James Jacobson had an epiphany years ago. He realized that the key of meditation is being totally in the moment, and that by this description, his dogs were meditating…a lot! He is the author of “How to Meditate with Your Dog”, a book that landed him on tv with Jay Leno and on CNN.
Try this method of meditating with your dog from James Jacobson, reported by Ceasar’s Way:
- Start by sitting or lying with your dog.
- Place one hand on the dog’s chest and another on his back near his hindquarters.
- Notice your dog’s breathing and mimic it.
- Breathe together for as little as a few minutes or as long as you’re both comfortable.
Within a few days, you’ll notice that your dog starts following your breath and you’ll be sharing moments when you’re connected by breath.
A difficult aspect of meditation is learning to quiet your mind and let go of distracting thoughts. And, in fact, including your dog in your meditation may well help you eliminate wandering thoughts. Meditating with your hand on your dog, focusing on his breathing, weight, the feel of his fur…may help ground you and keep you focused.
Check out James Jacobson being interviewed on CNN about dog meditation:
“Meditation is the single most important thing we can do for our health and happiness. There’s a ton of research that shows that, but most people don’t know how to begin a meditation practice. And the whole point of the book is to say that, if you have a dog, you have a natural meditation guru because they are good at this. They spend so much of their time in a place that I call ‘hound lounge’ where their eyes are half open, half closed. And so, dog lovers will do things for their dogs that they would never do for themselves, including meditate.”
