Zenpra

Meditation Spots to Enchance Your Practice

2016-03-13T00:00:00+00:00

Meditation Spots to Enchance Your Practice

Zenpra 13th March 2016 0 Comments

Why you want a meditation space of your ownWhere do you like to meditate? The beauty of mediation is that it can be practiced anywhere. Frequent meditators create a meditation space where they have a dedicated space for their practice. Your mediation spot doesn’t have to be fancy, it can be your couch, a corner in your room, or even on a park bench. Inviting and relaxing spaces help to stimulate our meditation experience, they can help us experiences depths that we haven’t realized before.

Having a designated meditation spot helps you build a habit and get into meditation faster. When you have a set time and place to meditate it makes it easier to stick to your practice. It’s a space that you can look forward to visiting that will help you relax and melt away all your stress.

It builds a space that is separate for your other daily tasks. It helps to separate and not think about the daily stressors of life that can be associated with certain objects in your life. It would be hard to meditate at my desk because all I would be thinking about is work. Just like how you shouldn’t do work in your bed because the bed is for relaxation and sleep. You don’t want to be thinking about chores or homework while you are meditating, so pick a spot that does not bring up stressful emotions. You can think of it as the Pavlov effect where your body has a physiological response based on a trigger such as a ringing bell or distinct smell. Your surroundings and familiar scents trigger your mind and body to relax. It’s this association that you can trick your body so you can fall into mediation faster.

What features make a good meditation spot?

This is a trick question because you don’t need a special place or cushion to meditate. Even though there is no perfect place to meditate there are features that make meditation more conducive. You want a quite space where you won’t be bothered by distractions. Try and limit your screen time and reduce the urge to look at your phone while you meditate. Cushions and a warm blanket are a great addition to your meditation space more comfortable. I find darkness very relaxing similar to a cozy cocoon. Some people even like meditation chairs that help to improve your posture and help you stay comfortable during long sessions.

Look at this recent innovation from headspace the meditation pod. It blends natural undertones with a modern flare. I really like the natural wood look and it is very flowing almost like water. It looks pretty neat and would be quite the experience meditating in one of those. It reminds me of a sense deprivation tank where your senses are blocked off and you have very little distraction from the outside world. I have never tired one but they people have said it is the most seral experience and you can even hear your own heartbeat. My meditation nook may not be as cool but it is inviting and relaxing for me. These creative spaces can help bring us new experiences and entice us to meditate but we should not be dependent on them.

My meditation spot

My girlfriend bought me cushions and a blanket for my new apartment to help me create my meditation nook. It is a simple setup where I have a cushion that I sit on and a cushion behind my back and I wrap myself in the blanket. It’s pretty small and simple but hey aren’t tiny houses in style. Meditating on my bed would just result me falling asleep so I wanted a space that I could dedicate just to meditation. There is also a special meaning that I get behind the spot because it was created by my girlfriend. I can feel her love and it brings me great peace to feel that I am in such a caring space. You want a meditation space to be inviting and warm space where you can relax and meditate. Meditation should be similar to your bed and getting a good’s night sleep, you want it to promote relaxation. You should look forward to meditating in your space because it is a sign of rest and rejuvenation for your body.

Nature, the original meditation spot

The earliest meditators practiced and meditated outside. You hear stories of the Buddha meditating under the bohdi tree or shiva meditating on top of the himalyas. Nature is a wonderful place to meditate and can help connect you to the earth. I find that water is really relaxing and soothing it is a great place to meditate by. When I used to work by the beach one of my favorite spots to meditate was on a bench overlooking the ocean. I loved to stare out into the ocean and try to even comprehend its vastness. If you get a chance I would advise to meditate outside. Not only will it connect you closer to nature but the fresh air and natural sunlight will do wonders for you. My first deep meditation session was laying on the grass in my front yard and staring deeply at the blue sky. I could have spent hours just laying on the grass but I was too afraid of bugs getting in my hair lol.

My unlikely favorite place I like to meditate

One of the best places to meditate was on a NJ transit bus to New York. Especially in the mornings where there is no noise. Trust me if you do talk on the bus at 630am with a bunch of half-asleep people they will let you know. Just make sure you are aware when your bus stop is if you are meditating (Thankfully this has never happened to me!) You don’t have to worry if you don’t like meditating in public because people will think that you are sleeping anyways. The transit bus is a good mediation spot because it is quite and you are forced to sit there for the duration of the trip.

Coming back was even better because it was dark and everyone is trying to wind down from a longs day of work. Surprisingly evening commuters also don’t like it when people talk either. So the bus is typically quite and with the added benefit of being dark, perfect for meditation. It might sound funny but I reached my deepest and most fulfilling meditation in the bus when I was a commuter. I could never recreate that experience I might attribute this to the fact that I practiced 10 days per week when I was commuting. ( 1 time commuting to NYC and 1 time commuting to NJ per day). Even when I do take the bus occasionally I could never experience a meditation session like that again. Not sure how it’s in different cites, let me know.

Where is your favorite place to meditate?

Share what your favorite meditation spot is. Remember there is not perfect spot for mediation, you can practice it almost anywhere. All you need is to just sit with your thoughts and you will be taken deeper into yourself. You might find certain places help you reach a meditative state faster. Be perceptive and take a note of those special places. Try to meditate in places that you might not think about like in nature or even on the bus!

Improve Your Life by Breathing

2016-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

Improve Your Life by Breathing

Zenpra 12th January 2016 0 Comments

Control Your Emotions Through Breathing

We take the act of breathing for granted. We do it every minute of our lives without giving it a single thought. Breathing gives us vital oxygen and removes unwanted waste form our bodies. Breathing is related to your emotional state, it can be a tool that you can use to help control your emotions and how you feel. I will be showing you how we can use different types of breathing practices to either relax or invigorate ourselves. It might seem counter intuitive that breathing can cause both effects but it is how you breathe that determines how your body responds.

We might feel that we don’t have control of a stressful situation and our body’s response. Additionally, we might not be able to fully control our external situation, but we can control our reaction towards it. Breathing can help you control your emotions and help you relax in stressful situations. On the flip side you can use breathing to reenergize and feel rejuvenated. Special breathing techniques are designed to wake you up and keep you fueled for your day just as coffee would. Breathing might not taste as good as coffee but it can be just as invigorating.

Breathing is both voluntary and involuntary. This means you can override your autonomic nervous system and control the depth and rate of how you breathe. Additionally, the connection between breathing and emotion is bidirectional meaning that your breathing can affect how you feel and your emotions can affect how you breathe. You are probably aware that your breathing pattern changes depending on your emotional state. For example, when you are very angry you might be prone to very rapid, short, and shallow breathes. While you are relaxed your breathing slows down and becomes calmer.

Many people are not fully aware that it can also work in opposite way, where breathing can affect how you feel. We will learn how we can use breathing to change how we feel and either energize or relax ourselves.

