Mindful Driving

Mindfulness is something we can practice at any point. In this session, we take mindfulness on the road as we journey into the present. Take a break from listening to the repetitive radio and try out some mindful driving.

Transcript

Hey,

It's Doug here.

So often we think that meditation is reserved for a specific place and a specific time,

Forgetting that we can actually access all the benefits of meditation and mindfulness at any point.

That's the beauty of it.

Our practice can be our practice,

But we can also bring our practice into application in everything that we do.

We can take a mundane event and turn it into something almost transcendental.

So as you put this meditation on,

We go for a drive and we bring mindfulness into this drive,

Into this act of driving,

Turning a simple journey somewhere into a journey within.

So join me as we make this drive far more mindful.

As a note though,

Of course,

At any moment during this meditation,

You must stay alert,

You must stay awake.

You must not take your hands off the wheel.

You must not take your eyes off the road.

This entire meditation can be done like this.

That's what it's designed to do,

To make you more aware and to make you more mindful.

So stay safe.

So it goes without saying that I don't need to ask you to sit down because hopefully that's what you're doing as opposed to lying down.

It also seems obvious,

But also necessary to point out that for this meditation,

We'll be keeping the eyes open.

We'll be staying alert and relaxed as always.

So with your posture sorted out and once again,

I can't stress enough,

The eyes staying open,

You start to bring some awareness into your breathing.

This is something we can always do wherever we are.

So as you embark on your journey,

On your drive,

Start just to ease in with your breath.

Breathing can often be an automatic response,

A autopilot that we go into and so can our breathing.

So breathe with me now as we bring some attention to it,

Inhaling deeply and exhaling deeply.

Getting the shoulders and body relaxed on the exhale and just noticing the beauty of the breath coming in on the inhale.

We can bring some more mindfulness to our breath as we count our inhales and count our exhales.

So if it feels good to you and available to you,

Wherever you are in your breath cycle now,

Exhale fully,

Empty out and begin to inhale for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and pause and exhale out for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and pause.

Inhale in for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and pause and exhale out for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and pause.

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and pause and exhale out for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and pause.

Carry on on your own now,

Just bringing that attention to your breath,

Counting but keeping it easy,

Keeping it relaxed.

The idea here is just to bring some mindfulness to your breathing while you drive,

Keeping you alert and keeping you relaxed.

See if you can notice the effects that breathing has on the body and on the mind.

Do you feel different?

How do you feel different?

Great job.

So now that we've practiced this concentration on your breath,

Let's bring this concentration to your other senses.

As you turn this maybe mundane drive into something a lot more exciting,

Exhilarating.

With your eyes first,

Just pay attention to what's around you.

Once again,

Quite often this can be automatic and in a sense we can go into autopilot but instead really look at things.

Pay attention to what's in your field of vision.

No need to look around and take your eyes off the road but just notice what's in front of you.

Notice the colours,

Notice the movement,

Notice the traffic,

Notice the views.

Instead of just letting those images fly by you,

Can you pay attention to them?

Can you become more mindful in your vision just as you became more mindful of your breathing?

Practicing this simple act of paying attention can reframe our experience and change how we feel about it.

Can we notice the colour of the road?

Can you notice the distinct colours of the cars?

Can you notice the colours of the sky?

The way the light refracts or reflects off things around you?

Good job.

Now can you just notice a few things that you can hear?

The sound of the wheels,

The sound of the air as it goes past,

The sound of the cars going past you or you past them.

Can you get curious about how these things sound?

Maybe for the first time today,

Maybe for the first time ever.

Are there any other sounds that you can hear?

Maybe a siren in the distance,

Maybe hooting,

Maybe the vibration of the car.

Now there's no need to judge whether these things are good or bad or what causes them but rather just pay attention to the act of hearing.

Realising what is in your field of awareness right now,

Adding another layer into this tapestry of awareness as you become more aware of the sounds around you.

As you dig one step deeper into your own present experience.

Great job.

Now let's go into how your body feels and things that you can feel while in that car.

Can you feel your feet on the pedals?

Can you bring some attention to how they feel?

Can you feel the gentle vibration that comes through those pedals and into your foot?

Maybe you bring awareness to how your body feels contained in that seat,

Embraced by your seatbelt,

Like a gentle hug from your car.

The feeling of your body weight pressing down into the seat and back into your seat.

Maybe you have the heated seats on as you bring some awareness to that heat transfer,

Bringing the seat into your back.

Again there's no right or wrongs here.

You're just bringing awareness into this experience of driving as you now pay attention to the awareness of our tactile sensations,

Those things that are palpable to us.

You may feel the feeling of the steering wheel in your hands.

What's your grip like?

Is it tense or is it just a firm grip of the wheel?

What are your shoulders like?

Are they up by your ears?

Are they relaxed?

What is the general temperature in the car?

Can you feel the air touching your face or any bare skin?

As you bring awareness once again to another step in to your present experience,

You start to see this rich tapestry of what your experience is.

Things you can see,

Things you can hear and things you can feel,

Allowing you to access the present moment even while you drive.

You're welcome to flip between these experiences,

Paying attention to whatever becomes most noticeable at any given moment,

Allowing you to be present even while you drive,

Allowing you to start to access the benefits of meditation while you drive on this journey.

Your journey to somewhere now becomes your journey into your own experience.

Mindfulness is not reserved for those on top of Tibetan hilltops,

But is accessible to all of us.

Enjoy the rest of your drive,

Stay present and stay safe.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you for your company during my drive — I will now have a sense of how to be more mindful whilst driving 🤩

I tried this at home, while I wasn’t driving, but it gave me some really interesting things to think about on my drive to work. Thanks for your unique ideas on the potential ways to meditate 🙏🏼

Passing this one along to loved ones, thank you. 🙌🏼✌️

I love this practice. Use it regularly during my commute too and from work. Keeps me relaxed but also very focused 🙏

A good reminder to always be aware of our surroundings when driving. Thank you.

First time doing a driving meditation, very enjoyable. Kept my mind off, the fact that I was going to work 😊. Thank you 🙏🏼

Well done, I commute a couple of days a week for about an hour one-way, and I have never given much credence to be mindful while I drive. Typically, I am listening to a podcast, but on today I carved out time to do this mindful, driving meditation, outstanding!

Very helpful for the commute. Grateful for this tool to stay in the present moment.

Wonderful. I love the idea of practice while getting somewhere bc I’ve got such a full plate. Your guidance is clear, grounding, and helpful. Thank you.

I really enjoyed my drive into work listening to this. Opened up my senses

I havent been driving much for a year since the pandemic. Everyday is a better day. Stay safe n stay focus. Cheers for a good future that is arriving.

What a wonderful way to start my morning. Really helping me feel more engaged with my coworkers today.

Very helpful

That was a helpful practice on my drive to work.

Awesome!

So lovely! I'll be using this one again and again!

Fantastic. Best drive ever

A talented teacher very calming thanks a lot

So thankful for this meditation. So few instructors do driving meditations. I find it life changing with a busy schedule like so many people do. We spend so much time in our car. What better way to benefit yourself

I listened to this on my way to a tennis match. Wow did it help me focus. I’m going to listen to this on my drive to every match now. I also shared it with my partner. I really liked it. Thank you!