May you enjoy the gift of being alive today! In just 4 weeks my book, Spirituality Is for Every Body, will be released!! YAY!!! You can pre-order it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Target! In the interest of transparency, by pre-ordering my book, you help generate buzz around the book which encourages bookstores to order copies. I appreciate your support!
In honor of the fast-approaching release date of my book, I decided to do a series of blog posts called: “3 Ways To Make Spirituality Accessible.” The info in each of these posts can also be found in my book. Today’s post is about making meditation accessible to those living with disabilities.
Do you have ADHD and the longer you sit still, the more your thoughts go everywhere? Or, have you ever listened to a guided meditation that tells you to do something that your body can’t do and you wonder how to make meditation work for you? If so, this post is just for you.
Before I give you 3 tips to make meditation more accessible, let’s talk about why meditation is such a wonderful practice to do. One of the benefits of meditation is that you develop a relationship with the Higher Part of yourself. Some people call this Higher Part of themselves Love; others call It the Divine; and others call It the Universe. What you call It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you cultivate a relationship with It. Like any other healthy relationship, developing, or strengthening, your relationship with the Divine requires listening to the Divine, which is where meditation comes in.
In chapter 5 of my book, Spirituality Is for Every Body, I explain how meditation helps us listen to the Divine. Here’s a short excerpt.
~Excerpt from Spirituality Is for Every Body
by Allison V. Thompkins, Ph.D.
So, now that you know why meditation is so important, let’s talk about 3 ways to make it more accessible to those with disabilities.
TIP #1
My first tip is for people who have chronic illness or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). I’ve found that those with chronic illness or ADHD who want to meditate tend to do well with mindfulness meditation. Now, there are many ways of doing mindfulness meditation, so I encourage you to do a YouTube search and try out a few different types of mindfulness meditations to see which one floats your boat. In my book, I give advice about how to start a mindfulness meditation practice if you have a disability.
Please find the steps of one type of mindfulness meditation below.
a. Begin by closing your eyes or lowering your eye gaze.
b. Next, focus on your breath. Feel the air as it enters and exits your nostrils.
c. Focus on the sensation of your belly moving in and out as you breathe. If you become aware that you are thinking about something other than your breathing, release the thought and bring your attention back to your breath and the sensation of your belly moving as you breathe.
TIP #2
My next tip is for people who can’t feel air entering and exiting their nose as they breathe or who can’t feel their bodies. Many meditations tell you to focus on the sensations of your body as you inhale and exhale which is great if you can feel your body, not so helpful if you can’t. So, there are 2 modifications that I have found to be helpful in this situation.
a. First, if you can’t feel the air as it enters and exits your body, you can imagine that you are feeling air as it enters and exits your body. When you meditate, your body receives the same benefits from actually doing an activity as it does when you imagine that you’re doing an activity. If you can fully relax while imagining that you can feel your breath, wonderful!
b. If imagining doesn’t relax you or ground you during your meditation, then find a sound in your space that you can focus on. If you use a ventilator, you may choose to focus on the whirring of your vent. Or, you can focus on the sound of a fan or any other machine in your vicinity as a way to relax and anchor yourself into your body/room.
TIP #3
This tip is for those with intellectual disability(ID) or autism spectrum disorder(ASD) who want to use meditation to manage anger. Let’s face it… things can happen that we feel angry about. Anger itself is okay. It’s part of the human experience, but being able to process and release anger in a healthy way is very important.
Sometimes, releasing anger in a healthy manner can be challenging for those living with ID or ASD. So, this meditation is designed to help those with these disabilities release these emotions. Although designed for those with ASD or ID, anyone can benefit from doing this meditation. The meditation is called Soles of the Feet meditation(you can read more about it in Singh et al. November 2007).
a. Begin the meditation by either standing or sitting in a natural, relaxed posture. If you can stand easily, do so. But if you have difficulty standing, then sit.
b. Make sure the soles of your feet flat on the floor or flat on the footrest of your wheelchair. If you are unable to put your feet completely flat on the floor or your footrest, that’s okay. Do the best you can.
c. Now, breathe naturally, and do nothing for a few moments.
d. Next, remember an incident that made you very angry. Feel the anger as strongly as you can.
e. Continue feeling angry. Let the angry thoughts flow through your mind without restriction. Stay with the anger.
f. Now, shift all your attention to the soles of your feet.
g. Slowly, move your toes. Feel your shoes covering your feet and the texture of your socks. Feel the curve of your arch. Feel the heels of your feet against the back of your shoes. If you do not have shoes on, feel the floor, carpet or your foot rest with the soles of your feet.
h. Keep breathing naturally and focus on the soles of your feet until you feel calm.
And you’ve done it! That’s the Soles of the Feet meditation.
Well, those are my tips for making meditation accessible. I hope they help you along your spiritual path! If you’d like even more guidance about how to make meditation accessible, consider buying my book. Have a wonderful two weeks! I’ll see you soon!
Love, blessings and purple,
Allison
