Perhaps the most repeated phrase I’ve heard over the past few weeks is: the news is hard. Jobs are insecure. Politics and policies are changing rapidly. Eggs are still expensive.
And that leaves you, me and everyone I know trying so hard: working hard, trying to show up for others even when it’s hard, and having a hard time drowning out the noise.
I can’t change the egg supply but I can give you a noise-cancelling 3 minutes all to yourself.
Many years ago, as some of you know, I was a meditation guide in New York City. I’d ditched my corporate job, started a content site as a full-time business, been overwhelmed and overcome with anxiety, then found a solace from meditation that no anxiety med could ever deliver. In fact, the earliest members of this email list were my meditators from New York (hello!).
My MS diagnosis diverted my meditation teaching path but it was a tool I certainly used over and over again as I dealt with that life change.
I’m no longer the long-form meditator I was, sitting for 20-minutes or longer at a time, or hosting chakra visualization workshops at spas or wellness centers, and truly, nowadays it’s hard to even sit down and guide myself most of the time. But what I do have is a nice deep breathing practice that shifts me into a calm place almost immediately.
A few benefits of deep breathing:
Reduces Stress and Anxiety: Deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps lower cortisol levels and promotes relaxation. health.harvard.edu
Lowers Blood Pressure: Practicing deep breathing can slow the heart rate and dilate blood vessels, contributing to reduced blood pressure. heart.org
Enhances Sleep Quality: Engaging in deep breathing exercises before bedtime can calm the nervous system, making it easier to fall asleep and improving sleep quality. verywellhealth.com
Improves Lung Function: Regular deep breathing exercises can strengthen respiratory muscles and increase lung capacity over time. verywellhealth.com
Boosts Immune Function: By reducing stress through deep breathing, the body's immune response is enhanced, potentially leading to better overall health. heart.org
And beyond the science (but, whoa, those are some pretty compelling reasons), the *feeling* of deep breathing is transporting.
Just for a moment, you are no longer where you were.
And, hopefully, by the time you open your eyes, you’ve carved out a place where things start to look and feel a little different. You can come back here, over and over again, when things in this outside world start to feel hard.
That’s my hope for you.
Until next time,
xM
Want more meditation? Here you go!
Here’s an oldie but a goodie from the old days (and evidently a fan favorite with over 3,000 plays!), my longer “melting fear” meditation. Thee sound isn’t perfect but it does wonders for the soul.
You’ll also notice some similarities to the guidance from one of my earliest substack newsletters. So, if you prefer to read some steps to guide yourself through fear and anxiety instead of listening along, this is for you.
And here’s a few more good reminders of how we can work with our minds to navigate anxiety, even when it feels all consuming (from within or from the everyday news cycle).
All of Life is Plate Spinning
As always, leave a comment if you want to share a part of your journey or something that bubbles up for you from these posts or meditations. We’re here for it! xxM
Share this post