The Dance between relaxation and activity

There is a balance that allows us to handle the multitude of rolls we must play each day. One second we might be relaxing after a nice meal and the next we might need to muster up the energy to run a mile. How does our body transition from a resting and energy saving mode from an active and energy expenditure mode? How is our breath involved in this intimate dance within our body? This dance of rest and activity is performed in our body’s every day. One mechanism is by varying the sympathetic or parasympathetic state in the body. You can think of a sympathetic state as the flight or fight mechanism. Sympathetic nerves mobilize and accelerate body processes and slow down digestion. It is the flight or fight mechanism. It reduces the energy expenditure of non-vital processes such as digestion and focuses on giving your muscles all the energy they need in order to get out of danger. If your body is in a constant sympathetic state it will be hard for you to relax and digest properly resulting in wasting a lot of energy.

On the other had we have the parasympathetic nervous system which can be thought of as the rest and digestion state. The parasympathetic state promotes energy restoration and rebuilding your body. The resources of your body such as blood is directed towards digestion. Additionally, your heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure lower to a normal level. One of the main nerves in parasympathetic system is the vagus nerve. We will be talking later about how breathing can stimulate this nerve and promote relaxation.

Our bodies are never in a fully sympathetic or parasympathetic state. They are always both active but just at varying levels. There is an interplay where one state dominates over the other. One is not better than the other they both serve their unique function in the body.

Invigorate Yourself by This Breathing Technique

Feeling tired and sluggish during the mornings is the worst. Usually people grab a cup of coffee to give them that morning jolt to propel them through the day. You don’t have to depend on just coffee to wake you up, there are other methods. Pranayama is an ancient practice where you use breathing techniques to strengthen the body and relax. It is used to oxygenate your body and improve respiratory function. Rapid breathing is often used in pranayama to stimulate the body. A specific technique in pranayama is called Kapalbathi or fire breath.

Kaplalbathi is a simple practice where you rapidly exhale through your nose using your diaphragm. On your exhale you will consciously contract your diaphragm. When your inhale should not be forced and your lungs should naturally recoil back to draw air in. You do not want to forcefully inhale and take a deep breath in. Instead you want to rapidly exhale. This is also known as hyperventilation where you rapidly remove waste such as CO2 from the body. This means that you are providing more oxygen thought your body to energize itself. It also helps to release epinephrine. This type of rapid breathing helps to circulate the lymphatic system by having your diaphragm act as a pump. Proper lymphatic flow is important to get rid of toxins from the body. No wonder why they call it fire breath, breathing is so powerful that people use it to regulate and change their core body temperature. Here is a guy(super human) who is able to withstand freezing cold conditions just by controlling his breath.

Gain Access to Your Relaxation Button.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had a button that if pressed we can feel instantly relaxed and rejuvenated. You can use breathing to trigger your body into relaxation. Breathing can help stimulate the parasympathetic system in your body helping you to relax. If your practice this enough you can train yourself to relax faster. This is perfect if you are, competitive athlete, have a demanding job, or if you just have a busy schedule.

To perform the practice sit down and take naturally deep and slow breaths. After you have taken a few breathes start to hum on each exhale. You want to vibrate your throughout this can be done by humming saying OM. You should make the sound as long as you exhale. After a few times you would be able to prolong your humming just like an opera singer.

When you make a humming sound you partially close your laryngeal (throat) muscles so that you are restricting air flow. Why do this, what did the ancient practitioners realize? It is theorized that by making this sound while you breathe the restricted air flow causes vibrations in your throat muscles that stimulate the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is one of the largest nerves that helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, if you remember this is the system that helps you relax and recharge. The vagus nerve innervates multiple parts within our body such as our heart, liver, stomach, intestine, and kidneys. Stimulation of the vagus nerve has different physiological effects on these various body parts. It helps to regulate digestion heart rate and breathing rate it also helps stabilize your blood pressure and heart rate. It promotes relaxation and you will feel calm and alert.

The next time you are feeling tired and need a jolt of energy, try rapid breathing. It will energize you and get you ready for the day. If you would like to learn more about pranayama let me know. I would love to talk about it with you and I can write more articles.

Learn These Meditations to Spark Innovation

2015-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

Learn These Meditations to Spark Innovation

Zenpra 16th September 2015 0 Comments

We are living in a knowledge based economy where we depend on creating innovative solutions. How can we improve our ability to innovate and be creative? Meditation can help you spark your creativity and help solve a problem that has been eating away at you brain for days. I will also show you techniques on how to get out of a creative rut so you can keep your innovative ideas flowing. Creativity shouldn’t be looked as a chore we should be happy that we can innovate and bring about our thoughts and ideas into reality. Just look at how much joy an artist or musician has when a spark of inspiration moves them to produce creative art pieces. Whether you are an entrepreneur, artist, teacher, or student meditation can help you become more creative.

The light house and laser method

I learned this method in my freshman year of college and it helped me all throughout my life. This method is a mental framework that you apply if you are trying to solve a problem for work, studying, or just trying to come up with new ideas. Say you need to solve a problem at work first you want your thoughts and mind to scan broadly across many desperate areas. Just how the light house beam is wide and rotating to cover a large area of sea you want your mind to roam free. By letting your mind roam free you can find desperate connections that might be outside your field of reference. This helps you build connections that most people might not think of connecting together. Many innovations start by getting inspiration from solutions in different industries. For example Google’s Nest, who would thought to combine a lack luster thermostat with innovative software to help save you energy and control your house. This practice has a more formal name in industry called cross pollination where you take ideas from very desperate industries and use it to help solve your problem.

To perform the light house technique close your eyes and visualize a large beam of light is projecting from your head. For about two minutes visualize that you can rotate this light side to side and up and down. Let any thoughts arise in you and don’t force it out no matter how crazy It is. Your thoughts will start to flow and it will be like a stream of ideas. Give yourself the freedom to stretch your mind and imagination. It might take a couple of sessions but you will start to gain the ability to truly think “outside the box”. Let your mind wander and keep on observing. Keep physical or mental note of anything that pops into your mind. Try not to think of the problem at hand so you do not bias your thoughts. Don’t filter out any idea you may never know a crazy and stupid thing might lead to a breakthrough. After you feel like you got 10 different areas of interests now its time for the laser method. With the laser method you now look at each area of interest you came up with and focus on that topic. Dig deep and do as much research you can do on this topic. This can be done easily now with the volumes of information in the internet. The point of the laser method is to solely focus on on that topic and understand it more than just on a surface level. See if you can find any features of similarities that might be a solution to your problem. Dive deep into the subject matter uncovering all about it. You will be amazed to see how much a little topic of can have. Additionally laser focusing prevents us from multitasking and becoming distracted. If you add up all the time that you wasted working on a task that would take you 1 hour to do you might see that you wasted 30 minutes on distressing things like Facebook or Instagram By laser focusing you keep your train of thought so that you are able to think more deeply than you normally would. Thinking deeply is key to gain profound insights in you work. We usually just skim the top of a subject assuming that we truly know it. While in reality there is so much knowledge and insight if you go deeper.

