At the end of Soul Camp, we had a workshop on re-integrating into reality. For the past five days, we had been having spiritual conversations, taking yoga classes, and overall being protected from reality. Many of us discovered parts of ourselves while we were there, and were unsure of how our new perspective would mesh with our current reality.
The biggest piece of advice that we were given was to be patient because life changes on its own timeline. The cofounder, Michelle, told us about how, for a year, she was in a job that no longer felt in alignment with the life she wanted, but she needed a paycheck. Every day, she would walk into the office and tell herself I am the Buddha in the Board Room. If I'm not in an environment that I want to be in, I can change the energy and bring a new perspective.
In the weeks that I have been back in "reality," I have often needed to remind myself to be patient, but have also tried to take risks to bring my new perspective into my current environment. At work, I am in Toastmasters, the club for developing communication skills. Everyone does an "Ice Breaker" speech to introduce themselves to the club, and mine was scheduled for last week. And, instead of talking about something safe, I told everyone about my meditation class, and it felt great. Now my goal is to take more opportunities to share what I'm actually interested in. My speech is below if you are interested!
The Benefits of Breathing
Close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose, and exhale through your mouth. Breathe in through your nose again, focusing on filling your entire body up with air. And exhale through your mouth. One more time, inhale through your nose, and exhale all the air through your mouth. Now open your eyes. Congratulations, you just meditated!
I meditate every day and it has made a big difference in my life. It wasn’t easy when I started. I would sit on my yoga mat and stare at the clock while a tornado of stressful thoughts went rushing through my mind. But overtime the thoughts slowed down and meditation started to help ease my stress. Now, six years later, I know that meditation has made me more patient, has helped me sleep better, and has improved my relationships. Today I’m going to describe the personal benefits of meditation, how it can make us better employees, and how it can change our relationships and the world.
Meditation has both mental and physical benefits. For mental benefits, have you ever noticed that you come up with your best ideas when you’re in the shower or about to fall asleep? This is because you’re more relaxed and your mind isn’t going a million directions at once, so creative inspiration can come through. By mediating, you can have more moments of silence, which lead to more moments of inspiration. Whenever I’m overwhelmed and unsure of where to start, I take a few deep breaths before brainstorming. I’m then more likely to see the bigger picture and come up with a solution.
Physically, mediation can improve your health. Did you notice that when you took a few deep breaths your heart rate slowed? According to the Mayo Clinic, meditation can help people manage symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, high blood pressure, tension headaches and sleep problems. I started meditating because I had a really hard time falling asleep. By meditating, I focused on my breath instead of my to-do list, and could finally ease off to sleep. So, the next time you’re lying in bed, instead of counting sheep or scrolling through Facebook on your phone, try focusing on your breath.
Meditation makes us better employees because we become more productive and creative. Meditation makes employees more productive because it lengthens our attention span. Before I started meditating I was so frazzled that I would get distracted whenever I got a phone call or an email. I would be making a spreadsheet when I heard this ding and would be taken off track. Was something wrong? Was I getting fired? And I would completely lose track of what I was working on. Why am I making this spreadsheet again? A study showed that workers who regularly practiced meditation stayed on task longer than those who didn’t. By staying on task, employees can also be more productive.
As I alluded to before, meditation makes employees more creative. We go through the day stressed and hoping that our boss won’t yell at us, which triggers the fight-or-flight reaction. We freeze up when we’re under pressure. But meditation relaxes the nerves that make us think that we’re under attack, so we can relax and think more strategically.
Finally, meditation can improve our relationships and the world. It improves our relationships because it changes the body’s reactions to stress. After a long day at work and then being on a crowded train on my commute home, I’m wired and carrying pent up tension from the day. If my husband asks me even the most benign question, I’ll snap because my body feels under attack. But if I instead take some deep breaths during the day or even meditate on the train, then his little comments are less likely to push my buttons.
Meditation can even transform our communities. In 1993, a group of monks began meditating daily in Washington, DC for a two-month long experiment. Before the experiment started, crime was on the rise and the police department voiced disbelief that meditation could change crime rates. But the group began meditating. They didn’t protest, they didn’t ask people to stop committing crimes. They just meditated each day. At the end of the two months, the crime rate had decreased 23%. This is because meditation changes the energy of our environment. Mahesh Yogi said that if even 1% of the population meditated, we could increase our harmony and quality of life.
So, what’s stopping you? The next time you’re stressing out and your heart is beating out of your chest and you don’t know what to do, walk away. Take a few minutes to focus on your breath. Your stress will dissipate, your heart rate will slow and you’ll change your perspective. Namaste!
