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Meditation is an activity that practices mindfulness, often allowing for a sense of mental clarity or emotional stability. This practice usually involves sitting quietly, often with your eyes closed, and is sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises designed to help you maintain a mindful awareness.
When you think about it, cats and meditation are the perfect combination for an activity that requires quiet focus. Even the wildest of kitties have a bit of serenity in them. So, how can you incorporate your cat into your meditation practice?
Benefits of Meditating With Your Cat
There are multiple benefits for both you and your cat if you incorporate them into your meditation practice. Anecdotally, meditation can strengthen the sense of trust and safety that your cat has with you, especially since your cat will be able to sense your state of calmness. Meditation is proven to reduce stress in people, and sharing this type of calm, low-stress activity with your cat can benefit both of you physically and emotionally. This can even be a terrific way to help a new cat feel safe and comfortable in their new home.
One of the simplest benefits of meditation is that it’s a practice that can help you create a routine. Cats love structure and routine in their daily lives, and if you’re setting aside time for mindfulness every day and incorporating your cat into that practice, then you’re helping build a routine that can help your cat feel structure in their daily life. A cat meditating is really just a cat relaxing, but that’s no reason not to involve them.
How to Meditate With Your Cat
1. Choose Your Meditation Space
It’s important to select the right spot for meditating. Noisy, busy, and uncomfortable areas are not ideal. You want to find a place that allows you to focus on your practice in a way that you won’t be distracted by everything going on around you. This could be a place like a closed bedroom or your home office where you know you’ll be able to have some privacy.
If you want your cat to join your meditation sessions, then opt for a place where your cat feels safe and calm. Keep in mind that if you choose a place that’s near your cat’s favorite toys or scratching post, then you’re more likely to have an excited cat distracting you instead of joining in your calmness.
2. Consider Adding Sound
The addition of sound to meditation can be a powerful tool to help you focus and block out the world around you. Consider things like guided meditations, white noise, or nature sounds. Avoid anything that might excite your cat, like bird sounds.
Consider introducing your cat to the sounds that you want to meditate to during times when your cat will naturally be calm, like when they’re spending time in a place they feel most safe in. By introducing these sounds while your cat is calm, they may begin to associate the sounds with calmness and be more likely to join in on your meditation session.
3. Focus on Your Own Mindfulness
This part is the hardest part of meditating for most people: Only focus on your own meditation practice while you’re meditating. Don’t pet your cat or attempt to pull them in to join you. If your cat is lying nearby and you want to place your hand on them and let it rest there, that is likely fine, but if you find yourself being distracted by the presence of your cat, you need to refocus on your meditation.
Meditating is difficult for many people because it requires a strong focus on a specific focal point, like your breathing or an emotion. By allowing yourself to be distracted by things in the room, including your cat, you’re making your meditation less effective. You may have your meditation practice with your cat relaxing nearby, but they may not join you every time, and if they’re feeling frisky, they may end up being a distraction.
In Conclusion
When it comes to including your cat in your meditation practice, you won’t actively involve them, as a truly meditating cat isn’t likely—they’re more likely to just relax. You’re simply creating a calm, safe space that your cat may want to join. Many cats seem to be aware of the sense of calm and are unlikely to disturb you during meditation. However, if you have a cat with a real zest for life, then you may need to slowly introduce them to your meditation practice. Otherwise, you may find yourself distracted by a playful cat.
Featured Image Credit: Larisa Stefanjuk, Shutterstock