Keep on iterating this process by alternating the light house and laser method. You will begin to stockpile a list of potential areas of interests that you an focus on to get new solutions.

Get out of a creative rut

Writers block, creative cramps, missing muse, whatever you call it, lack of creativity can make you feel empty and frustrated. How can we get ourselves out of a creative rut and start the ideas flowing again? One way is to take a step back from our normal habits and associations, step out of your boundary into areas you do frequent often or are not familiar with. When we are in a creative rut we feel that our ideas are not flowing and we cant for the life of us come up with anything creative. This stagnation makes us feel that we lost our ability to create and we might give up. If you are wrangling with a problem the best thing to do is step away from it. Take your time to do something relaxing such as meditating exercising, or taking a shower. Our minds need rest to recharge and take a fresh look at the problem. Let your mind relax and imagine that you are recharging your brain. Your subconscious mind will have time to process the information that you have been thinking about. The best part is that the more you practice relaxing the less time you will need to recharge your mind. You will start to understand your body better and build techniques that will have you relaxed and ready for your next challenge. Research has shown that our subconscious brain actually processes information without you being conscious. You might have experienced this while you were in the shower taking a relaxing warm shower and boom the solution to your problem you have been having at work just pops into your mind. It is actually your brain is processing and working to come up with solutions without your conscious awareness. Brain Sciences, associate professor of psychology at San Francisco State University Ezequiel Morsella coined the theory “Passive Frame Theory“. This is where your mind passively is processing information and coming up with new solutions with out you being in that frame of reference. It might be just the reason why you get you brilliant idea when you are in the shower.

Build New Associations Mindfully

New associations can help spark our innovation and make a connection that we were not aware of. We typical dwell in our normal sphere same, location, friends, interests food. We rarely venture out to try new things and step out of our comfort zone. Be observant of new processes come into it with a fresh mind without any judgment. If we come into a situation thinking we know it then we will never learn anything new. We can utilize our mindful training to observe and find new patterns or insights. For example, when I tried to learn guitar I learned a lot about chords and the mathematics behind pleasant sounding frequency combinations. I find it really fascinating how the combination and destruction of sound waves create new sounds. I still cant play guitar (lol) but I have a new appreciation of music and how it relates to science.

Wrestle with a problem in your mind

Whenever we are stuck on a problem we are inclined to throw as much time and effort into solving it. If that is not working for you try to take a more relaxed and meditative approach. Find a comfortable place to sit and start to slowly breathe. Relax yourself for 3 minutes. After you feel relaxed visualize the problem in your head. Let your mind wander and just observe where it takes you. Try not to consciously dictate where it goes. Imagine if your thoughts are just like a river constantly flowing and changing just let all your thoughts out without judgement

Using your mind’s eye

Many great innovators have hinted to using their minds eye to gain new insights and strengthen their mind. I read a great biography on the top physics innovators. One of the things that stood out to me was how Rutherford, the founder of the nucleus, would use his mind’s eye to visualize himself as an electron. These thought experiments of imagining yourself as an electron and feeling how the different forces effect you is a profound way to gain new insights. Einstein is an other famous physicist for performing thought experiments. They are pushing their imagination and critical thinking skills to the limit. Your minds eyes helps you to visualize problems and go through potential solutions mentally. It promotes deep thinking Just like meditation if you practice these techniques you will being to become better at it. Remember meditation has taught us even as adults we are able to change some of our neurological pathways strengthening positive connections and diminishing negative ones.

Creativity is the expression of our soul. As humans we are fortunate to be able to create and bring new innovations art and ideas into the world. No matter what you create be it a new mathematical theorem, panting, song, or the next iphone a part of yourself is being infused in these creations. Meditation can help exercise our ability to create and tap into our inner urge of expressing ourselves.

How to Sink Into Yourself

2015-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

How to Sink Into Yourself

Zenpra 30th June 2015 0 Comments

Sinking In Deep Within Yourself

I often stay in my head when I am at work, I almost forget that I am attached to my body. When our heads are always in the clouds we are not rooted into ourselves and one small incident can push us into disharmony. For example if someone driving cuts you off it can ruin your whole day because your mind is swayed in anger. By centering and sinking within yourself you can regain your sense of calmness and clarity.

Sinking deep within ourselves means that we are going deeper into our emotions and we get a better sense of who we really are. I will show you how you can get your head out of the clouds and start sinking into yourself so you can relax and be more level headed.

Simple Meditation to Center Yourself

I love who ever created to word rooted. It is such a perfect word for what it represents. I just imagine strong roots burrowing deep into the soil. Sinking deep into yourself means to dive into the core of who you really are as a person. Just like the roots, it helps us to anchor ourselves so we have a sturdy foundation to handle whatever life throws at us. However, it can be hard to go into the depths of our own being, we are sometimes afraid to face our true selves. We need the time and permission to actually be with ourselves as we truly are and not as we think or wish we are. Here is an easy meditation to find your core and better center yourself.

Sit comfortably and place your hands on your stomach
Witness your breath and feel your belly rise each time you inhale.
After a few breath cycles you will become more relaxed. Let your mind and body drop towards your core where your hands are placed. (you should feel a sinking feeling)
Bring your attention to your navel region. Imagine your mind and consciousness operating out of your core and not your head.
Feel the energy build up within your core. Let that energy permeate though your whole body allowing you to relax.

During this meditation it is a great time to contemplate about yourself, your values, and what you want to achieve in this life. It is hard to come to grips about what we have done in the past and how it has compromised our values. We also might feel lost and not really know who we really are. These are all initial hardships that we will face when we stare ourselves directly into the depths of our soul. After just being with yourself you will come out as a more whole and centered person.

Stay Rooted Wherever You Are

In sports and martial arts it is important to have a strong core and center. Your core helps you to stay balanced while also generating power. I noticed that when I focused on improving my core and getting it stronger I was able to lift more and become overall more athletic. Something else changed to and it was more surprising than just getting stronger. My mood and confidence increased substantially. I felt more centered and whole with myself like I was more in control of my life. I believe it is because I have a stronger connection between my lower and upper body. I feel more structurally stable and that surprisingly made me feel more confident and sure of myself. Our core is the foundation of our body if we have a weak core it can cause us to become off balanced physically and mentally.

There is some science behind it too. This video demonstrates that people’s posture actually affects their mood and personality. By improving your center and sinking deep within your core you can change your physical appearance ( hoping for 6 pack abs!) and outlook on life.

Think More Clearly

I hate it when I make rash decisions and end up having to face the consequences. When you practice sinking deep within yourself you have a better understanding of what you want in life and your values. We all admire people who know what they want in life. What makes them seem like they found the answer to life and we are still searching to know what our favorite cereal is? I can say that I do not fully know what I want in life but I am slowly getting there. The only way we can really know is by asking ourselves and feeling with our whole body what the answer is. When we make decisions we sometimes act mechanical and not even think about the underlying implications and impact they might have. Being rooted helps you to make level headed decisions.

