“Since when do you meditate?” asked my family member with a turned up lip and eyebrow. I must admit, her expression mirrored what I felt whenever the meditation discussion came up with someone. But, with a smile on my face, my response was “since I realized it’s absolutely necessary to help me relieve my stress, increase my happiness hours and create peace within.” Yes, yes! I’ve officially been a member of the meditation bandwagon since November 2013. I’m awakening.
Like most people, I’ve heard of all the promised wonders of meditation but was never truly a believer. Or maybe I just did not allow myself to believe it worked. Well alas, I’ve found the light. After my accident last year, and unbeknownst to a lot of people around me, I began to emotionally unravel: heart palpitations, anxiety, panic attacks, and irritability, all of which plagued me during my recovery. Needless to say, it was extremely frustrating, so I decided to beef up my calming routine with prayer, deep breathing and meditation. My prayer is first when I open my eyes. Deep breathing is done at different intervals during the day, and meditation is mostly in the evening.
You realize that all things that truly matter – beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace, – arise from beyond the mind. You begin to awaken ~ Echart Tolle
I decided to start with a Deepok Chopra tape, which was given to me by a sweetheart co worker several years ago. I know i’ve been sitting on Deepok for years…yikes! At first it was very difficult, because quieting your mind and being present in the moment is no easy feat. But I was determined to give it my all. It took approximately three months for me for learn to completely focus and be still. It’s almost as if I was a spectator in my mind. During my meditation time, the noise fades, and it gets better and better with time. And I will continue to practice meditation because I value my health and wellness.
So what does it do for me? Well, all the things you’ve heard. Really, it does. In a nutshell it’s helped me:
♦ Manage and alleviate my stresses: seriously. Take it from an amateur.
♦ Manage my emotions.
♦ Increase my happiness hours.
♦ Helps me focus and be in the present
Dixie Lincoln- Nichols is a biological science educator, health and wellbeing consultant and Qigong instructor. Her work has been featured in media outlets like, Oprah Mag, SELF, Yahoo and more. She is the founder of Inside Outer Beauty Market, a multi-cultutal retailer curating and creating products to support the body inside and out. Visit the site at www.iobeautymarket.com
