Meditation Archives - Balance8Life

June 17, 2020October 14, 2020

Meditation for Beginners

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Meditation can be a deep subject, and I will touch on a little bit of that, but this article is all about taking advantage of being quiet and taking a break, solo.

There is a lot going on in our world right now. First it was COVID-19, now the BLM Movement and all that is going along with that.

It really doesn’t matter which side you’re on politically, emotionally, white, black, young, or old. All to this is emotionally tiresome.

Meditation as a break from social media

Right now, I am finding that social media and the news is extra exhausting. The information coming at me and the tension in the air is mentally and spiritually draining.

Quiet time can be cleansing for the soul. It can be an escape from the onslaught of negativity and confusion entering our minds through social media, the news, and conversations that are concentrated on one single subject.

Meditation can offload the overload

I personally have spent a good share of my time educating myself on what is going on in our world right now. I’ve gone as far back in history as the 1600’s, trying to understand where people are coming from. I enjoy learning new things about our history.

Debating and talking, listening and learning, can turn into major overload at times, and we need to offload in other ways than by feeding the chaos. What I mean by feeding the chaos is, we need to give others a break as well. Stay off of social media and the intense political subjects surrounding us.

Quiet time is the perfect outlet for brain overload rest.

Meditation can help sort the clutter

I have recognized that my mind has been cluttered with information. My soul is emotionally hyper. Not only have I had a more difficult time sleeping, but overall, I feel like my spirit is discontented.

Educating ones self and being privy to what is going on around us is important, but it is equally (or probably more) important to be sure that we feed our spiritual health, especially when things are extra intense around us.

Quiet time is almost like feeding the soul. It is the vitamin that can bring balance to our imbalanced and troubled minds.

Just as we went through the Coronavirus pandemic, we also now have a mentally draining pandemic of chaotic opinions and strong emotions.

Friends are “breaking up”, blocking and deleting each other on social media, and not speaking to one another, all because of heightened emotions and differing opinions.

Meditation empowers us

To stay healthy and strong during this Coronavirus pandemic, we need to eat things that strengthened our immune systems to fight off disease. Alongside that, it is now time to be careful how we take care of our spiritual and mental health. It’s time to build healthy walls of protection around our emotions and make room for mental clarity.

Just like we need the right foods to keep us healthy during the Coronavirus scare, we need to allow our minds a chance to power up. This happens when we allow our minds to rest.

Meditation as a new and old concept

Meditation is a new concept to a lot of people, and to others, very familiar. There are several different types and levels of meditation as well. It can be an extremely deep topic and can be discussed and picked apart for hours. It can also be deeply religious as well as not religious at all.

The oldest documented evidence of the practice of meditation are wall arts in the Indian subcontinent from approximately 5,000 to 3,500 BCE, and written evidence as far back as 1500 BCE.

Meditation is also mentioned in Psalms in the approximate year of 1063 BC.

Meditation has ancient roots, but it is also very popular in todays age. I know several people have a lot of hesitation when it comes to meditation and choose to steer far around the concept, but the people that I have spoken with that choose to omit meditation, I have found they do not know anything about it. They only feel like something is wrong with it.

Meditation and being educated

Before I go much further, I want to disclose that I am not a mindfulness teacher, and it is a good idea to thoroughly research the topic before you choose to go to a retreat, or participate in guided meditation.

For those of you who are wary of the concept, you are not wrong to proceed with caution. There have been studies that have shown negative effects of some types of meditation.

It is important, if you are going to truly dive deep into meditation, to do your research.

That being said, I want to clarify to you that when I speak about meditation, I am mostly referring to solo quiet time. Time away from the TV, from your phone, from noise, from social media, or whatever else it is that could be causing mental and emotional imbalance and turmoil.

There are a couple different types of meditation that I am going to point out here.

There is a Biblical meditation and a Buddhist meditation.

Biblical meditation engages the mind. Buddhist meditation can engage the mind but it can also empty the mind.

When you have time and if you are interested, read about the Eightfold Path and you will understand a little better, the path to mindfulness according to Theravada Buddhist.

Personally, I like to keep meditation simple and basic. Some people may not even technically consider my version of meditation, meditation. But – it is calming, I benefit from it, and I teach this to my children.

To me it is very important to take time to “meditate” or in other words, be quiet.

If you’re a beginner, or if you’re not wanting to dive deep into meditation, but do desire clarity and freedom from the clutter in your mind, look no further.

HOW TO MEDITATE

Just find a quiet place and sit or lay in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Breathe. Focus your attention on something, whether that be your breathing, an image, a verse, a sound, a shape, a color, a positive thought, etc.