I have noticed that centering helps during negotiations. Negotations is all about getting what you want. How can we negotiate if we don’t truly know what we want from ourselves or in business? When you are trying negotiate during a sale your emotions can get involved and that can leave you losing a lot of money. However, if you have hard lines that you won’t cross then you won’t make (that many) regretful decisions. By knowing fully what you want from the deal and what things you will not compromise with you will be feeling very satisfied after the sale.

Calm Down Relax Into Yourself

Contemplating and finding yourself is important but can be very stressful. You can also use sinking into yourself as a way of relaxing from a busy mind racing day. This works well when you are about to fall asleep. This meditation helps you get ready to be all cozy and relaxed for bed.

Lay on your bed with your hands on your stomach.
Feel as though you are softly relaxing and sinking into your bed.
Imagine all the stress and negative slowly drift away.
Relax and feel as your bed as a safe and welcoming space where you can fall into yourself.

I imagine a very comfortable and homey place where I feel safe and where I can let go of any of my problems. It is great to get you into a more parasympathetic state before you go to sleep so you don’t let the stress of your day hamper with your sleep.

So take the plunge into the depths of your own being. Don’t be afraid of what you will find just go into it non-judgmentally. Just observe yourself the way you are, you might learning something amazing about yourself.

What happens when you fall out of your meditation practice?

2015-04-30T00:00:00+00:00

What happens when you fall out of your meditation practice?

Zenpra 30th April 2015 0 Comments

Getting Back On Track With Meditation

Life sometimes gets in our way. We might fall off our meditation practice and that is ok. At least we are aware that we are not meditating and we have to get back into our practice. I will tell you my experience of falling out of my mediation practice and trying to get back into it.

I have not been meditating as much in the past few weeks. It would be spotty, one day I would meditate for 10 minutes and then I would not meditate for the next 3 days. My long commute and work left me too tired to meditate or relax. It became a viscous cycle because when I feel tired I do not want to meditate and then by not meditating I will get even more tired.

I could definitely see a difference in my life without meditation. I started to feel tired and have some brain fog. I did not feel lively with vibrant energy like I used to. That kind of discomfort was one thing that made me make sure I was going to stick to my practice.

What I realized is that you need to allow your self to take breaks from your routine and step back from the situation. Taking a break allows you to step back from your meditation practice and see the impact of meditation on your life. Sometimes it is even good to get out of the routine and see how meditation is affecting us. With all the benefits of meditation how can we get back on track?You might get in a rut and not meditate for days like I did. Dig deep into yourself to find energy to push you forward, your body and mind will thank you.

Become More Accountable

You are meditating for yourself and you decide if you want to give yourself some time off. Meditation is about personal growth and observing yourself. In essence there really is nothing stopping you from meditating everyday. However, it does take will power and dedication to practice it. I felt that it would be easy to not meditate thinking “o I will just do it tomorrow”. But when tomorrow comes I would get preoccupied by something else. In order to improve ourselves we need to stay accountable and honest about what we think is best for us. From my experience I truly believe that mediation has been beneficial in my life. However, sometimes laziness creeps up and I fall off my practice.

No one is going to tell you to meditate, your boss, teacher parents cant force you to. It is up to you to stay accountable and practice it. A great way to stay accountable is to bring some structure into your meditation practice.

Just like how you schedule meetings at work, you can set up a reoccurring reminders on your phone to meditate for 10 minutes. These reminders will give you more structure with a specific time limit. I felt it was easier to set a timer for 10 minutes because it gave me a pre defined time that I could set aside. Without this structured schedule it can be easy to skip your practice and wait for an other day. Just the psychological fact that it is only 10 minutes makes it easier to start. Setting a timer also forces you to sit for that time until the buzzer rings. In the back of my mind I know that it is only 10 minutes of your day and I should be able to spare that amount. It sometimes takes a little structure to get back into meditation and realize how good it makes you feel.

A great accountability trick I learned at work where daily task cards. Remember the compound method it is similar to that (I should start that back up again and see how I do). For the Daily task cards. You have a card with 5 tasks written on it that you should do everyday. At the end of the day you check off if that task was completed. If you completed all the tasks you would get a green card. At the end o the week you would see how many green cards you would get. This helps you to stay accountable and see if there is any trends if you were not completing you task.

Trying to rebuild my meditation habit. Habits can be good or they can be detrimental, I did develop a good habit to meditate daily. However, over the past month my meditation practice slowly degraded. By missing multiple sessions it makes it easier to miss the next session. Then you make it a habit to not meditate and it becomes a chore. You lose that momentum and it takes some effort to get back into your meditation habit. I forgot how the sense of relief and relaxation I felt after meditating. As humans we favor having predictable habits it makes it easier on us and it requires less mental capacity.

Reinforce With The Benefits Of Mediation

Sometimes we need to go back and review the benefits of meditation to help motivate us to re start our practice. I feel it is the same with eating healthy, we all know it is good for us but it takes dedication to actually stick to a healthy diet. What I did to help me get back on track was to read some recent articles on the benefits of meditation. When I did read that article it just reminded me of all the advantages meditation provides. I was doing myself a disservice for not practicing it. By reviewing the benefits you will get re-energized and motivated to practice. Meditation offers so much benefits I don’t know why I would stop! Just think back to why you started meditating in the first place, it could have been the health benefits, relaxation, distress, clarity or insight. It seems like everyday there are new scientific studies proving the benefits of meditation. There is no real way of cheating the system and bypassing to get to the benefits without practicing meditation. It seems so simple yet it can be hard with all the other things in your life to spend some time for your own health. By reading the benefits meditation has to offer you can get inspired to practice it and how vital it is to your mental and physical health.

Meditation Buddy

Get a buddy to meditate with. You do not have to meditate physically together. You can check up on each other to see if they meditated or not and you can also motivate and encourage each other. It is also a great way to learn and explore with each other.A great way to keep yourself accountable is tell someone that you are meditating. It is human nature that we do not want to look bad in front of our peers.

Some people like to talk and hash out their feeling to others. A quick text or status update can also help. You can also use online community groups such as Coach me.

Change Your Meditation Style

If we get in a routine we might get bored of our current meditation style. For me I would just meditate the same way by sitting down. I kind of got bored of it and was too tired and unmotivated to practice. Now that it has become nicer out I incorporated more active moving mediation such as qi gong. If you find yourself bored of your meditation style try to change it up. This allows you a great time to explore other types of meditations and ultimately yourself. Give yourself the freedom to experiment and try new things that you would not do in your normal meditation practice.

