
There are a multitude of ways to meditate, but they don’t all work for everyone. If you often feel overwhelmed by your attempt at various practices, intermittent silence meditation may be the right one for you.
Intermittent silence meditation is basically what it sounds like: taking a few minutes per day to be intentionally silent. The practice is designed to allow you to disconnect from noise and distractions. The way the practice works is by giving both the section of the brain responsible for speaking and the one responsible for listening a break.
As for finding time to practice it, Real Simple spoke with Jamie Price, creator of the wellness app MyLife. She recommended a trick from a former teacher:
“My teacher used to recommend getting up ‘before you can hear the sounds of the birds,’ which is before dawn,” she says. “This may seem painfully early, but the rewards of absolute stillness and quiet are significant and worth the bleary eyes that come with waking up just before daylight.”
The outlet also spoke with Dr. Krishna Bhatta surgeon and chief of urology at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center. He says there are four main components: closing your mouth, closing your eyes, silent listening, and silent watching.
It’s as easy as that: being silent. If you think intermittent silence meditation may be the new practice for you, there’s more to learn about the practice, how it can impact your life, and those best-suited to it over on Real Simple.