Meditation can last anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours. I prefer 5+ minutes.

Annnnd . . . That is it.

Here are three easy ways to add meditation to your day. These are my favorite ways to meditate.

Music

Meditating with music simply gives my mind a calming background of sound to focus on. I have had it be the element that literally evokes mental freedom.

Choose music that creates a mental image of wide open space, calming images, or offers the privilege to envision something bright, natural and happy.

The purpose of this is to remove yourself from the thoughts that are cluttering your mind. It is not to solve problems or figure them out, rather to go somewhere else altogether.

I prefer music with nature sounds, and especially water. I am not sure if it is because I am a Scorpio and water is my sign, or if it is simply because it is soothing to me. Whatever it is, water is the most calming sound for me.

Nature

If you can go into nature, do it. At first it feels wide open and possibly even uncomfortable, or it cold be the complete opposite. Nature provides the perfect space to be quiet while focusing on the sounds of wind, birds, and other natural elements to escape with.

Breathe in the fresh air. Consciously allow your shoulders and limbs to relax as if you are about to fall asleep. This is when you find the sounds of nature to focus on. It is okay to think. The key is to think about what you hear in the moment. And then, find something to be grateful for about what you hear. Keep it simple.

Shower

You don’t have to leave the house or plan out your time for a 10 minute shower. I live in the city, so going outside to meditate sometimes can be tricky.

I need clean, neat and comfortable places where I can be quiet in order to fully relax. My bathroom is very clean, and taking a warm bath or a shower is not only soothing, but a place in a moms world where escape and quiet is just going to happen.

I use my Bluetooth speaker for meditative music, and with the door locked, I am rarely bothered. I find this the simplest and easiest place for me to go if I need uninterrupted quiet time.

This might not be the ticket for everyone, but I am 5 feet tall so sitting in the shower is easy for me. If you can do this, close your eyes and reach out with your senses and listen. Feel the water and then just breathe.

It is not uncommon for my mind to start wandering around and focusing on my day ahead, but when this happens to you, it is important to train your mind to return to your focus point. If you’re in the shower and focusing on the sound of the water, imagine it is rain. Imagine a puddle of water and paint a picture of something soothing and peaceful in your mind to focus on. Go there every time your thoughts wander somewhere not so peaceful.

Meditation takes practice

It takes practice and patience to learn how to relax, redirect your thoughts, and focus on something simple.

If you are a Christian and Biblically meditating, find your comfortable place, your verse of choice and repeat the words until you begin to go further than the words alone. Feel them, sink into the verse with your being until you almost feel one with the word.

Meditating isn’t necessarily about emptying your mind. It can be. But for me it is a redirection of thoughts. It is making space to find something good to focus on. It is a place to go away from the troubles and permission to focus elsewhere.

After meditating, I often find that the “time out” from the clutter really clarifies a lot for me and I often feel less tense. I also find that I start to see other perspectives on my own without having to discuss things with others. I also realize that often times, there are a lot of things I once thought were important that are not at all, and I can throw those thoughts completely out and start from scratch.

I wish all of you a peaceful moment or two in your day! (Hopefully more than two!)

Please feel free to comment below, contact me on social media and follow me here! I love hearing from my readers. 🙂 I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

Definitely hit me up or email me and let’s chat!

December 4, 2019October 14, 2020

How to Relax For Better Health

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It doesn’t seem like it should be so complicated just to figure out how to relax.

If you’re trying to figure out how to relax to better your health, you first need to figure out what it is that you need, to rest and relax. And even more, is it really necessary to relax and rest?

Short answer? For a healthy lifestyle it is absolutely necessary to sleep, to take a break, and to relax. For some, it takes deliberate planning just like it does to deliberately put a doctor appointment in your calendar. It isn’t always easy to get proper rest, whether that is actual sleep, or relaxation in some other way.

It is important for us to discover in which ways our bodies need rest in order to actively enable true healing rest and relaxation.

In our society today, we feel or think that if we sleep too much, we’re wasting away precious time; time is money. And if we take a day off from the gym, we’re losing muscle. If we take a day off of work we look lazy, and if we skip church, we appear to be struggling spiritually. If you set your phone down, you might miss a streak on snapchat. And what if you don’t eat a single morsel of food for 5 whole hours? Ohhh nooo! Your body is going to go into starvation mode.

These days, with all the “to-do” lists and notifications on our phones, the pressure and the demands coming at us are like a million things a second! It’s a no wonder that anxiety, (along with depression), is one of the most common mental health disorders in the world. It’s crazy out there guys!