It’s Ok To Go Off Track

If you are having trouble keeping a meditation habit then I would be happy to help. Let me know If you are starting to fall off track, sometimes it takes a gentle nudge to get you back you can always email me at raj@zenpra.com. What I learned is that we should not feel bad about missing a daily meditation session. It is natural to fall off sometimes and we just need to have the awareness when we do. It actuality helped me realize how much meditation effects my life when I don’t do it. This reinforces how important it is too keep up with my meditation practice. I think of it as in cycles, sometimes we have good periods where we stick with it and sometimes we just need to give ourselves some change and step back from our practice to see what we are actually doing and where we want to go in our lives.

Is Your Brain Trying to Hold You Back?

2015-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

Is Your Brain Trying to Hold You Back?

Zenpra 11th March 2015 0 Comments

Learn to Push Through Limits and Develop Grit

How do athletes cultivate the mental toughness to achieve greatness? How are they able to dig deep inside themselves and find the energy when most people would just give up? Research has shown that this mental toughness can be learned through practices such as meditation and neruofeedback.

More people are becoming interested in how we can tap into the power of our brain to improve performance. It can not only help in sports but also at work or in school. Meditation and contemplation can give you the tools to understand your metal frameworks and how they limit your actions and thoughts. Once you learn they exist you can manage your way around them so you are in control.

I will also be showing you how to develop grit and remove negative limitations. When you are feeling down and winded learn how to reach into your untapped potential. We might feel depleted of energy but there are times when we can dial in to push through to achieve our goals.

Meditation to overcome your limits

I regularly go to the gym and lift weights ( I should say try lol). I use weightlifting as a workout not just for my muscles but also for my mind. When I feel that I do not have enough energy to perform that extra rep I try to vision energy deep within me to give me the power to push through. Overtime it becomes a lot easier to get access to this mental thought process . It may be all in my head but it does produce a noticeable physical response.

Here is a simple meditation that you can use to help dig deep within you to gain more energy and overcome mental roadblocks.

Close your eyes and witness your breath.
When you inhale imagine the air being a bright energetic light
When the air reaches your lungs imagine the bright light build up in your naval.
When you exhale imagine the light traveling through your whole body and invigorating you.
Now speed up your breathing cycle and imagine yourself charging up.
Get back to your work with a new found sense of energy You will feel invigorated and energized to tackle your problems.

This visualization technique can help you muster up the remaining energy that you have. Also by increasing your breathing rate you will stimulate your body. You will be amazed that you are able to achieve something that a few minutes ago thought was impossible.

Digging deeper into ourselves

While I was writing this post I happened to came across this video below that shows some of the research being done on human potential and surpassing limits. There is growing interest and research in the field of human performance and cognitive improvement. I was really surprised to hear Red bull is researching human performance they even have a “Human Performance Lab”!

Companies such as GE and Red Bull are researching the mind’s capabilities and how technology can enhance it. They explore the physiological changes after people go through grueling experiences. They want to explore how does the mind and body adapt to these demanding situations where we past our “limits”. They want to use these findings to come up with methods that can enhance your performance scientifically.

GE is developing state of the art brain sensors to allow for better understanding of cognitive processes. It also opens up the ability to control technology such as robotic arms and computers. There is even a guy controlling a drone with his mind in the video!

Better brain sensors now allow us to understand our brain state in real time. Biofeedback has actually been shown to improve performance and companies such as Red Bull are using it to test human limitations. Biofeedback allows you link your brain state and how you can actively control it. So you will be able to learn over time how to reach an optimal brain state without the need of a senor. It helps you improve your mental capacity and ability to handle stressful situations by consciously controlling your mind to reach a certain state.

We all heard of heroic stories where a mom lifts up a car to save her child. What are the physiological changes that are occurring that give her that strength? What if we can learn how to consciously harness just 1/10

th of this power?

Enhancing our lives not just healing our lives

Most of the time we are just trying to fix a current problem we have . However, meditation can also help enhance our lives. We can be able to perform at our peak performance to bring more into our lives.

Meditation can be viewed as us not doing anything. In a society where we frown upon idle time it is important to realize that by taking a break and making time for your self is actually more beneficial. A key thing is to actually be aware that your limits. You should reflect on why you feel this way and what is actually stopping you from achieving what you have to do or your goals. We sometimes do not want to be mindful of our inadequacies and our limitations. However, we should not view are failure as a negative instead as a gateway to learn what we can do to improve ourselves.

Developing Mental Grit

Mental grit is your ability to not give up when the cards are not in your favor. When we are faced with challenges in life it is easy to just give up. How do we learn how to handle these challenges and overcome them? If you ever watched Marshawn Lynch(Seahawks running back BEAST MODE) or any running back you can see they have grit. They keep on running no matter how many people are trying to tackle them down. It is that focus and determination which we can learn how to cultivate in our own lives so we can never give up and keep pushing through with whatever life throws at us.

If there is an obstacle in our life that we know we have to face then use that as a starting point for meditation. First just be present with what you are facing such as I need to finish this report by tonight. When you are at the point where you have no energy and just feel like giving up then there is your opportunity to witness that and then dive deep within yourself and try to muster up enough energy to push through 10 more minutes. By you recognizing that point as your limit is your first step to overcome it. Overtime you will be able to increase your capacity to handle tough situations. It is this incremental process that will increase your girt and ability to handle demanding situations.

Also, always remember to relax and wind down. It is not always good to be going non stop with no break. Learn to relax more efficiently. I will discuss how to take more effective breaks in a future posting.

Removing Mental Limitations

At my job I have to make a lot of cold calls. At first I had a lot of mental limits that I set for myself. I was afraid what people would say or if I would say something stupid. However, one day I just decided you know what it is actually my mind that is creating this problem. I imagined almost a cage that was surrounding my brain. I then wrote down what I really felt and what I thought was limiting me. As I got the words on the paper I pictured dismantling the cage. Now if I have any negative thoughts when cold calling I would catch myself and say that this is my mind limiting itself, I just need to just act. I would invite you to try writing down what you think is limiting you and see for yourself how you can change your mindset.

The Bigger Picture of Using Meditation for Self Improvement

Life has become very challenging from school, work, and even what food to eat. How do we get that edge, what can we do be more in control of our situation? Just like how we learn a new skill or language to enhance our career we can use meditation as a method to give us more energy and grit. It also gives us time to relax and decompress so we are recharged for the next challenge. I find the key to self improvement is to accept the way you are now and any improvement is just exploring more of yourself. A very important insight is that we learn not to fight against a situation but flow with it and see the opportunity in a perceived challenge. I find that we can always improve ourselves but we shouldn’t feel that we are inadequate with how we currently are. If we accept who we presently are we don’t look at self improvement as a need to overcome our inadequacies but instead as a game to see what we can achieve and how we can improve.

What challenging situations have you overcome?

Tell us your story of any challenges you overcame and how it changed your view of the world. Also, what do you think is possible in the future when we combine tech and the power of the mind?

Beat the Freezing Cold With Meditation!

2015-02-17T00:00:00+00:00

Beat the Freezing Cold With Meditation!

Zenpra 17th February 2015 2 Comments

Beat the cold with meditation

With record breaking snowfall this year I am trying every way to stay warm. The brutal cold reminded me of a video I saw of monks being able to heat their bodies and actually cause a cold wet blanket to steam. I have not been able to use meditation to handle this unprecedented cold so I decided to explore how other people have managed to do so. The research shows that monks practicing Tummo meditation can actually increase their core body temperature and their peripheral skin temperature. I also came across a guy name Wim Hof who is able to plunge into freezing cold water and holds 20 Guinness World Records for being able to put himself through brutally cold situations. He does this by using a specific breathing and meditation technique that he has developed while facing the extreme cold. It is crazy to see what these guys can do and how they push past limitations. I will also share with you my experience using mediation to handle the cold.

Tummo meditation

Tummo meditation is also known as inner heat meditation. It is practiced by monks who live in the frigid Himalayas. Their goal is to be able to control their bodily processes through meditation. They demonstrate this by being able to withstand freezing conditions. There extraordinary feats have peaked the interest of scientist wanting to know how do they raise their body temperature. It has been scientifically proven that they can consciously increase their core body temperature up by 1.3 degrees Celsius. The scientists have found that they are able to achieve this feat by mental concentration and somatic muscle control. The monks practice for decades different breathing , visualizations, and meditation techniques. One type of breathing technique that helps them withstand the cold is called Vase breathing. It involves breathing into the abdomen and then not releasing all of the air from the belly before taking another breath. After taking in a deep breath the monks hold the breath in and contract both abdominal and pelvic muscles. This isometric contraction of the abdominal region makes the stomach look round resembling the base of a vase. Just imagine when you expand your belly when you inhale and that is what vase breathing looks like.

The second part of Tummo mediation is visualization and concentration. A certain type of visualization involves focusing on a mental image of flames along the spinal cord. They concentrate on imagining the inner heat that their body is creating. The effects of visualization can be detected using EEG. The EEG data showed that during visualization there is a dominance of Alpha wave production.The scientists have hypothesized that this increase in alpha production inhibits their ability to perceive cold. I myself could not think of warm thoughts and still stand the 9 degree weather outside.

They are not doing this just to show off, instead they are doing this to reach a deeper state of meditation. They are improving their ability to inwardly concentrate and focus.

You can read the published study here. There is also an older study done by Dr.Benson from the Harvard gazette .

Wim Hof aka The Iceman

Wim Hof is a bad ass who jumps into freezing cold lakes and runs marathons in the winter with barely an anything on. Just looking at what this guy can do makes me feel cold. He holds 20 Guinness World Records for putting himself through brutal weather conditions. Here he is swimming in an ice cold lake! It is crazy what this guy can do in the cold, I was intrigued on how he accomplishes this. He claims that anyone can do it. Tests have been done on him showing he has an increased immunity and he is able to raise his core body temperature.

The Wim Hof method consist of a breathing technique to help combat the cold. This is similar to the Pranayama practice kapalbhati. kapalbhati is also rightfully known as fire breath. Maybe this can help me beat the cold.

Power breathes- Forcefully exhale using your diaphragm. Inhale naturally. You want to exhale longer than you inhale. Repeat this breathing cycle for 30 cycles. He says it is similar to blowing up a balloon.
Breathe in and out fully. The next step is to breathe out fully and slowly. Once you finished exhaling point your chin downward and hold it there to prevent you from inhaling. After 15 seconds remove the hold and inhale deeply. Once you cannot inhale anymore hold the air in your lungs for 15 seconds. After the time is up exhale normally. Continue this cycle only one or two times when you are first starting off.
Finish with a body scan– After you are done with your breathing exercise perform a 5 minute body scan. Try to witness how your body feels and the heat that has been generated.

He claims that anyone can do what he does by learning this specific breathing method. ( I don’t know anyone who would be willing to actually subject themselves to this much cold!) He says that let cold be your teacher and your body will adapt and learn how to cope with it. There is a fascinating book about Justin, a normal college kid, who was able to learn the WIm Hof method and improve his ability to withstand the harsh cold.

My own experience

I noticed that when I face cold situations I tend to take a deep breath and hold it. It is a natural response almost like shivering. I find it interesting that it is similar to the Tummo meditation and the Wim Hof style of breathing to keep your abdominal muscles contracted in isometric tension. It seems like that the monks were able to understand the body’s natural response and find out how to consciously control it to increase their core body temperature. However, I am no way as daring as Wim Hof to actually subject myself to brutally cold conditions. It has not worked for me and I assume that you need years of practice to accomplish this physical feat.

What I have noticed is that I like to be mindful of the cold. The sensation of cold can be a gateway to meditation. I have found a useful meditation to use whenever you find yourself in the cold. This meditation might not warm you up but it can help you explore your body and be mindful of different sensations in your body.

Find a cold place either outside or in your house
Just stand in the cold and observe how your body feels. Don’t control your body, let yourself shiver if you feel like it.
Notice any involuntary movements in your body. Observe your thoughts and where your attention is.
Slowly take deep breathes and try to calm your body down. Focus your attention on your body.
Witness how the cold penetrates different parts of your body differently. Be observant of how your hands and extremities feel compared to your core.
Run into the house and find a warm place it is cold!

Remember if it gets uncomfortable stop immediately, you do not want to hurt yourself. This type of mindfulness is useful if you find yourself in a cold situation like waiting for the bus.

Our bodies are very powerful and we are just beginning to understand all the possibility of what it can do. It just shows you how dedication and practice can help you overcome perceived limitations. I have not had success yet with using meditation to battle this cold weather, if anyone has I would love to hear your experience.

I feel that we can be distracted by all of these meditation “tricks”. The goal of meditation is not to be able to perform these superhuman feats. It might cause people to obsess over trying to achieve these feats and miss the simplicity of meditation. However, it is inspiring to see what is humanly possible and how people are able to push their limits and achieve extraordinary feats. So if this article is making you feel cold just by reading it, don’t worry, just find a warm place in your house and start meditating. However, if you are willing to explore possibilities of your body test out cold meditation. Remember just don’t try anything to dumb or crazy when exploring the cold.

Can Brain Sensing Devices Really Help you Meditate?

2015-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

Can Brain Sensing Devices Really Help you Meditate?

Zenpra 2nd February 2015 0 Comments

Meditation meets technology

Have you ever wondered what is happening to your brain while you meditate? Brain sensing technology has become relatively cheap allowing regular people to dive into their brain data. This has allowed people to create apps that can actually tell you if you are in a focused and meditative state by analyzing your brain waves.

There are a few brain sensing technologies available such as the Muse and Melon. (Funky names I know lol) Who could have imagined that the same devices that were used in hospitals and research clinics can now be used at home? Wouldn’t it be great if we could reduce stress, improve our focus, and creativity? Brain sensing technologies allow us to actually train our brains and see the results of our efforts.

