Courtesy of Jonathan from our California road trip
I am not good at sitting still.
I am constantly moving, thinking ahead and on-the-go. I finally realized I needed to learn how to stop, and appreciate the present moment.
Last year, I discovered mediation. Getting into the practice was a challenge, it took discipline like any other lifestyle style change, but I am now meditating for twenty minutes everyday, and my life has completely shifted.
Amidst the chaos of growing my business and planning a wedding, meditation has kept me grounded and calm.
The most interesting, and unintended benefit of meditation is that I have discovered that it is a fabulous weight loss tool!
Yes you can lose weight by sitting. Imagine that.
Here’s why it works: We are so completely petrified at facing our feelings that we drink over them, plan over them, control over them and EAT OVER THEM!
How many times have you avoided being stressed by reaching for a glass of wine, or avoided being tired by reaching for a cookie, or avoided being lonely by reaching for ice cream?
Like a million? Yeah, me too.
Meditating is all about quieting our chaotic minds and actually processing our discomfort, both physically and emotionally. I know, this doesn’t sound that great – just sitting there feeling your discomfort – BUT when you actually allow yourself to feel what’s going in your body and give some attention to your anxiety or sadness, it will actually move through you.
Because, the avoidance of the discomfort is actually worse than just diving head first into feeling it.
When you pay attention to the feelings, they will actually move through you and disappear! When you learn that your feelings aren’t so scary, and that you can actually do something to ease them, you no longer need to reach for food to sooth you.
To get started, I suggest doing a guided meditation, most of them are only ten minutes. One of my favorite guided mediations for this process if from Gabrielle Bernstein’s book, “Add More ING to Your Life.”
To do this at home, you can download the “Gabrielle Bernstein” podcast and listen to the “Feeling Meditation”. The Script is below for those who are technologically challenged:
Take a deep breath, in through your nose and out through your mouth
Allow your mind to soften, and reconnect with your body
Identify the area in your body that is holding onto pain
Take a deep breath into this pain
Release on the exhale
As your mind softens, allow your feelings to be your guide
Gently ask yourself where these feelings came from
Is there a time period associated with these feelings?
Is there a person or specific situation associated with these feelings?
Let your feelings guide your mind
As you deepen into the feeling with each breath, identify where your pain came from.
Open your heart and mind to welcome the feelings
Remind yourself that it is OK to feel
Breathe in and feel the feeling
Breathe out and release
Envision white air pouring into the feelings allowing the feeling to soften with each inhale and release with each exhale
Breathe in the feeling
Breathe out and release
Breathe in the feeling
Breathe out and release
I invite you to practice this meditation every morning for 30 days. It only takes as long as washing your hair.
And if you think you are too busy picking out invites and bridesmaid dresses, take a cue from Deepak Chopra who said, “If you think that you don’t have time to meditate for 30 minutes everyday, you should be meditating for 2 hours everyday.” Brilliant man.
Good luck! And expect wonderful changes to start happening.
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Meditation is certainly a practice that I have longed to master. Thanks for the reminder on all the good that comes along with this discipline. You’ve inspired me to keep at it:)
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