Mindfulness for Skeptics
Breathe in your nose for four counts. Hold at the top for seven. Breathe out of your mouth for eight. Hold at the bottom for four. Notice the air fill in your diaphragm as you gently place your hand on your belly. Close your eyes if you’d like. Repeat these steps as many times as needed.
Now, take a second to notice how you are feeling. If you feel good, continue to read. If you didn’t notice anything, try it again. And then definitely continue to read.
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The instructor sounds her gong, spritzes a spray that I assume is probably lavender, and in a slow, spiritual-yogi-whisper voice, she announces it’s time to get in the Shavasana pose. What the heck does that mean? I sneak a glance in my periphery at a perfectly sculpted yoga mom, careful not to turn my head too much. Like a student cheating on a test, praying she hasn’t noticed me copying her the entire class. That’d be embarrassing. She prepares to lay down on her back on her yoga mat and closes her eyes. Oh, I can definitely do this pose. The instructor turns on a soundtrack with mysterious-sounding “mmm’s” and ambient noises, she opens her mouth to chant, breathe in… breathe out…
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I returned to the studio the next day in a desperate search for that whole-body calm I achieved in the last five minutes of class. I was convinced I had become a yogi, and this was now my thing. But it wasn’t until the Shavasana, again, that I felt really good, really calm and clear. It wasn’t until the guided meditation and the breathwork at the end of the class. I realized it wasn’t really the yoga class at all that did it for me (although I do enjoy yoga now), but rather, it was the simple mindfulness practices that are laden within the teachings of yoga, and within that last five minutes of class.
Meditation and mindfulness are slowly working its way into western vernacular, but they are often used interchangeably. Are they really the same? Not completely. While they have many similar and overlapping characteristics, there are some important differences to tease out.
“Meditation typically refers to formal, seated meditation practice,” and “Mindfulness is all about being aware, which of course includes the practice of meditation. When you are being actively mindful, you are noticing and paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and movements, and also to the effects you have on those around you.”
So, no, I’m not recommending you to go outside, sit cross-legged, and meditate for 13 hours straight. Simply establishing a mindfulness practice for even 5–10 minutes a day is shown to have benefits.
Why is this important? Let me break it down for you.
In your nervous system, your autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the first line of defense when it comes to your physical stress response. This can be about anything causing you stress; school work, a job interview, a first date, or a looming deadline. In this initial “alarm stage,” your body literally goes into panic mode. In this process, your sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is activated to protect you, and your brain then sends signals to excrete stress hormones (this process starts with the HPA Axis, which is the interaction between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands). This causes your pulse to increase, blood pressure to rise, blood sugar spike, you begin sweating. You’re freaking out. This is the “fight or flight” response that you often hear about. This stress response is meant to protect your body from harm or from impending danger, giving you a burst of energy so you can properly respond. However, this response is not meant to be firing every day, multiple times a day–this can be very detrimental to your health.
The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) functions to turn off that fight or flight response, to bring your body back to rest. It’s important to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system, as this system is underactive in our high-stress, burnout society. Simple breathing exercises can activate the PNS, the state where your body will rest, digest, heal and recover (IIN document). Think about it like this, the human body is made up of 50 trillion cells, all of which are constantly working to regenerate, to respond to whatever you’re putting your body through. If you neglect to activate your PNS, your body will not get the chance it needs to rest, digest, relax, rebuild, and repair. It’s absolutely essential to the functioning of your body.
In our fast-paced lives, we are often stuck in an elevated state, constantly on high-alert. Burnout is the direct result of an imbalance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The reason it’s important to manage your fight or flight response is because your body will begin building resistance to this elevated state in order to adapt and to continue on with your day. When your body is releasing hormones for an extended period of time, it’s proven that it can contribute to anxiety, depression, lack of energy, lowered immunity, low libido, increased fat storage, irregular hunger cues, aches, pains… you get the idea (citation — IIN document).
Stress isn’t always a bad thing, in fact, small amounts can be exactly what you need to increase your focus and to motivate yourself to tackle a busy work week. Likewise, you need the stress response to help you in situations where you are potentially really in danger. Like if the tiger is really chasing you. But if you are constantly in this state of stress and are overwhelmed, it can negatively affect your mental and physical wellbeing. A study done at Harvard estimates that approximately 80 percent of medical-related events and doctors visits are caused by stress.
Mindfulness can take many different forms, such as a simple breathing exercise, or a more formal seated meditation. But a mindfulness practice can also be a morning walk, journaling, anything that slows you down and brings you back to the present moment. Guided meditations, with apps such as Headspace, Calm, or Insight timer, are a great place to start. You can even try square breathing exercises as I outlined above when feeling overwhelmed.
If you’re looking for a foolproof way to reduce stress levels and promote relaxation in the body, definitely consider finding a meditation practice that works for you. The Mayo Clinic writes,
“Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace, and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health. And these benefits don’t end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and may help you manage symptoms of certain medical conditions.”
Mindfulness practices boast a number of benefits for mental wellbeing, such as stress management, self-awareness, staying present, and mood improvement. Additionally, there are major physical health benefits such as improved cellular health, hormonal balance, reducing blood pressure, improve digestion, and lower inflammation in your body.