There has been a recent surge in devices that measure bio data. For example your Fitbit can see how many steps you ran and your sleep cycle. Technology has made it easier for us to track our health and improve it. Now with the advancements of brain sensing technology you will soon be able to manage the health and vitality of your brain. All these new technologies give us the power to be in control of our health.

How does it work?

Muse is a headband and measures the electrical activity of the brain by passive sensors. It then takes the EEG data and interprets if you are in a calm or active state. It looks at the pattern of your brain signals and sees if there is any change in alpha, beta, gamma, or theta waves. Alpha waves are emitted when you are in a relaxed state while beta waves are emitted during active thinking and problem solving. You can read more about brain waves here.

Your brain emits detectable electrical signals based on neural activity. It takes the sum of the neural activity which could be 50,000 neurons! When neurons fire in a coordinated pattern they emit voltage fluctuations at different frequencies. Such states include Alpha Beta and Theta waves. Your brain has overlapping states which can then be measured and interpreted using a brain sensing device. You can see why it takes sophisticated sensors and algorithms to make this possible.

Meditate with real time feedback

Muse pairs with an App called Calm. This app gets the raw EEG data from the headset and can tell you your brain state in real time. So if you lose focus during meditation it can alert you. It is like having a meditation coach right by your side.

The calm app has exercises that guide you to become more focused. For example, there is an exercise that helps you focus on your breath. As you do the exercises you hear pleasant sounds such as chimes and ocean waves. The cool thing of the app is that when your brain activity becomes less focused the sound actually changes to be more hectic. If the sounds are peaceful then your mind is calm and focused. If the sounds are louder than normal that means your mind is distracted. The changing music gives you feedback on how well you are focused. You will be able to train yourself to meditate by trying to keep the music pleasant.

It can help you with meditations where you want to be focused. However, it does not help with body scanning or other forms of meditations where you have to actively think or visualize. The app will interpret this type of thinking as activity and will say that you are not in a focused state. Maybe one day they could make the technology better.

The Calm app allows you to see in real time the changes in your brain state. The screenshot shows different brain states right on your phone!

How can it help you meditate?

Wouldn’t it be great to know what a meditative state actually feels like? People constantly ask how they can know if they are meditating right. For some it is discouraging not being able to see immediate results and knowing if they are on the right track. With this device you are able to see how well you are focused and it gives you something to work towards and improve. After some practice you will be able to distinguish what a relaxed and meditative state feels like. We cannot grow in life if we do not get feedback on how we are doing. The brain sensing technologies allow for you to get real-time feedback on what your current brain state is. You really don’t know how often your mind wanders until you have something like this to tell you.

This technology can help you reach a meditative state much quicker by telling you when you reached a calm state. This allows you to find out what technique works best for you to reach that state easily. So after weeks of use you might notice that it is easier for you to reach a meditative state. This helps you train yourself to reduce stress and stay calm even when you are not using the headset.

You can also make meditation into a game! Now this might not be for everyone but it can help people get started with meditation. Imagine if you can see how much you score during your meditation session just as if you were playing a video game. The Calm app keeps score of your session by seeing how long you are in a calm state. It helps motivate people to continue their meditation practice and improve their results. You can also challenge your friends!

The key is to find what works for you. There isn’t going to be one type of meditation technique that is right for everyone. If you think like this is cool technology and you can’t wait to gamify your meditation check out Muse here.

What can you imagine for the future?

What are the possibilities with this new technology? I could imagine it being used while studying or during surgery where extreme focus and attention is needed. There are also other uses for the muse such as controlling a toy car with your mind and creating music from your thoughts.

I feel this is just the beginning of utilizing technology to explore deeper into ourselves. We have explored different planets and the depths of the ocean, but we have not taken the time to understand what is in-between our heads. The best part is that you do not need fancy technology, you can start exploring right now by meditating.

How to NOT fall asleep during your next meditation session

2015-01-27T00:00:00+00:00

How to NOT fall asleep during your next meditation session

Zenpra 27th January 2015 0 Comments

The Snoring Meditator

Remember that time when you tried meditating and had everything perfect, you set aside 10 minutes of quite time in a comfy chair and closed your eyes. However, 2 minutes into your meditation you start to snore and fall asleep. Falling asleep while meditating happens frequently, and can be discouraging if you want to start a meditation practice. Have you ever started snoozing during your meditation practice? I sometimes doze off and start snoring, only to find myself in the middle of an unintentional nap.

Meditation is a great way to relax, but meditation is also aimed to improve our focus and awareness. While we meditate it might seem from the outside that we are sleeping or just relaxing, but that is far from the truth. While we meditate we are actively engaged and aware of our thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations. In order to get the most out of your meditation practice, try to not fall asleep during your session. If you feel drowsy while you meditate here are some great ways to help you stop being that snoring meditator.

5 Tips to stop you from falling asleep while you meditate

1. Go to sleep!

It might sound obvious but getting a good night’s sleep will help you if you are sleep deprived. Meditation is a chance for us to rest and relax. While we meditate we are in a parasympathetic state and our breathing rate is lowered. We become relaxed as our muscles release tension and our mind settles. This has a tendency to make us sleepy. If our body has been lacking sleep lately it will naturally want to fall asleep to restore its health. When we are putting in very long days we might not even realize that we are sleep deprived. So the next time you fall asleep during meditation embrace it, and let yourself take a nap. You will feel refreshed and more productive throughout your day. Try to get more sleep during the night and that should prevent you from falling asleep while you meditate.

2. You might be meditating on something too comfy

If falling asleep is too common for you, it might be the chair that you are mediating on is too soft and relaxing. Meditating on a comfy Tempur-Pedic mattress is definitely going to make you fall asleep. That is what the mattress was designed to do! When you are sitting on something soft and relaxing you use your muscles less to help stabilize your body. You actively have to make an effort when you sit on the floor to not fall over and sleep. If you meditate while sitting on the floor you will most likely catch yourself as your head comes forward when you start dozing off. Your posture can also induce sleep while you meditate. Change your posture and try sitting up straight or even standing. The more effort that you need to keep your body in that posture the less likely you will fall asleep. Try standing up straight while you meditate. To perform a standing meditation all you need to do is close your eyes and let your arms rest on your sides. Let your heels sink into the ground and relax your breath. When you are standing your body has to make an effort to keep itself up. If you can sleep while standing let me know, that is wild!

3. Practice active forms of meditation

Try active forms of meditation such as Qi gong, yoga, Pilates, running, or walking meditation. You can turn most activities into meditation by being present and by bringing awareness to the situation. Mindfulness is a great form of meditation that you can practice while doing any daily activity or chore. Walking meditation is an active form of meditation that connects your mind and body through movement. Try walking at a slower pace and be mindful of each step you take. Witness how your body weight shifts when you lift your leg and feel how the ground supports your foot. While you walk you want to be aware of all the sensations and changes that occur in your body. When you perform active forms of meditation you likely won’t fall asleep because you are physically moving.

