8 things in your home that will ruin meditation
While you cannot control your neighbors, you can create peace and quiet for a meditation room or working from home
This post is part of a series entitled “Working Fluently From Home.” Click here for the archived posts.
I squinted at my alarm clock and smiled, realizing I still had another hour to sleep. I considered using 10 of those 60 minutes to do morning meditation, so I could cross that off my to-do list.
That is, until I heard the loud boom of my dog barking at my noisy next-door neighbors. (I’ve yet to figure out why this family waits until they open their front door to yell at each other in the hallway. This entire loud conversation can happen within their own bedrooms, bathroom or kitchen, but the lobby makes them chatty at insanely early hours.) I hissed for my dog to “shut up” before she woke up the neighbors above me. Junee trotted away from my front door, into her crate and snored minutes later. Now I was wide awake.
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This is an example of one of my least favorite parts about living in a condo. Even if you own the unit, you cannot control what your neighbors are doing, especially in a multi-unit building with a mix of owners and tenants and shared communal areas. It’s not impossible to find a quiet corner or get a good night’s sleep, but you will have to make some changes.
Recommended Read: “Is meditation the answer to black people's alarming rates of high blood pressure? ~ The underrated health lesson from Questlove's book ‘Hip Hop Is History’”
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Here are eight tasks you must do in order to find a quiet space to relax. Use these tips to work distraction-free from home. Use these tips for a midday nap or to sleep at night. Or, use these tips for the ultimate mental health and relaxation: meditating.
1. Entertain your barking dogs
It’s not necessary to crate your dog every time you meditate. If you do that, you may hear whimpering because your dog cannot snuggle up next to you (or lay on your stomach to make sure you’re still alive, in my case). My dog is totally used to me doing meditation and looks at me kinda funny if I don’t pull out the mat. There have been times where she sat by my Everything Closet as though I needed a reminder.
Recommended Read: “How do I do yoga with a hyper dog nearby? ~ Mastering meditation with a four-legged roommate who wants to lick your face”
But it took a couple of dogsitting visits and holiday trips for my mother’s dog to get used to me lying flat on a yoga mat. Nowadays, as soon as she hears the instrumentals, she recognizes morning meditation as well as my own dog. In response, my mother’s dog shoves her entire body under my right arm and positions my hand over her stomach for an involuntary belly rub. Whether you choose dog toys or belly rubs, find ways to keep your dog(s) entertained while you meditate so they’ll get used to you doing it.
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