Meditation Classes

I was a wreck, and I mean that.  I'd been working for 60 hours a week for the past year, living in a small flat in New York City, and it was all starting to catch up with me.  My blood pressure was skyrocketing, my cholesterol was awful, and I was suffering from heart palpitations.  My doctor said that he could give me medicine if I wanted him to, but that it all basically came down to one thing: I needed to learn how to relax, or I would die early. I tried all kinds of things to relax, but nothing worked until I found meditation classes.  I had heard good things about meditation from my cousin.  She used to be just like me – a high stress executive working her life away, endlessly striving in the rat race.  Until she began taking her meditation class, she always presented an aura of self-confidence. 

Once the meditation classes began, however, she changed.  She admitted that her life was not making her happy, and that she needed to find a new career or else she would surely die of the stress.  I thought of her as a logical source for information on beginners meditation classes, although I hoped that the class would not change me as deeply as it had changed her.

It turns out that there are dozens of different meditation classes that you can take.  Some of them involve elaborate meditation techniques, such as visualization, guided meditation, and different postures that you can take to produce different effects.  Others take a very back to basics approach.  I was more interested in the latter.  I wanted something simple and straightforward that I could easily incorporate into my daily routine.  My sister pointed me towards a Zen meditation class.  She said that it was just what I was looking for, even if I did not believe in the religion.

I am not a Zen Buddhist, but Zen Buddhist meditation classes changed my life.  Unlike my sister, I still pursue my former career goals.  Now, however, I am calmer and happier.  I realized that it does not matter if I make more money than my neighbors.  What really matters in life is having time to enjoy it while you are young.  I work less. I also make less money than I used to.  But the important thing is that I make enough money to support myself, and that now, thanks to meditation classes, I am happy.