For balanced health, our bodies need more than just a few hours of sleep here and there. We need total muscle relaxation and mental clarity.

Not to overcomplicated matters, but our bodies need more than just sleep, more than a day off from the gym, and more than a vacation.

Here are 5 ways our bodies need rest for balanced health:

Deep muscle relaxation
Rest for the nervous system
Fasting for the digestive system
Spiritual and mental rest
Sleep

DEEP MUSCLE RELAXATION

In the 1920’s, Dr. Edmund Jacobson, Director of the laboratory for Clinical Physiology at the University of Chicago, found that patients who came to him didn’t know how to relax. Their muscles were more tense than was necessary for what they were doing, like sitting with clenched fists without knowing it, or digging fingernails into the skin; so he started what is now known today as progressive relaxation therapy.

Progressive muscle relaxation is a non-pharmacological method of deep muscle relaxation, based on the premise that muscle tension is the body’s psychological response to anxiety-provoking thoughts and that muscle relaxation blocks anxiety. More here: Wikipedia

Benefits from progressive muscle relaxation therapy:

A decrease of anxiety
Decrease of anxiety related to phobias
Reduction in panic attacks
Improved concentration
An increased sense of control over moods
Increased self-esteem
Increased spontaneity and creativity

REST FROM EXERCISE

It’s not just your muscles that need a rest day from the gym. It is also the energy systems that fuel your muscles that needs a break.

The nervous system which fuels training, needs a rest day as well. Even if it’s arm day on Monday and not arm day again until next Monday, (giving your arms more than enough “rest”) your nervous system is constantly working to train all muscle groups, therefore needing that total day or two off.

I am one of those that “never” skips the gym. Sometimes though, I miss a day for no good reason, or – it feels like it’s no good reason. I actually missed two days in a row a week ago, and then felt like a horrible person for not going. But I was so tired. And I didn’t even go to bed that late!

When I did finally go back to the gym, I was amazed at how good my workout was. I felt stronger, upped my lifting weight by a significant amount on several of my sets! And I was so excited!

I posted about this on instagram and someone (hey Phil!) commented: “The fact that the first day back after some rest is so good, should tell us something!”

When we talked later on about it, he said, “. . . I hate not working out, but rest and recovery are super beneficial!” I am sure Phil and I aren’t the only ones who don’t like skipping a gym day. But knowing that a day off is beneficial and actually taking a day off, are two separate things for those of us who cannot miss gym time.

“It is no different in life. We are a society that thinks to succeed you have to work all the time. That’s not living . . . ” ~ Phil Del Rocco

Time off from the gym is a balancing act. A couple purposeful days off (or even a couple accidental days off) are completely fine and even beneficial. But more than that can be detrimental to our psyche. So just be mindful and aware of your body and actually give yourself permission for a short break.

FAST FROM FOOD

I missed lunch one day and I ended up eating later than usual. The next day something similar happened. I don’t usually eat dinner, it makes me feel sluggish the next day, and just overall, “fat”. It puts more “weight” on my tummy and I am not down with that. So I had to force myself out of that bad habit – which happened so fast! Ugh – after about a week ’cause I could feel that “bloating” thing happening and I knew exactly why I was “swelling up” and feeling “yucky”.

After the habit of eating at night is broken, the next few mornings feels amazing! Like – you feel like you can walk around in a bikini proudly and proclaim to the world that you’re a sexy human.

Most people freak out when they don’t feed their faces constantly, afraid they’re going to put on weight. (SRSLY – think that one through *mind blown emoji here*).

One common thing I hear, especially in the fitness world is: “You need to keep your metabolism going to burn calories and the only way you do that is by eating 6 small meals a day.” (I’ll go into this more another time, but I will just say right now that, unless you’re a very young, very active person with a body type that does’t put on fat easily, this in not a true statement).

Another common tale is that you will go into starvation mode and lose lean muscle mass.

We can address this strange (yet common) idea in more detail later as well, but just real quick . . .

“A lot of times people think they’re going into starvation mode when they skip a meal or fast for a day, and that’s truly not the case. Unless someone has a prolonged, dire lack of access to food or an eating disorder like anorexia, it’s very hard to go into complete clinical starvation mode.” Dr. Joy Dubost RD, CSSD Registered Dietitian, Board Certified in Sports Nutrition, Food Scientist

“Fasting is an excellent way to treat disease. A day or two of fasting each week would do most people more good than any amount of medical advice or treatment.” – Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine (Full article here)

Fasting allows the body’s enzyme system to focus on detoxifying. If you’re constantly eating, you’re not giving your body the proper time it needs to do eliminate toxins, and therefore your body is more susceptible to disease.

