What Does Meditation Look Like?
My first introduction to meditation was in the chapel of my Jesuit high school in Winnipeg. A perceptive priest thought it might be just what a group of 15-year-old boys needed.
We lay on the thick carpet, closed our eyes, and followed a simple visualization: imagine being a bird, flying over the prairies and across Canada. That’s it. The exercise lasted 30 minutes. Some fell asleep; I stayed awake and emerged feeling calm and grounded—an unfamiliar sensation at 15. I later practiced this technique with friends and looked forward to returning to the chapel for more.
This experience transformed the way I prayed. I began seeking prayer not just for connection to something greater, but for the calm it brought to my turbulent adolescence.
Now, 35 years later, I still meditate. While it’s no longer tied to faith, meditation continues to ground me.
I typically meditate using the Waking Up app in a quiet room (my basement “pain cave”) before training, coffee, or anyone else wakes up. Sitting cross-legged on a pillow my daughter gave me, with noise-canceling headphones on, I follow guided meditations. My sessions usually last 20 minutes, but can range from 5 minutes to an hour.
I appreciate Waking Up for its non-dogmatic, non-dualistic approach, inviting practitioners to experience the self no differently than a sound or a sensation.
Some techniques I find helpful:
Focus on your breath or the physical sensation of sitting to begin.
Allow thoughts to arise and pass like clouds in the sky.
Let go of achievement—meditation is simply about awareness.
Sometimes, I find comfort in the mantra: “a lifetime in a single breath.”
I use lessons from meditation in my day-to-day life. When I feel anxiety, anger, or shame, I take a moment to acknowledge it by silently saying, “I feel...” in my mind. I place a hand on the part of my body where the sensation arises and simply observe it for what it is: a sensation, no different than the prick of a pin or the impact of a heel striking the ground. It’s very essence is transitory.
Ride Still is for everyone: those who already meditate, those curious about it, and especially those who think it’s not for them.
