions of life, while focusing only on your breathing. These are all components of mediation, a method used to relax the mind, body and spirit while unlocking a new you.
Charles Crenshaw has been teaching meditation classes at the Inner Peace Yoga Center, which he co-founded with his wife Carol, for several years. He believes meditation “introduces you to yourself.”
“There is something each and every one of us has that is such a great secret that we hold within ourselves, and it is the breath. Our process introduces people to aspects of the breath they are unfamiliar with,” said Crenshaw.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says, “Generally, a person who is meditating uses certain techniques, such as a specific posture, focused attention and an open attitude toward distractions. Meditation may be practiced for many reasons, such as to increase calmness and physical relaxation, to improve psychological balance, to cope with illness or to enhance overall health and well-being.”
Crenshaw said the possibility of meditation curing hypertension and other chronic diseases affecting African-Americans is very much real.
“We have tools to help the community. I want to share this information with people because it’s helpful. Nobody wants to take individual responsibility for his or her own growth. People want a quick fix, a pill to help, but (African-Americans) aren’t interested in healing so much,” he noted.
Crenshaw said another reason African-Americans may not be interested in meditation is because they believe it involves practicing a non-Christian faith.
“Many people confuse meditation with relaxation, and relaxation response is something that benefits you because the physical body holds a lot of trauma, and breathing and stretching can help that,” he said. “By way of meditation is relaxation, lowering your heart rate and stress reduction. Whatever your religious background, the transcendent thing, meditation allows you to connect with that.”
According to the Inner Peace Yoga Center’s website, “With our busy lives, we know full well how to ‘do,’ but we, more often than not, do not know how to ‘be.’ When we tap into the stillness that meditation can provide, our lives become more serene, creative and fulfilling. We can develop the capacity to improve our health, our relationships and our skill in performing our everyday activities with the simple mindfulness inherent in the meditation practice. Meditation is the source of the mindfulness practice.”
Some of the other benefits of meditation include aiding emotional balance, enhancing creativity and developing a tranquil mind, according to the Inner Peace Yoga Center.
The Inner Peace Yoga Center offers meditation workshops every six weeks where newcomers can learn to relax the body and regulate the flow of breath while focusing the mind. The six-hour workshop takes place on Saturday from 2–2:45 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. until noon. The center’s next class is set for Oct 3–4.
For more information on the Inner Peace Yoga Center or to sign up for a meditation class, call (317) 257-9642.
