Re-mindfulness: on breathing, coming back, and why oxygen is my drug of choice

The picture above is not me, and it probably never will be. I always thought I was bad at meditation. Not very zen, not very focused. Whenever I accidentally found or intentionally placed myself in a meditation situation, my mind would be all over the place chitter-chattering away. Not peaceful. Not helpful. This made me feel like a failure and a fraud. Therefore, despite the fact I’m into wellness and self-care, and despite the fact that meditation is always at the top of the list of said self-care practices, I would not do it. Nope. Not for me.

Then one day a friend told me about a meditation app with 10 minute guided meditations (you know the one) that helped her stay calm and focused throughout the day. She said it was . . . comforting. As someone who had been to meditation centers with hour-long sits (ouch!) and read books about folks who had traveled to India, joined an ashram and totally found their true selves, this sounded laughable. How could little baby 10 minute meditations be the path to enlightenment, or even make a difference? But I tried it, just for fun.

Well, it worked. It worked in ways I never even imagined were possible or important. Let me share what’s so great about 10 minute meditations for me personally:

First, they fit into my life. Even I can do a 10 minute meditation. I can even lie down! No one's checking that I'm following the rules. I can do whatever I want!

Second, I’ve noticed real shifts in my mindset:

• Massive Relaxation: These quick meditations have taught me to breathe. I can now breathe out for a really long time, letting everything go until my body decides it's time to breathe back in, not my mind. Believe me when I say to you: this is the most relaxing thing you can do, ever. It's like a drug. It's free. The mechanism for it is on your face. I have been in crowed places that make me want to flee, felt worried about existential anxiety, or even had trouble falling asleep, and a loooooooooooong breathe out can transform my body and my mind. It's magic!

• Instant Gratitude Machine: Gratitude has a relationship with feelings of dissatisfaction and unhappiness just like the relationship between muscle groups that move the same bone. They cannot both fire at once (if you've ever fixed a charley horse by firing the opposite muscle to the one spasming, you'll know what I mean). And what is more awesome and worthy of gratitude than sweet, sweet air? I've been able to flip my mindset by just breathing in a deep breath and remembering how all my petty grievances would become meaningless immediately if I didn't have that luxurious air surrounding me. For free! And I can access it without even trying or thinking about it - thank you autonomic nervous system! Much love and gratitude to the air, and my nose, and my body . . . what was I so mad about? Why do I hate this . . . thing, whatever it was? Who cares . . . air is the BEST!

Oops . . . I got distracted by all the breathing.

Anyway, lastly, I’ve also noticed real shifts in my mindset. Practicing coming back to something over and over (e.g. the breath when your mind goes astray) has practical application in every area of my life. Struggling to meet a goal? Just keep coming back. Ate an entire pizza and feeling like a nutrition-failure? Just keep coming back. Forgot to scrape my tongue and floss? Yep. Just keep coming back. Over and over, forever. There is literally nothing at stake, nothing to lose. That is kind of what life is about: just showing up over and over again. I've started calling it "remindfulness" because as a forgetful person, I find hope in being persistent about remembering, even if I have to do it 27 times.

So, here I am, a self-proclaimed meditation skeptic turned advocate for the power of just ten minutes of guided meditation every once in awhile. If you’re feeling like meditation is not for you, I encourage you to give it a shot. You might just surprise yourself with your ability to find peace, resilience, and of course self-medicate yourself in times of trial with that sweet, sweet oxygen.

Make it stick!

Here are some tips for incorporating meditation into your life forever:

• Download a meditation app - many are free.

• Give it a try, with no expectations. Have fun!

• Treat the meditating just like you would treat coming back to the breath. So what if you do it for a week and then forget, only to remember 6 months later that it was pretty cool? Just do it again.

  
  

Y'all come back now!