Why do we practice yoga, and breathe and sit in silence?

There are SO many reasons, one of which is to find calm and comfort in uncertainty. 

And man are these times uncertain. 

The human mind does NOT care for uncertainty. It tries so hard to grasp onto whatever it can find to make sense of things.

A friend of mine shared the idea that left unsupervised your mind is like a toddler with a sharpie. I feel like mine may actually be a toddler with a sharpie and a hammer left in a china shop with only white walls but that’s not exactly the point. 

The point is your mind needs something to focus on.

So if you don’t GIVE it some direction it will find something. 

The goal then is redirection.

And one of the easiest ways to do this is with meditation and breathwork. It’s super simple and you already have everything you need to get started.

Just a willingness to pause and be still. We often avoid it because there is discomfort in stillness. 

But there are important lessons to be learned in these places of discomfort. 

Victor Frankl wrote, “between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

There is no such thing as a right or wrong way to meditate. It doesn't need to look a certain way. You just have to find what works for you. 

Even just a few minutes provides an opportunity to pause and check in with yourself. 

Here are 3 of my favorite grounding techniques to invite a little more calm into your day:

PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION 

Tense one muscle group at a time and hold for a count of 5. Then release completely and feel the tension start to melt away from your body. This technique is particularly helpful immediately prior to bed or before entering a situation that you are feeling a little anxious about. 

BOX BREATHING 

Box breathing is a super simple technique that you can do just about anywhere, anytime to calm your nerves, focus your mind and rescue the effects of stress and anxiety. 

Find a comfortable space to sit or lie down and take a few big cleansing breaths into your belly and release through your mouth. 

Then begin to breathe in and out through your nose. After 2-3 breaths, begin to inhale for a count of 4, filling up the entire belly, then hold at the top of the breath for a count of 4, finally exhale through the nose for a count of 4 and hold for 4, emptying out completely before beginning the next round. 

Repeat 4-5 times and repeat as needed throughout the day. 

MBSR FIVE SENSES MEDITATION 

The “five senses” exercise helps bring some mindfulness to any situation and is a quick way to bring you back into your body and into the present moment. 

Notice five things that you can see.

Look around you and bring your attention to five things that you can see. Pick something that you don’t normally notice, like a shadow or a small crack in the concrete.

Notice four things that you can feel.

Bring awareness to four things that you are currently feeling. 

like the texture of your pants, the feeling of the breeze on your skin, or the smooth surface of a table you are resting your hands on.

Notice three things you can hear.

Take a moment to listen. 

Take note of three things that you hear in the background. Birds chirping, chirp of a bird, or the faint sounds of traffic from a nearby road.

Notice two things you can smell.

Bring your awareness to any smells around you.  Pleasant or unpleasant. Maybe you catch a whiff of pine trees if you’re outside, or the smell of someone cooking.

Notice one thing you can taste.

Focus on one thing that you can taste right now. Take a sip of a drink, chew a piece of gum, eat a piece of chocolate, pay attention to the taste in your mouth. 

Then slowly move back into your day. 

Try not to overcomplicate it, Sometimes you have to try a few out before you find a good fit.

There are so many different ways to find stillness and it doesn’t really matter how you do it, it only matters that you do. Find whatever technique works for you and do that.