Even Basketball Stars are Doing It

by heidi_behr | Nov 12, 2014 | MIndfulness, Uncategorized

Meditation.  It’s all the rage, isn’t it? Oprah and Deepak Chopra do it.  Phil Jackson, the winning-est coach of the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and current NY Knicks coach does it. And he teaches it to his team.

Executives, sports figures, business leaders, teachers, therapists, life & performance coaches and yogis all expound about the benefits of meditation. So many people are talking about the importance of meditation, yours truly included.  Then our clients say “BUT IT’S SO HARD!!” Yeah- I know! But it gets easier with practice.

So why are we so (I was gonna say “hell bent”) (instead I will say->) “sold” on the idea of spending some quiet time with ourselves as a pathway to peace?  Well, there is science behind it.  Tons of science behind it.  Trust me– I don’t have room to print all the links. 🙂

Spending some “quiet time” with your brain can help you in many many ways.  One amazing thing: it can stop the fight-or-flight response in your brain. It literally can turn of the amygdala (even if it’s for a short time, that is GOOD).

People learning to meditate are usually taught this one thing first: Focus on your breath.  Just the in breath and then the out breath.  Go ahead, give it a try while you read this.  Notice breathing in….. notice breathing out……   Do this a few more times and you will feel calmer.

And that is both the easy part and the hard part.  It sounds so simple– how could it work? (Go back to read the science! Or better yet, try it!)

For some folks, guided mediation will be the way they can meditate.  Luckily there are terrific resources out there– among my favorites are the offerings by Belleruth Naparastek and HealthJourneys.  Why do I like these the best? The science behind her word and music choices.

I will blog about other favorite tools and apps for your guided meditation needs soon. Until then- give the links above a whirl!