4. Meditate during times when you are most active

Meditating just after you wake up or before you go to sleep can cause you to fall asleep. This is because these are natural times when your body wants to fall asleep. These sleep wake cycles are dictated by circadian rhythms. Try and meditate in the middle of the day or just after you exercised. For example, meditating on your lunch break during a hectic day at work is a great option. When you meditate in the middle of your work day you will have high energy levels so you wont fall asleep during meditation. It will also help you relax and reduce the stress from your day. You probably also won’t go to sleep because you don’t want your boss to find you snoozing on the job. When your energy levels are up you will less likely fall asleep during meditation.

5. Try breathing exercise to stimulate your body

You can practice pranayama or belly breathing to help invigorate you and wake you up before you meditate. You can also use this technique as your meditation in itself. In order to practice belly breathing you will place your hands on your stomach. Then as you inhale expand your stomach and feel your hands move. You should be using your diaphragm to expand your lungs as you take in the air. As you exhale, suck your stomach in as your diaphragm pushes the air out of your lungs. Try this breathing cycle slowly for 5 repetitions. Notice when you belly breathe that you take more full and deep breathes. If you feel comfortable try to increase your breathing rate. Focusing on your breath actively will prevent you from falling asleep. Rapid belly breathing has been shown to improve the oxygenation of the blood which increases the energy levels in your body. Try belly breathing and you will feel refreshed and energized.

The best advice is to get some rest because your body your most likely sleep deprived. Try and not fight against your feeling of tiredness. Meditation is a great method in itself to help you rest and relax. So embrace it, sleep if you need to and do not try to force yourself too much to stay awake while you meditate. Once your body is no longer sleep deprived you will start to be more be alert and aware while you meditate. If you really want to not fall asleep while you meditate try one of the above practices. If they work for you then that is great! If you are still finding trouble contact me and I would be happy to help. I hope these tips help you to be alert and mindful during your next meditation practice. Remember there is no harm if meditation allows you to catch some Zs.

8 Reasons why you should practice Mindfulness

2015-01-17T00:00:00+00:00

8 Reasons why you should practice Mindfulness

Zenpra > Benefits > 8 Reasons why you should practice Mindfulness

Zenpra 17th January 2015 0 Comments

Benefits, Meditation, Mindfulness, Practice

benefits, Mindfulness

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness is becoming very popular, but what really is mindfulness and how can it benefit you? You can think of mindfulness as being fully aware of the present moment. You immerse yourself with all of your senses and focus on what is happening now. Your actions become deliberate and you do not make rash or reactive decisions. You become aware of every movement, thought, and object that you experience. There is no right or wrong thing that you can experience, you just observe it and accept it. The key is not to block anything out of your experience make sure that you take in everything that is presently there. This allows your experience to be whole and not fragmented.

An Easy Mindfulness Practice to help get you started

An easy way to start your mindful practice is to mindfully listen to music. All you need to do is find a quite place and listen to your favorite song. Listen to the song as if it were your first time and become immersed in the music. Try and not let your mind think of something else and be focused on the music that is being played right now. Pay attention to the subtle details of the song and the different rhythms, sounds and accents. When you are totally focus on the act of listing you are improving your ability to become more aware and mindful . You might even notice something new about your favorite song.

The Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation

I have been practicing mindfulness for a while now and I have experienced firsthand the benefits that scientists have been touting. Mindfulness improves your ability to bring awareness to any situation in your life. It is this extra awareness and attention that allows us to fully be immersed in the situation allowing us to make better decisions and experience life more fully. Here are just some of thebenefits that mindfulness can provide.

Improves your focus- When you practice mindfulness you will improve your ability to focus on what is important. When you are fully aware of what you are doing you are able to direct your attention and focus to where you want. Mindfulness has shown to improve attention span and not become distracted. A study at Washington University showed that participants who meditated were better at multitasking and could focus better to get more tasks done. The meditators demonstrated they made less task switches when multitasking and could focus longer at one task. They also showed that they had better memory of the tasks they performed. You can check out the research here.
Increases creativity-When you immerse yourself in a problem or task you are using all of your senses to come up with solutions. When you are more in a relaxed state, ideas will start to flow through your mind and you won’t have the inner chatter distracting you. Frequently we have an inner voice that distracts us and tells us this is not going to work or brings our attention away from the problem.
Improve your athletic ability– When you are mindful you improve the mind body connection and are able to reach a state of total awareness. High performance athletes need to make reactive and quick decisions under high pressure situations. A lot of times athletes choke under pressure and miss an opportunity to win the game for their team. Mindfulness has shown to help people perform better under these stressful situations. It reduces the perceived effects of stress so you have better mental clarity and mental toughness during the game. Mindfulness helps you to reach a state of flow which means you are totally present and can perform at an optimal level without any distractions.
Relives stress- Mindfulness is one of the best ways to reduce stress easily and safely. Mindfulness actually changes how we perceive and react to stress. Research on mindfulness has shown that frequent meditators produced less cortisol during stressful situations. The participants of the study also said they felt less stressed during high pressure situations.
Improves your test taking ability- There have been studies done that show mindfulness improved test taking ability. This is due to the increase in focus and being totally present. A lot of times we answer a question wrong on a test because we miss interpret the question or we assume they are asking something else. How many times have you re read a question you got wrong and you realized that you did not answer what was being asked. It might seem like an oversight but it can be prevented if you become more mindful and are more aware of what the question is really trying to ask and not assuming. A study at the University of California Santa Barbra showed that students who practiced mindfulness increased their GRE scores and showed improvement in cognitive function and working memory.
Lose weight- Have you ever heard of mindful eating? It is a practice where you eat your food slowly with intention. When you eat your food slowly with intention you will not only enjoy the taste of your food but you will also eat smaller portion sizes. Studies have shown that eating mindfully has resulted in a loss of weight for participants. I will be discussing mindful eating in more detail in upcoming posts.
Improves your mood and outlook on life– Mindfulness helps you become more self aware. You will have a better sense of yourself and what your true purpose is. You do not let petty things bother you and effect how you feel. When you are more aware of the things around you your outlook on life is more positive. Instead of seeing the negative in the situation you are trained to see the opportunity and what positive thing can emerge from the situation.
Reduces bad habits- We all have habits, some good some bad. Habits are important because it makes life easier and helps us accomplish what needs to get done without resistance. However, if we have a bad habit such as smoking or eating unhealthy we might need to be more mindful to reduce these mindless habits. Habits become automatic and we are not aware of what we are doing. Mindfulness helps us observe what we are doing so we can decide if we need to stop it. Awareness of a bad habit is the first step to lower it.

Let me know why you practice mindfulness and what techniques do you use. Share any benefits you experienced while practicing mindfulness.