There are as many ways to meditate as there are people in the world

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1 Meditate on this There are as many ways to meditate as there are people in the world by Galina Denzel Note - Meditate on this is an excerpt from our forthcoming book, Eat Well, Move Well, Live Well 52 Ways To Feel Better In A Week. You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day unless you re too busy. Then you should sit for an hour. Zen proverb Vipassana meditation is a silent practice during which you practice self-observation, become aware of how life is formed in the body, and free your mind of suffering, pain, anxiety, and turmoil. The traditional course is ten days. Of silence. As in you don t speak. It might go without saying, but staying silent is hard. Geneen Roth, well known for her work in emotional eating and well versed in meditation practices, tells a story of a Vipassana retreat she went to in Joshua Tree, California. Just a couple of days into the silent retreat, Geneen was calling a private helicopter company to come and rescue her from the torture she d signed up for. Many people think exercise is hard, but do you ever wonder why activities like Crossfit, marathons, and bootcamps are so popular while quiet meditation (much less ten days of silence) is still something most people dread, and view as an activity for monks and hippies? Which activity is harder again? Life today is a constant stream of stimulation quite the opposite of silence or stillness. Texts, s, notifications, sounds, lights, and activities pull us in numerous directions. We are constantly being entertained, involved, pulled toward something, or pushed away from something, asked to act now, click, purchase, return, evaluate, compete, and improve. Even the

2 self-improvement business, with courses, books, and retreats, constantly pushes us to be better, perform, outdo. Usually right now, and with plenty of reminders. Our already busy days are feeling shorter and shorter, and our mind s eye is focusing on the outside world rather than looking inward at our own needs for peace and, yes, silence. Add family responsibilities and dwindling personal time, and it s no wonder depression and anxiety, pain syndromes like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, are plaguing more and more of us. We simply never turn off. This world overwhelm is disrupting our physical, mental, and emotional health. In nervous system regulation, what goes up, must come down. I m sure you ve felt it you get excited, and then you calm down. You get upset, then you talk to a friend and come back to a state of relaxed readiness. If there are too many stimulating events and not enough time and opportunities to come back to relaxed readiness, stress, then tension, anxiety, and even pain may develop. I am not suggesting you shut off the outside world and become a recluse or a take a vow of silence like a monk. I am simply inviting you to explore this natural principle notice the stimulation (what goes up), but also remember you have the ability to take a break from stimulation (and let it come down). Starting a meditation practice is easy. As easy as brushing your teeth. First, think about how you d like to experiment with meditation. I like to walk or sit, but you can also choose to lie, stand, or even dance, draw, or doodle. Second, choose whether you d like to focus on something specific or if you d rather let your mind wander. There are many styles of meditation with different traditions and schools. Some will have you do gentle exercise in nature, such as Qigong. Others will guide you to focus your eyes on a fixed point in space. A third might have you sit and let your thoughts or eyes go where they want to

3 go, then observe how they shift to the next thought or object, like waves coming onto a shore, one after the other. Third, set apart five minutes of your day. In those five minutes, you can start in the position you chose above lie down comfortably, sit, stand. You can walk, dance, or doodle on a sheet of paper. Set a gentle-sounding timer, so that you have a distinct start and finish to your practice. Choose to focus your attention on something, such as your breathing, while you draw, sit, or walk. Just observe it and don t change it. Notice how the air feels through your nose, how your chest and belly fill up, and notice the movement of the spine and muscles with every breath. Pay attention to subtle shifts in your body. Do you notice when something is feeling just a bit more relaxed, comfortable, better? When your five minutes are up, slowly return to your day. If you choose NOT to focus your attention on anything, just lie, sit, walk, or dance with your thoughts, sensations, and feelings. As a thought or sensation or feeling comes, such as my heel itches, just observe it and then notice how the next thought comes. Or I feel fear. Notice as it comes, find the emotion in your body, then just acknowledge that specific emotion and sensation. Allow your attention to move to the next emotional, physical, or mental experience that it s attracted to. As you let that go, wait for what comes next and let that go off into the wind, like a cloud passing by. Your five minutes up yet? It will start to go faster than you expect. Congratulations, you meditated. Like brushing your teeth, having a practice of meditation is not about the length or intensity of the practice. It s about frequency. Do you have five minutes a day to check what s up on your social network, your , the toothbrush, the newspaper? How about for meditating?

4 Multiple studies show the benefits of meditation. A 2014 systematic review and meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at 47 trials with 3,515 participants and concluded that mindfulness meditation programs had a positive effect on anxiety, depression, pain, mental health, and related quality of life. Many studies show an improvement in blood pressure, markers of metabolic syndrome, and stress reduction! Others are looking into meditation as a way to avoid medication and the serious complications that may arise from them. Could meditation become the dental floss for your mind? Your tasks for this chapter: 1. Set aside five minutes of your day for your quiet practice. That s it. Choose the practice that best fits you. 2. If you feel like you want to jump further, you can find many guided meditation resources online. You can find links to them in the resources at eatwellmovewell.com/eatmovelive52. References: Goyal, M. et al. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis, JAMA Internal Medicine 2014; 174(3): doi: /jamainternmed Payne, P. et al. Somatic experiencing: using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy, Frontiers in Psychology 2015; 6: 93, doi: /fpsyg

5 Grossman, P. et al. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits. A meta-analysis., Journal of Psychosomatic Research 2004 Jul; 57(1):35-43 Chiesa, A. and Serretti, A. Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2009 May; 15(5): doi: /acm