Meditation Tips for Hot Summer Days
It’s summer! The perfect time for barbecues, beaches, and, this year, remembering what it’s like to hang out with other human beings.
And yet, summer may not seem like the best time to meditate. After all, sitting indoors is more fun in January than in July--at least in the Northeast, where I live. And besides, if you’re like me, you probably just feel a little happier in the summer anyway. Who needs meditation?
Then again, breaking good habits is never a good idea; it takes a while to build back that momentum. And when it comes to meditation, it’s actually really helpful to have a range of emotions present, from anxiety to relaxation, joy to sadness. That way, you get a rounded, balanced experience of your mind, heart, and body: the easy as well as the difficult, the chill as well as the stressed.
So, if you slack off on your meditation, I suggest judging yourself harshly and feeling guilty about being such a bad person.
Just kidding. Please don’t do that. Instead, here are four suggestions for meditating in summertime.
1. Go Outside
First, try meditating outside. You’ll want to find a quiet place where people are unlikely to interrupt you: a park, a beach, a yard. And then, just do your thing. Probably you won’t be as focused as when you’re in your usual spot, but that’s fine. See what’s different and what isn’t. See what it’s like to have a slightly looser practice than usual – might be easier, might be harder, see for yourself. Enjoy the warmth and the fresh air.
2. Enjoy!
Relatedly, you can bring some of that freshness into your meditation. Check in and see what feelings are arising and how they feel. For example, if you notice happiness, explore how it feels in the mind and body. This doesn’t mean going into the reasons you feel happy; that’s thinking. It means, what does happiness feel like right now?
And likewise with anything else. If you’re tired at the end of the day; if you’re concerned because actually you’re not feeling happy and the Ten Percent Weekly said that you ought to be (note: we did not say that); if stuff that you couldn’t deal with for the last year is suddenly showing up like a bunch of uninvited houseguests; whatever.
Whatever is going on, as Sharon Salzberg says: it’s not what’s happening, it’s how you relate to it.
3. Switch it Up
Next, if you’ve been meditating for awhile and have different tools in your meditation toolkit, consider selecting one that doesn’t require as tight a focus. For example, just paying attention to the breath is a great core practice. But in the summer, maybe you want to spend more time with methods like “open awareness” or cultivating lovingkindness. There are meditations like this in the app; check them out. The point is to not fight the energies of the summer but notice them, be with them, and, as a bonus, maybe ride them into greater resilience, happiness, and wellbeing.
4. Meditate when you’re not meditating
Finally, meditate when you’re not meditating. See what it’s like to cultivate a mindful attitude when you’re talking with friends, going for a run, or sweating bullets in a parking lot. You can do the same things at these times that you do when you’re meditating: notice what’s happening, notice thoughts as they arise, notice that you don’t have to believe every nonsensical thing your brain is telling you, add in some self-compassion and humor.
This, after all, is the whole point of mindfulness. It’s nice to be calm and focused when you’re meditating, but it’s way, way nicer be somewhat calm and focused in the middle of a work meeting. And that happens by developing a meditative, mindful mind all the time, rather than just exploring the hobby of meditation.
So, I’m on the beach, I’m noticing the sounds, the sights, the warmth. Right now, it’s like this. Or, I’m stuck in traffic, I’m noticing the sounds, the sights, the rising of my blood pressure. Right now, it’s like that. Or, I’m sweating bullets on the New York City sidewalk, noticing the sounds, the sights, the feelings of perspiration soaking through my shirt. And right now, it’s like that.
That is the real secret sauce of mindfulness, and the best part is, it goes really well with summer. Meditate when you’re not meditating, and have a long and mindful summer!
Dr. Jay Michaelson has been teaching meditation for fifteen years in secular, Buddhist, and Jewish communities. Jay is a journalist on CNN Tonight and at Rolling Stone, having been a weekly columnist for the Daily Beast for eight years. Jay was also an editor and podcast host for Ten Percent Happier for four years. He's an affiliated professor at Chicago Theological Seminary. Jay’s eight books include "The Gate of Tears: Sadness and the Spiritual Path" and the brand new "Enlightenment by Trial and Error".
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