Mindfulness Magic

Stop what you’re doing for a second. Stop reading this and do these five things:

  1. Look around the room and name five things that you can see.
  2. Focus on four things that you can feel.
  3. Name three things that you can hear.
  4. Notice two things that you can smell. 
  5. Focus on one thing that you can taste.

Congrats! You’ve just completed your first grounding technique that is taught many times in practicing mindfulness. It’s supposed to help bring you back into the present moment, which is a main component of mindfulness.

Mindfulness, noun: the state of being conscious or aware of something.

Headspace.com describes mindfulness as, “…the quality of being present and fully engaged with whatever we’re doing at the moment — free from distraction or judgment, and aware of our thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in them.”

A lot of us are always going, always moving, thinking “okay when I get off work I have to do ____.”, “I can’t wait until the weekend so I can go ____.”, “I’m so worried about ____ because I can’t control ____.”

Does that sound familiar? It’s because we’re not present. We’re not living the beautiful moment that is right now. Everything before this moment is unchangeable, and everything after this moment is unpredictable. Sure, it’s okay to get excited about something happening in your future, but think about the times when that thought of excitement turns into anxious thoughts, worrying, etc. It sucks and it causes a lot of issues — I’m speaking from lots of experience. Even as I write this I’m experiencing it. LOL.

Have you ever thought about how mindful you’re being at any given moment? Researchers on mindfulness put together this quick little questionnaire to help you out!

You might be wondering why this matters — what are the benefits to being more mindful? Lucky for you, Headspace is back at it again with the wonderful information you need:

  • You’ll have lower glucose levels.
    • Researchers at Brown University found that those who scored higher in mindfulness were more likely to have healthier glucose levels than those who scored lower.
    • Mindful people are more inclined to believe they can change important things in their life as well, found in a study from the University of Pennsylvania. Mindfulness helps people feel less ashamed when presented with advice; making them more motivated to change.
  • Develop better eating habits.
    • Think about it! (Pun intended). Being more thoughtful about your food choices would obviously help you identify when you’re hungry, satiated, or too full.
  • Less anxiety and stress.
    • Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center found that patients with anxiety disorder (omg meeeeeeee) had reduced stress hormone and inflammatory responses to stressful situations after taking a mindfulness meditation course.
  • Better ability to focus and improved memory.
    • Again, researchers published papers in the Journal of Management finding mindfulness stabilizes attention to the present moment. Those who studied mindfulness meditation were more likely to remain vigilant longer during tasks.
    • UC Santa Barbara researchers found that simply two weeks of mindfulness training can improve reading comprehension, working memory capacity, and ability to focus.
  • An increase in pain relief.
    • Wake Forest Baptist researchers conducted a double-blinded study including 78 healthy volunteers, and found that pain was reduced by over 20% after meditation.
  • Better sleep! Yay!
    • According to an article published by JAMA Internal Medicine, sleep from meditation improved in older adults that had trouble sleeping.

So like… where’s the negative? I’ve had some pushback from people when I express my love for mindfulness meditation and I don’t get it. What’s the worst that could happen? Even if you tried meditating for 10 minutes and didn’t feel you were “doing it right”, you were still able to get 10 minutes to yourself, right? You time is the most important time.

You deserve to live in the moment. You deserve to be present. You deserve not to worry or feel anxiety about the past or the future, because it’s unchangeable. What already happened, happened. And what’s going to happen, is going to happen, whether you like it or not.

I’ll leave you with a quote by boss babe meditation teacher and author, Megan Monahan:

“There is no good or bad meditation. The only bad meditation is the one you don’t do.”

“Don’t Hate, Meditate” – Episode 312 of Highest Self Podcast

Lindsey MorrowLeave a comment

I Stopped Meditating Daily and All Hell Broke Loose

Like, for real. You know how you always have good intentions when beginning a new habit, then feel kind of shitty when you fall out of it? Well… it was nothing like that at all. It was 1,000x worse — and I couldn’t be more thankful.

In a previous blog I mentioned how I was furloughed from work for three months earlier this year. During those three months I meditated every-single-day and it was magical. I felt more peaceful, present, less reactive, and more. I had unlocked my higher self and finally knew what it felt like to live in the high-vibration state I had only read about in books. Truly, it was life-changing and I was committed to doing it for at least 10 minutes daily moving forward.

LOL. How cute of me to think I could do something like that! Honestly, I’m adorable.

Now, I don’t want to blame this on going back to work because at the end of the day, it’s my responsibility to keep up a personal habit. However, I am a Taurus and would like to take a moment to base my entire personality off of my zodiac sign.

*ahem*

Tauruses thrive in comfort and are very stubborn. Meaning, me going back to work after being at home getting my mental shit together three months prior = recipe for disaster, baby! I got back to work and still managed to get my meditation in for the first week or so. But you know how it goes, it only takes missing ONE DAY to get completely thrown off balance. For me, anyway. Going back to working 40 hours a week, I would come home, veg out, crash, and do it all again the next day. Then on my days off I was in such a tizzy I honestly didn’t know which way was up!

We can’t always change what’s happening around us, but we can change what happens within us.

Andy Puddicombe, Headspace co-founder

About three weeks ago I was at the gynecologist for a yearly check-up. “How are you?” she asked. My mind swelled with thoughts which sent me into fight-or-flight mode, and of course I chose to fly. “I’m fine…” I gurgled.

“Lindsey, I don’t like that answer. How are you really?”

Here’s a mental image for you: there I was, lying back in my chair, hospital gown on, feet in stirrups, bracing myself for a pap smear, having a mental breakdown at the gyno. No better place to cry while your baby maker is on full display, I guess.

I went on to explain to her the mental struggles I was having the past month (even though I have 27 years worth of grade-A content for her!). How I was doing extremely well during my months off work, meditating daily, working to become a LIFE COACH… I felt so unworthy and small in that moment. I finally cracked as she told me I have to stop trying to be the one to save myself, that I can get professional help and that is o-k. All the work I’d done earlier this year barely scratched the surface, but I’m glad I was able to etch off that top layer.

She discussed the medication route as well as the therapy route, which I excitedly chose to do both because I needed help ASAP — and still do. The noise in my mind gets so loud sometimes I feel like my ears are going to bleed.

“Why didn’t you do _____ today?” “If you don’t get the dishes done your ENTIRE apartment will stink.” “You do know you’re a failure because you’re not using your college degree, right?” “Why didn’t ____ laugh at my joke earlier?” “Are you being present in this moment?”

“Are you listening, Lindsey?”

“Hello?”

It’s loud. It’s so earth-shatteringly loud in my head and I know I can do better. I can BE better. I am so thankful for getting out of the loop with my meditation, because that breakdown at the gynecologist saved my life.

I’ve been taking anti-depressants since that day and have already had my first therapy appointment. Since that day, I’ve been setting aside time for ME to meditate, read a good book, or do absolutely nothing. There is nothing wrong with taking medication if it helps you operate in a “normal” way, and I can happily say I’m already feeling much more balanced since I started. Having a day off and putting away my phone, doing nothing is completely fine. Needless to say, I’m chomping at the bit to read this again in a year and give myself a huge pat on the back for all the progress I’ll have made.

If someone can’t respect the time I take for myself, they don’t deserve to know me in the first place.

Besides, I’m a Taurus. And I do whatever the hell I want.

Lindsey MorrowLeave a comment

Daily Practices to Keep Your Vibe Lifted

In my previous blog I mentioned how I started implementing some new daily practices that have been life-changing. I am SO excited to share them with you!

A huge theme I have found for 2020 continues to be Uncertainty. How are we to cope and have any sense of normalcy when we’re only six months in and have already dealt with a world-wide pandemic, quarantines, natural disasters, deaths… you understand. And now all of a sudden we’re expected to return back to normal?! Well, let me tell you my friend, there is no normal. There never was. You just got complacent and then shit hit the fan. That shit being 2020.

We’ve got one life to live and we were made to thrive in it. Yes, bad things happen and they happen every day — how do you react to them? It’s only then that we find our true growth lies on the other side of that obstacle. These are a few practices I’ve started each day to re-center and make sure I’m high vibin’.

  • Set intentions first
    • Every morning when you first wake up, before you get out of bed, before you check social media, set your intentions for the day. How do you want to feel? What do you want to accomplish? Get your mind right and set those intentions so you’re able to hold yourself accountable if you happen to get off track.
  • Stretch
    • After you’re out of bed, streeeeeeeeeeeeetch that body out! Standing tall, feet apart, deep breath in and reach for the stars. Deep breath out, stretch down towards the toes and release all that stale energy. Stretch those arms, legs, neck, back, whatever you need. Get the body moving for that great day you’re about to have.
  • Meditate
    • THIS. Oh, this. Meditation has probably been the most impactful for me. Headspace, Calm, and Insight Timer are just a few of many apps that have helped me get into a daily practice. I’m currently using Headspace because I like the playlists they have. All you need is 10 minutes a day… 10 minutes! My concentration and patience have improved immensely, plus I practice a few meditation tricks throughout the day when stress/anxious thoughts arise.
  • Manifesting and Affirmations
    • This is a close favorite next to meditation. ALL of your wants and desires can be yours! Believe it or not, you’ve been manifesting all your life without even knowing it. The reason you are where you are in life is due to the decisions you made to get to this point. As previously mentioned, I know that life throws us many curveballs, but how do you decide to swing? Is it a foul ball, or do you knock it out of the park? (…omg I just made a sports reference who am I…) But no, seriously.
    • For example, “This time next year I will be my own boss.” This is one that I say every day because it’s true! I’m working hard towards it and am 100% confident that I have everything in me to achieve it. Especially because I’m manifesting it every. single. day.
    • But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, you can manifest anything you desire as long as you truly believe. Act as if you already have it, how does that feel? Good, I’m sure. Stay in that high vibe and the universe will deliver when the time is right. It doesn’t even have to be something huge and magnificent, it can be as simple as a parking spot — I do this one quite a lot thanks to The Secret. I’ll have to write another blog on manifesting because I could talk about it all day.
    • Now to affirmations, these are great little pep talks I like to practice daily that have really changed my mindset. Words have A LOT of meaning, especially when you’re referring to yourself. A few I practice: “I am confident,” “I accept myself for who I truly am,” “I am love,” “I am light,” you get the idea. You can search affirmations for confidence, anxiety, money, anything!
  • Being grateful
    • At the end of every day whether it be in my phone, notebook, or just to myself, I list at least three things I’m grateful for. Gratefulness instantly lifts you because you’re forced into a more positive mindset. Plus, being grateful can only bring about MORE wonderful things to be grateful for!

These are just a few of many new practices I’ve been incorporating into my life to make it 100x better. Don’t get complacent. Your life doesn’t have to suck. Let’s help ourselves first so we can put our best foot forward in helping others. Together we can all see with new eyes.

Lindsey Morrow2 Comments