Happy Work #2 😁

Mindfulness Meditation

I love mindfulness meditation. First because my brain is like a buzzing batch of beautiful bees. It’s fun and also quite tricky. So focusing on my breath and this very moment helps get those bees to take a little nap-a-roo.

But, there’s more. The science behind mindfulness meditation is super duper fun. It helps reduce your emotional reactivity, which we all have in excess because social media gives us something to freak out about every 2.4 seconds. Not great.

My favorite thing about deep, diaphragmatic breathing, though, is that it stimulates the Vagus nerve. The Vagus nerve then engages your parasympathetic nervous system, which is the one that tells you to chill out and take a nap. Rest. Relax. Restore. By engaging your parasympathetic nervous system you also disengage your sympathetic nervous system, which is the one that tells us to run for our lives because a lion is going to eat us and aliens are coming and the stock market is falling and let’s just give up and live in a ditch.

We’re not going to aim to be experts today. We’re gonna be really chill about it. Just a little. And when you leave, mindfulness leader Chade-Meng Tan says even one mindful breath a day can help.

Let’s Breathe

  1. Breathe with your belly. You may want to put a hand on it so you can feel it going up/out and down/in.
  2. We’re going to aim for 7 breaths per minute. Slow in, slow out. The app I use, Breathing Zone starts out a bit faster and slows down to the target rate you set. If it feels uncomfortable, go at your own pace. No pressure.
  3. Try to focus on your breath. If you get some thought bees up there, it’s helpful to consciously send them away. I like to put my thoughts on a leaf in my mind, and then send the leaf down a river. Then, I return to my breath.

We’re going to try 2 minutes. Ready, set, breathe 🌬