SPIRITUAL AND MENTAL REST

If you are a believer in a higher power, or if you are not, doesn’t really change the fact that we all need a mental and spiritual reprieve.

Take your focus away from yourself. Place your focus on the Creator, or something somewhere out there in “the universe”. This is important for spiritual and mental health. Even just focusing on your breathing can be a mental break from the things rushing through your mind.

This sort of quiet takes “me” out of the equation and reminds us that we are but a tiny, tiny spec on this planet; that the world does not revolve around just me. When we give ourselves permission to stop and be still and remember that we are here to give back, bless, and be grateful for what has been given to us, we allow peace to take the place of our anxiety and drama.

“You know I used to think that rest from anything i.e. the gym, writing a lesson or sermon or anything I have interest in, equalled laziness,” said Phil. “Then a friend was talking to me after a (meeting), and I was saying how much I love to be busy teaching etc.. He said, ‘how about the time you spend with God?’ I said, ‘I do spend time with Him while I’m working.’ He asked, ‘is that really spending time with Him?’ It was a revelation, because I suddenly saw that I cannot find rest in Him if I am busy working.”

This is what I loved. And again, if you’re not a believer in God, still think about this statement. If you can’t stop and still your mind and focus on a higher power, or something outside of your self, how do you ever have mental peace?

You cannot multitask while attempting to achieve mental clarity. This is a time when you must stop and be still. To be healthy in your mind, you need to be quiet. Give your mind a break from the lists, from work, people, TV, external entertainment and stimuli.

SLEEP

Symptoms of depression, high blood pressure, migraines, and other health issues and diseases, worsen, when our sleep cycle is interrupted. Even one night of missed sleep can create a prediabetic state in an otherwise healthy person.

Getting good quality sleep is important, and I have actually written about this in an earlier article. 8 Steps to Improve Your Quality of Sleep goes into a lot more detail on how to improve your sleep!

Everything from our muscles to our brain function, our nervous system, and our overall attitudes really suffer when we don’t get enough sleep.

In conclusion, rest is important, but most of us not only have a difficult time sleeping, but we also don’t think about other ways our bodies need rest and relaxation.

I hope you got something from this and can find some real rest and relaxation in your life. I’d enjoy hearing about what you do to find The Rest in Your Story. I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

Definitely hit me up or email me and let’s chat!

October 16, 2019October 14, 2020

How to Be Real (Positive)

**Today I am trying real hard to be real (positive)! But it is a real struggle!**

The thought crossed my mind . . . “How does positive equal negative?”

Let me re-word that.

How is it possible for "positive" things to turn 
your in-ward thoughts negative?

This was a thought I had (and processed for some time) when I was laying lazily on my bed thinking negatively about my day. (I was on Instagram, just FYI). I thought that all I had focused on was (mostly) positive, so I was puzzled as to why I was feeling so negative!

**As I pondered this weird thought, I realized that I had attached the word “positive” onto things that weren’t. . . real.**

For example:

A girl with an airbrushed face, (or filter) in a professionally taken photo at just the right angle, wearing the perfect outfit, with a huge smile on her (perfect) face, writing, “positive vibes” in the sand. . . and I feel. . . inadequate!

Why? Because I suddenly feel like I need that face, that body, that outfit and that sand, to feel positive vibes! *You can fake gasp here*.

Sometimes when I read all these “positive” quotes, see pictures of perfect bodies, see other people’s positive encouragement on instagram, and read blogs about how positive of a life the blogger has, I start to wonder if it’s real and, “what’s wrong with me?”

But this is where positive and fake are friends but shouldn’t be. (Didn’t anybody teach positive how to choose friends wisely!?)

Positive thinking equals positive feelings and vibes and people dig that st**f! But. . .

. . .  positive has to stay real!

Your body and actions follow your mind and thoughts. Everything we truly ponder and think about somehow shows itself in our actions – on our face. There is a reason why they say that if you think it, it will be so.

If you say you can’t, you won’t. If you set your mind to something, you will find a way to do it. Say “I can do”, whatever it is you’re wanting to do, but how real were you about that “can do”? And when you “couldn’t”, did you stop? Or did you figure out another way to accomplish the “can do“?

I see this all the time with my kids. “I can’t get good grades”, and they don’t. Why? Because they don’t care, and don’t put forth the effort to study. It has nothing to do with what they can or can’t do. I took away some pretty important privileges and we’ll see how those grades change soon. (I’ll have to report back later, this is still happening as I write.) But it’s not about can or can’t here, it’s about where the mind is focused.

Here are a few tips on how to stay focused on the positive and keep it real!

