Meditation.. Each time I start teaching this topic, I have the usual reactions.
The “I hear you sister”: they are in the VIP group, they practice, they know.
The “Eyebrow raisers”: they are expecting the Guru stuff and hope it won’t last long.
The “Nervous”: they are dreading this moment because they “just can’t meditate, really can’t”
So let me explain why I meditate. No nirvana, no revelation, no encens. It’s much more simple, it’s scientific:
My most efficient antidote to anxiety
My friends would describe me as very open and cheering. Truth is I also tend to experience bits of anxiety and at the beginning of Covid, I felt they would rapidly take over if I didn’t find a way to help myself in regulating my emotions.
I used to meditate before- or at least I thought I was. I was sitting crossed legs at the end of my Yoga practice and day dream. Depending on my teachers’ tastes, we would add some pranayama – controlled breathing. I knew there was something good there, that helped me release tensions, but my practice was rather automatic than intentional.
During Covid, I read a lot about yoga and physiology and even passed a degree on this topic. This is when meditation appeared in a completely different light, that made sense to the Anatomic nerd in me:
Did you know that breath is linked to all aspects of ourselves and directly correlates to almost every function of the body?
It influences every movement of your diaphragm, connects to your nervous system, activates your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest mode) and positively impacts your cardiovascular health. No guru, no encens, no namaste. Pure and clear science!
When you breathe properly, your body shifts to “rest, digest and relax mode” and your mind becomes calm. This is how you can learn to rewire your brain by switching from anxiety to calm.
Easy? No. It takes time and practice, like any new discipline you want to learn.
Simple? Definitely.
Here is one of my favorite, because it is very simple and calms me down in a few minutes. If you are really stressed you obviously don’t need to close your eyes but just let your eyes drop somewhere in front of you. I like to practice it even when I am walking.
See you tomorrow !
Estelea's Blog 
How hard I try to meditate but my brain is like having a marathon of thoughts and I can’t calm down:(
Because you are normal 🙂 that’s what the mind does, jumping from thoughts to thoughts. So what you can do is accepting that this is totally normal and each time you re noticing it’s running again, tell yourself “it’s normal” and come back to your breath.
It’s a practice but after a while it will learn to stop the marathon – or at least a less speed one 😉
Another technique I love is to simply notice when your mind is taking control or when you are getting distracted. Just notice in your mind “this is a thought” without dwelling into it and come back to your breathing. Same when there is a noise outside, simply acknowledge “noise” and come back to your breath.
Time yourself for 2 mn at the beginning, it’s long enough, and see how it goes. The mind can not be quiet, you have to give it something to focus on, either the breath, or a word, or simply paying attention to all the sounds around you. When you are focused, you are calm 🙂
Tell me how it goes, be patient and kind to yourself and be proud when you pass the first minute. It’s a practice …
Breathing is the secret. 💫
indeed! we should teach it in every primary school 🙂
Good idea. 💡🤔✨