How to Meditate Anywhere, Even If It’s Loud and Crazy

Mindfulness doesn’t have to wait for perfect times.

Photo / fizkes / Shutterstock

There will never be a better time to meditate than now. It doesn’t matter that it’s too loud, or that you aren’t in solitude, or you don’t have beautiful surroundings. Meditation doesn’t require a forest, a beach, or a pristine wilderness location.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the right cushion or haven’t finished that book on mindfulness yet.

The time is now, and here you are.

But how will you concentrate if it’s noisy? What if someone sees you meditating? What if you <gasp> look silly?

That’s the secret to Zen. It always looks silly.

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Everywhere Is a Temple When You Realize Your True Nature

There are different kinds and depths of meditation.

Of course you can go deeper in silence, or with monks chanting in the distance in a mountain retreat. But you can practice mindfulness anywhere.

Places you could sit and meditate:

• Your car

• A stairwell

• Beside a pool or on a busy beach

• Sitting on the edge of your bed

• At the airport

• At your desk at work (during break time of course!)

• In the living room while children play on the floor

• Beside your wife on the couch while she watches YouTube

“If you can’t meditate in a boiler room, you can’t meditate.” — Alan Watts

Let go of your need for everything to be just so.

Stop being a special snowflake and sit, watch your breathing, be aware of your body.

I was in a boardroom meeting where important, life-crushing, deadly serious decisions were being made. Or so they thought. It was high stress.

As the leader droned on in front of the whiteboard and drew out his plan, I was buzzing with worry. I had to present my report, and everyone was so upset about lack of progress. The deadlines! The lack of profit! The horrors!

I remembered to watch my breath. I followed the air in and out, I sat and observed everything around me. I saw how worried everyone was, how uptight they felt. But my tension melted away and I felt peaceful.

When it was my turn to speak, I was ready. I was calm and confident in a group of nervous Nellies.

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Forget About Perfection

You’ll never have your perfect place, so use the space you have. Lock yourself in the bathroom, or sit on the front step. Hide for 10 minutes in the back seat of your car.

“The only Zen you’ll find on mountain tops is the Zen you bring up there with you.” — Alan Watts

The important ingredient is you, your mind, and your body — if you have those things, you’re set.

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Drown Out the Noise and Go Incognito

Want to sit in public and meditate but don’t want anyone to know what you're doing? Bring some earbuds or headphones.

You don’t need to play music unless you want to. Put on your headphones or use your earbuds and sit quietly, doing your own thing. Everyone will assume you’re really into the audiobook/ music/ podcast.

If people try to talk to you and you only want to meditate, check to see:

• Are they on fire?

• Are you on fire?

• Is the world on fire? (Trick question. Everyone thinks it is, but it really isn’t.)

If nothing is on fire, then smile gently and ignore them. Notice your breath and any feelings in your body as they give up and leave you alone.

Refrain from raising your middle finger if they are rude. A good meditator never flips anyone the bird during practice.

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Eyes Open Or Closed

If there are others around, consider sitting with your eyes open.

I’m always nervous if my eyes are closed around strangers. So if I sit at the park on a bench and watch my breath, I place my hands palm up on my knees and gaze ahead and slightly down with no particular focus.

That way, if someone comes toward me I will have a bit of warning. I can relax as I feel each breath come in and then go out. Even with bustle and hustle, you can find a deep sense of peace this way.

As people walk by and you maintain your mental focus on your body and breath, you feel yourself become attuned to the situation, one with the flow of the people. Put a slight smile on your face and be glad.

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Use a Mantra

Mantras do wonders to help you find your zone. Pick a word or phrase to repeat, like Om. Repeat your chosen word or phrase to yourself silently and let it replace any thoughts of irritation at things around you. Like that barking dog, or your toddler smashing his building blocks into the barking dog’s skull.

Notice any feelings that arise in you as your toddler destroys your living room, bring a slight smile to your face, and be glad. This quiet time is for you.

I’ll write more about mantras soon.

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Set a Timer

Don’t watch the clock. Let it watch you.

If you set a five/ ten/ fifteen-minute timer and tell yourself you’re staying put no matter what, you are more likely to make it than if you have to stop and look at your phone.

But don’t just set and forget.

Right after you start that countdown, make a point of turning and looking right at it to confirm it’s counting. Otherwise, you’ll be thinking, “Did I really start the timer? What if I sit here for way way too long?” You don’t need that kind of stress in your life, do you? No.

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Focus On Your Breath

You’re always breathing. Anytime you notice the air going in and out, you’re more mindful.

Think about the atmosphere. You are at the bottom of a huge ocean of air.

You’re like a fish in water. Open yourself, and the water flows in. Then, let the water back out. Feel your shoulders rise with each expansion of your lungs. Feel your body sink and relax as you release the air back into its ocean.

Try to breathe way down deep in the belly. All of the “work” is in expanding, so that the air can rush in from that huge pool above you then relax, and let the air flow away.

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You Can Use This Body Awareness Meditation Literally Anywhere

As long as you can be still for a few seconds, you can scan your body.

Try this:

• Bring awareness to the sole of your left foot. Then move to your right foot.

• Notice your left shin, and move to your right shin. Can you feel it?

• Move to your left knee, then your right knee. Feel the fabric of your clothes against them, or the open-air against your skin if it’s bare.

• Move up your legs, then on to your hands.

• Bring awareness to your left hand, then your right, left forearm, and right forearm. Now notice your biceps and shoulder.

• Now move your awareness to your butt and slowly work your way up the back. Pay attention to the low back, kidney area, between the shoulder blades, and the neck.

• Move up your neck and the back of your head until you reach the top, Notice any sensations or feelings.

• Put a smile on your face.

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Meditate Like a Ninja — No One Needs to Know

You can meditate anywhere. Mindfulness only takes a few minutes, and it can fit into your busy life.

It’s true that this isn’t the traditional way of looking at it. You might expect to give up hours of your time, quit your job and go into a monastery, or go on week-long retreats.

But this is something you can do now. Maybe those other things will happen eventually on your spiritual journey, but you are here now. So here is the place to start.

Ask yourself, do I want to do this thing or just read about it?

Now do it!