1. BE REAL (POSITIVE)

Positive thinking has to be realistic. You can’t tell yourself you’re going to lose 50 pounds in three months when it took you 3 years to put it on. “I can lose 50lbs!” Is real positive! “I can lose 50lbs in 2 months!” is turning a positive thought and attitude into a quick negative when it doesn’t happen.

Be real with yourself when you see or read positive vibes in a perfect world. There’s no such thing as a perfect world, but there is such thing as positive thinking in an imperfect world! It really makes it a lot easier to deal with, trust me! It isn’t easy, but it is possible! (Tell yourself you can do this! *wink*)

2. ACT IT OUT

Positive thinking has to bleed into your actions. You have to act it, feel it, fake it till you make it. Allow your thoughts to seep into everything you do, and you will eventually feel it even when you didn’t to begin with.

3. TAP INTO YOUR P0WERS

Humans are power packed beings filled to the brim with strength. Mental, physical and spiritual strength. But, just like muscles, strength grows with practice, repetitive behavior, endurance and consistency.

Tap into your powers, the mind strength, and override old, negative habits of thinking you can’t! Then, once you say you can do, believe you can, then you start going on a scavenger hunt within the labyrinth of your mind to find the open doors and windows, channels and alleys, that are the “can do” freeways.

You are stronger than you think you are. We are all stronger than we give ourselves credit for.

It’s all about the focus and belief. You can’t half way do this.

4. FIND THE FIRE

If you can’t get motivated, find out what it is that will put fire under your donkey. It’ll buck and get mad, but it’ll move! Go with it!

5. SHARE

When I am having a bad day and I walk into Walmart (that’s enough to put anybody in a worser bad day) and some stranger smiles. . . I don’t mean one of those fake things. I mean one of those big, genuine, real deal smiles, it kinda does something to me! What about you?

Share a smile, give positive vibes even if you’re not feeling it in the moment, and watch out. Positive vibes actually start to be real!

If you have any positive vibes to share, I’m so down! Please send them my way anytime! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

April 16, 2019October 14, 2020

Meditation Simplified

Welcome to Balance8life! This is an introduction to the overall idea of meditation and why it is so important.

Meditation simplified is taking a quiet moment to clear your busy mind.

When I lived in Washington State, our house was at the base of a hill. Behind that hill was a privately owned farm with acres of valleys, hills, and streams. There were wide open fields that went on forever!

The driveway to the farmhouse was a long, gravel road. It forked off in three different directions and we were allowed to wander all over.

So I did.

I often packed myself a sandwich and a blanket. I would walk out into the middle of a field and hide in the tall grass. Lying there and looking up into the sky is a forever lost moment that I often miss.

There was a spot that I liked the most, next to a clear, fast running creek.

It was so peaceful. I didn’t know the meaning of the word meditation at that time.

All I knew was that I felt calm and peaceful when I had time alone in nature. This is meditation simplified. This time away from everything else that had to be done was all it took to feel renewed.

When I first heard the word meditation I pictured Buddha and yoga poses.

Reflection time doesn’t have to be this image. Meditation simplified is simply that, it is not complicated.

Meditation is being mindful, thoughtful, aware, reflective, and if you’re religious, being prayerful.

And, meditation simplified is taking time out of the business and being still. A time to be alone without distraction. And a time to consciously making an effort to clear your mind of all those things you feel like you need to be doing.

Focus on the simplicity of just being.

You need meditation to have balance in your life.

What you meditate on, where or when you do it, and how . . . that is up to you.

Meditation simplified is a time to take a break from life. Even just for five minutes, center yourself, and pull away from all that is feeding your mind, body, and soul.

Get your mind and mood back to a balanced, healthy place.

If the word meditation is something that sounds boring or tedious, I encourage you to try to think of it more as time for yourself.

Think of meditation as a time to rejuvenate and restore your energy.

Get your focus away from all the things you need to do. Sometimes a moment of peace is the key you need to make your day, and your life, more productive and less stressful.

It may feel like you could be doing something more worthwhile with that time; all those dishes or the laundry piling up, or that email you need to send to your boss.

Your to-do list needs to be done, but a centered and balanced mindset is important to accomplish each and every task in our day-to-day life.

Next time you feel stressed take a moment, sit on your porch and breathe a few deep breaths. Still your mind and appreciate that moment. It will make all the difference.

MEDITATION AND POSITIVE THINKING

If you are new to meditation, Meditation for Beginners is a great place to start!

For help with positive thinking and things to do that will take your mind away from the negativity, read, Regularity is Overrated.

If you have any positive vibes to share, please send them my way! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.