Mind(fulness) Over Matter
Hey friends! I’m back at it! Hope you’ve started the year well and are back in the swing of things. The new year often brings about new resolve to accomplish things we have never done before. I mean, there are people to serve, careers to advance, families to attend to, entrepreneurial ventures to initiate, right??? This renewed commitment is often accompanied by a feverish, all-out effort to tackle many things all at once, usually at the expense of much-needed balance. This lack of balance quickly leads to burnout, frustration, and quite possibly, lack of goal achievement. Well, that’s no good…We’ve all experienced it, and I, for one, have looked for a way to achieve moments (heck, even micro-moments) of balance, because there is SO much to be done!!
We’ve probably all heard the saying “put on your own oxygen mask first, before attempting to help others.” Well, just like on an airplane, the same holds true in our personal, professional and entrepreneurial lives. Sow how do we do that? How do we prepare our mind, body and spirit to do the great works we desire and are destined to do? One of my favorite methods is meditation. I had the opportunity to speak on meditation at a fantastic women’s empowerment conference a while back and wanted to share with you some of the nuggets I covered at the conference. Shout out and many thanks to Morgan Owens and her amazing Professional Pretty brand and conference!!
As a primary care nurse practitioner, I often see patients that are working to manage high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, insomnia, high stress levels and other health concerns. How is this connected? Meditation is a mind-body practice long associated with increasing calmness and relaxation and enhancing overall health and well-being. Meditation accomplishes this via interactions among the brain, mind, body and behavior.
You may wonder if there are actually any proven benefits of meditation. Scientific studies have shown meditation to be effective in the following areas:
Pain management
Blood pressure reduction
Gastrointestinal disease management
Anxiety and depression
Smoking cessation, and many others
In addition, check out this image of brain activity before and after meditation. Y’all know I’m a science nerd, and thus, data is always compelling to me and a picture really is worth a thousand words! At any rate, this visually reinforces the science of the mind-body connection.
In nearly every case, meditation is safe for healthy individuals. However, there are possible limitations for individuals who have some physical limitations for meditation practices that may involve some physical movement. Also, although very rarely, meditation may increase anxiety or depression, so please speak with your health care provider prior to initiating a meditation practice if you are currently being treated for anxiety, depression, or any other behavioral condition. (It’s never a bad idea to consult your healthcare provider prior to beginning any new health-related practice 😊).
A couple watch outs regarding meditation… first and foremost, please please PLEASE do NOT replace or postpone any medical care or use meditation as a substitute for recommended medical treatment! Next, be sure to inquire about training and experience of any instructors you may use. Finally, I must reiterate that you should inform your health care provider about your intent to use meditation or any integrative or complementary therapies in your health care regimen, such that you may have effective care coordination.
Ok, now that we have that stuff out of the way, I’d like to give you some of the basics of meditation. There are many options available for meditation practice, all of which have these four basic elements in common:
A quiet location with few distractions.
A specific, comfortable position (sitting, lying down, walking, etc.)
Focused attention on one of the following:
A single word or set of words
A specific object
Your own breathing
And MOST IMPORTANTLY à AN OPEN ATTITUDE (don’t judge yourself for periodically getting distracted…it happens…just refocus and continue, you will improve with continued meditation practice)
If you have a second, just try this brief ONE MINUTE mediation session. For those who have never done this before, this minute will feel like a thousand years… but just give it a try!
Play a minute of ocean (or other calming) sounds and do the following:
Sit in a chair and put your feet flat on the floor
Place your arms in your lap and relax them, palms up or down, whatever makes you feel most comfortable
Close your eyes
Focus on your breath; be mindful of each inhale and exhale
Don’t worry if you get distracted
This is a no judgment zone – extend grace to yourself to recognize the distraction and just get back to focusing on the breath
Once the minute is up, open your eyes.
How did that feel? Of course the nerd NP in me wants to pop out of cyberspace and check everyone’s vitals….LOL! But seriously, I hope you see, however briefly, the benefits of meditation. I want you to know that I recognize that we are all busy and often don’t have time to dedicate to a lengthy meditation practice. Studies show that even a minute or two of meditation can be beneficial throughout the day. The key to long-term benefits is just to be consistent. A couple great apps I have used are Calm and Headspace. No monetary or any other benefit to me for you all checking them out. I just wanted to share what has been helpful to me. Yikes, this has been a long one, but I hope you’ve found it beneficial with some action steps you can take toward mindfulness via meditation. Looking forward to hearing how you’re doing in your meditation practice and how you’ve found it helpful!
Namaste,
Marcy
