Blog
Resistance is Futile
One year ago, I had just opened a meditation studio in the commercial district of my neighborhood in Atlanta. I was living in my teeny sub-500ft ‘career transition’ apartment, and I needed a space to work with clients and teach my meditation course. I was so excited to finally have a place of my own to teach, host workshops, and hold weekly group meditations. I re-signed a lease at my teeny apartment, which was in an ideal location and also fit my budget, given the expenses of the commercial space.
Meditation For High Performance: Not Just For Stress
As a meditation teacher, I meet people every day who have pre-conceived notions about meditation. People assume that we have to sit in an uncomfortable position with our backs straight and legs crossed, that we have to clear our minds of thoughts, and maybe even that we need to be hippies with flowing hair, meditating in a grassy field with birds chirping and rainbows. Most people realize that meditation can help with stress management, and maybe even with anxiety and insomnia. But did you realize that meditation is also used as a high-performance tool?
Meditation: The World's Best Parenting Hack
Let’s face it- we love our kids, but parenting is one of life’s greatest challenges! Here are 5 ways that a regular meditation practice can help make our jobs as parents easier:
The Culture of Busy-ness
How many times have you told yourself, ‘I’d love to be able to _____, but I just don’t have enough time’? How many hours have you spent bemoaning the fact that we don’t have enough time to do ______, instead of just DOING it?!
Our motto for the type of meditation I teach is "Do less, accomplish more; Do least, accomplish most; Do nothing, accomplish everything". This is exactly what we want for meditation. Zero effort. Yes, it does sometimes apply to the outside world, but our technique is meant for householders, not monks....
There is no quick fix
Last month I spoke at a conference about burnout in medicine. The idea is, if the doctors are less burned out, they will be better doctors, and then the patients will be more satisfied with the care they receive. And everyone will be happier. Win-win-win.
I had coffee with my former boss, who is a visionary leader, before I gave my talk. He asked me what I thought we should do about burnout. I suggested a Vedic meditation program for a group of physicians at the hospital, and he replied along the lines of, “yes, but then they have to become meditators. How else can we fix burnout?”
Meditate-Anon (Part 2)- for the non-meditators!
Vedic meditation (or any physical or spiritual practice), while life-changing for meditators, can sometimes be a drag for the partners (and family members, friends, and colleagues) of meditators. Several weeks ago, I posted part 1 of this series- how Vedic meditators can make it easier for their family members, colleagues and friends, to be supportive of their practice. If you missed it, or want a refresher, you can read it here!
Meditate-Anon (Part 1)
Vedic meditation, while life-changing for meditators, can sometimes be a drag for the partners (and family members, friends, and colleagues) of meditators. They may feel left out, left behind, jealous of the time spent meditating (I’ve been told by a partner that it felt like meditation was the 3rd person in our relationship), threatened that we will evolve past wanting (or needing) them, and more. 20 minutes twice a day ends up seeming like a LOT to people who aren't practicing. ‘Wow, she’s a meditator, how cool’ turns into ‘why can’t she just miss one meditation? What’s the big deal?’. It can happen pretty quickly, if we aren’t careful, and it may end up being costly to the relationship. We don’t want our partners to feel like they need to start a chapter of Meditate-Anon, a support group for partners of meditators!
For All Reasons
Once we start looking at the world from the Vedic perspective, we start to really trust that the universe has our back. This was actually my favorite, albeit unexpected, benefit of my Vedic meditation practice. We start to see life’s events unfold in such a beautiful, quirky, knowing way, with such synchronicity, that we become able to see past what initially seem to be setbacks, and we just know that it’s gonna be ok. Actually, it’s gonna be great. Meeting got cancelled? Sweet, now I have time to work on my blog post. Bad breakup? Perfect timing; otherwise I wouldn’t be available for this new lovely person I just met.
When your ex gets married...
My ex-boyfriend got married last weekend. Just about a year after we broke up.
I found out about it a couple of months ago, in typical 2017 fashion, on Google. Some honeymoon go-fund-me page. They looked really happy and cute. That part didn’t bother me. I actually want him to find happiness.
9 Reasons Why Doctors CAN, SHOULD, (and often DON’T) Meditate
Knowing what I know about practicing medicine, and knowing what I know about meditation and its benefits, I often ask myself, “why don’t more doctors, and other healthcare professionals, learn to meditate?” Here are 9 reasons why doctors CAN, SHOULD, (and often DON’T), meditate: