I want to help you lower your stress levels, stay in the present moment, and enjoy the life you work so hard to build.
I spoke at a conference this weekend and the number one thing people told me was, “I can’t meditate because my mind doesn’t stop thinking.”
I had to laugh because that’s what minds do. They think.
I can’t stop my mind when I meditate. That’s not the point.
WHY THIS WORKS
You meditate to slow down, pause, and come back to the moment.
It stops the stress levels from rising and gives your body a break. When that happens, you can tune into your body’s natural signals. Then your intuition and your awareness grow. You feel calmer. More grounded. Present in the moment. Suddenly you have more choices!
You don’t need an hour on a cushion, either. A new book, Micropractices, backs this up. Based on 10 years of research at Harvard and Berkeley, Eli Susman found that even 3 to 5 minutes a day, done consistently, lowers stress levels, improves awareness, and even helps ADHD.
Micro resets work, they’re easy, and that’s what I taught at the conference.
THREE THINGS TO TRY THIS WEEK
1. Let the Thoughts Come. Set a 3-minute timer and feel your breath move in and out. When a thought comes, silently say “thinking” and go back to your breath. Simply notice the in-breath, then the out-breath. That’s it. You don’t have to breathe any special way. Just however you normally do.
2. The Car Reset. Before you walk into the office or your house or any transitional moment, stay in the car for 3 minutes. Feet on the floor, hands in your lap, take a deep inhale and a longer exhale. Turn your head from side to side and notice what’s around you. Feel the air on your face. Unclench your jaw. Drop your shoulders. One more deep breath in. And a long, slow exhale out.
3. Attach It to Something You Already Do. Pick one thing that happens every day anyway, like your first cup of coffee or right before you open your email. Set your 3-minute timer at the same time. Doing it every day matters more than doing it for a long time.
THE TAKEAWAY
A busy mind doesn’t mean you can’t meditate. Noticing the busy mind is mindfulness, and it’s you meditating! A few minutes a day is enough to change your cortisol levels.
The answers are in the pause.
THIS WEEK’S RECESS
Three minutes a day for five days. Set a timer, sit, breathe, and simply notice when you wander off, then come back.