Expert Guidance Elephant Slow and Steady

Elephant Slow and Steady

When it comes to meditation, a slow and steady approach is often the most profitable.

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It might sound strange, but a really useful analogy for meditation practice is an elephant. Often in life, we wanna get everything done as quickly as possible. (animals stampeding) But when it comes to learning, that's maybe not the most skillful approach. But if you think about an elephant and the way that it moves, there's something really majestic about it. It's steady, it's slow, but it keeps moving forward. And with meditation, it's about regular consistent practice, just showing up time and time again, just like our elephant. It might be walking along a very flat surface, might be walking up a hill or down a hill. It might be passing through a clear open space or a dense, sticky jungle. The elephant doesn't really mind. It just focuses on one step and then the next and then the next. If we can bring this quality to our meditation practice, then we don't have to worry about progress or be in a hurry to get anywhere, and we don't have to stop because we've overexerted ourselves. We just keep going with that gentle, steady, consistent effort....

Details

TypeExpert Guidance

Duration1 min

About your teachers

A former Buddhist monk, Andy has guided people in meditation and mindfulness for 20 years. In his mission to make these practices accessible to all, he co-created the Headspace app in 2010.
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Eve is a mindfulness teacher, overseeing Headspace’s meditation curriculum. She is passionate about sharing meditation to help others feel less stressed and experience more compassion in their lives.
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As a meditation teacher, Dora encourages others to live, breathe, and be with the fullness of their experiences. She loves meditation’s power to create community and bring clarity to people’s minds.
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Kessonga has been an acupuncturists, therapist, and meditation teacher, working to bring mindfulness to the diverse populations of the world.
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Rosie Acosta has studied yoga and mindfulness for more than 20 years and taught for over a decade. Rosie’s mission is to help others overcome adversity and experience radical love.
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