The Magic Called “Meditation”
Meditation. Have you heard of it?
Of course you have. So what is it, exactly?
My trusty ol’ Webster’s Dictionary app defines “meditate” like this: “To engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one’s breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.”
Mental exercise?!?
What the hell, Dana? Didn’t you tell us before that we don’t have to exercise?!?
Um…no. That’s not exactly what I said. (But maybe, like one of my children, you heard what you wanted to hear instead of what I actually said 😅😆)
I talk about focusing on MOVEMENT over EXERCISE. And I do that because “exercise” can seem daunting to some people, conjuring images of complicated machinery at a public gym or being stared at (and therefore, “laughed at”) while huffing and puffing through a grueling routine that leaves you barely able to move the next day.
No. We’re not doing that here.
I mean movement. Moving your body. Getting up off your butt and on to your feet and moving around as much as possible. Pacing through your home. Parking at the back of the lot and walking an extra 10 yards to the store. Standing up and walking around for a few minutes every 30-60 minutes when you’re at work. That’s what I’m talking about.
There are hundreds of ways that you can incorporate more movement in your day. For example, when I write these blogs my laptop is typically resting upon a countertop in my house, because sitting at a desk for longer than 20 minutes makes me fidgety and uncomfortable. I’ve conditioned myself this way for a reason…that reason being that I’d like to remain as healthy as possible for as long as possible. (Having ADHD doesn’t hurt, either.)
Sitting for long periods of time isn’t just bad for your physical health, but it turns out it’s bad for your mental health, too…
…but this tangent about movement can run headlong into another blog. (See what I did there?) Right now I’m gonna turn the ship back around and aim it back at meditation.
Okay. Meditation is basically mental exercise.
Why is this important?
Well, when we tune into our bodies and focus on our breathing, it regulates our central nervous system. And calming the body calms the mind. This is the mind/body connection that I’ve talked about many times.
If you spend most of your day being in a mental state of stress, then it’s pretty likely (like 99.9%) that your health is being affected by it…both physical and mental.
But let’s just stay with the mental side for a minute, because that’s what I came here to talk to you about today.
I’m transitioning my topics away from weight loss and on to wellness with the emphasis more on mental health. I’ve discovered through trial and error that it’s the key to…well, everything.
When you get your mind more in balance, weight loss is a joyful, welcome side effect. Here’s how I know this.
Meditation had been something I’d batted around for years but had abandoned because I ALWAYS fell asleep during it. This led me to proclaim it as being basically a nap and, therefore, not for me. (If I’m gonna take a nap, I don’t need to label it as something else to make myself feel more productive, even though that’s my nature.)
But after I began studying to be a wellness coach, the health benefits of meditation became more and more of a focal point because the evidence is clear: People with a daily meditation practice are just happier, more centered people.
That’s what I want to be…my family deserves that. Hell, I deserve it, too.
*Note: Falling asleep during meditation is actually a good sign that you’re beginning to move away from stress into a more relaxed state. (It may also be an indicator that you need to prioritize sleep.)*
So about a year ago I decided to really commit to daily mediation. I’ve gone through a number of different types, utilizing an app called Mindvalley as well as the Calm app that is more well-known (and the fee for Calm is covered by my Kaiser Permanente health insurance.)
The pattern I noticed is that when life got busier, my meditation practice was the first thing I’d drop.
What I also realized is that when I don’t meditate, I end up tumbling right back down into the depression rabbit hole that is so familiar to me.
I also ever-so-slowly begin abandoning the better eating, sleeping, and movement habits I’ve adopted over the years.
Fortunately, I’m now able to recognize the signs before it becomes a full-blown disaster. Enter a new meditation practice. I’ve been reading a lot of information that Dr. Joe Dispenza has offered, and it’s been astonishing at how much of a difference in my mental health it’s made. (Recommendation: his book Becoming Supernatural)
I’ve not made a miraculous 180 degree reversal of my most recent severe depression (triggered by my second round of Covid in mid-June), but I’m coming out of it.
This last bout of depression has been BAD. Like, abandoning social media, not leaving my house, worrying my husband and closest friends level bad. And through the work I’ve been doing to manage it, I’ve discovered a few things:
Menopause is really kicking my ass
Rushing into starting a new business when I was wildly unprepared to do so is too
We can thank my recently diagnosed ADHD for #2
If I don’t stop putting so much pressure on myself to do all of the things, I will continue to dissolve into a puddle of doing absolutely nothing while lying in the fetal position sobbing uncontrollably
So.
I’m writing blog posts when I can. I’d committed to weekly, but bi-weekly is good enough for now. I’m changing my business focus to what I’m actually inspired to do rather than what the industry has deemed “appropriate for success”.
And I’m meditating 2-3 times a day most days, because prioritizing my “mental exercise” is quite literally saving my life right now.
So I’m doing what I can…no more, no less. And my mission is to teach other people how to recognize their own limits and stop constantly pushing past them to live up to some imaginary measure of undefined greatness that does nothing but burn us out and make us feel soooooo much worse in the long run. (Holy run-on sentence, Batman)
You can email me at dana@revolution-within.com. Let me know what you’re going through and know that you’re far from being alone in the daily struggle to be “enough.”
And maybe rather than pushing yourself harder, you can consider redefining what “enough” is.
Meditate on that for a while and let me know what happens.
Love and hugs,
Dana