Meditation can be cool.

Lindsay Recknell Fitness, Mental Health, Workplace Mental Health Leave a Comment

BusinessLink invited me to be on two panels last week, at events they host each month for entrepreneurs and small business owners in Alberta. The topic was well-being and how to manage your health while also growing a business, the struggles of which I’m all too familiar with. Really interesting people on the panels – experts in their fields of fitness, mindfulness and mediation and I learned a lot.

Those who know me well, know that I’m not into the “fluffy stuff”.

I’ve always been so close-minded, judgmental and had almost an aversion to anything I deemed “mystical” or “woo-woo”. I’m sure you know the kind of experiences I’m talking about.

I totally discredited the value, and frankly, the power of mediation and mindfulness.

Traditionally, I feel like activities like yoga, meditation, spirituality weren’t presented or taught in a way that appealed to all humans – that a person needed to be on some other spiritual plane to recognize the full value of the experiences and teachings.

Turns out…not true!

Meditation can be cool. And it can be for every one.

Even the woo-woo adverse.

It’s not about exactly how and when you practice mindfulness and meditation, it’s just that you do.

Julianna Bootsman from White Box Leadership taught us a breathing exercise where you breathe in for a count of five, hold that breath for five, then exhale for five, repeating this four times. All while visualizing a box and with each repetition, you move along one side of the box (four reps, four sides to the box…get it? 😉.

Try it. See what happens to your emotions, thoughts and body.

The beauty of this one is it can be done anywhere and doesn’t take much time. We did it in a conference room, I’ve now done it in bed to fall asleep…you could do it on the train, in the car, at the dog park.

In any of the times I’ve tried this technique, there was not a candle, yoga mat or mantra in sight.

I’ve experienced it to calm my mind, focus my thoughts and bring an elevated heartbeat back to resting. If my brain is anxious or on edge, this “breathe in a box” technique calms the barking dog in my mind.

My sisters, my dad, my husband, these other panel entrepreneurs…they’re all right. Mediation can be cool, its power is transformational and it doesn’t have to be woo-woo.

This newly open-minded gal is going to see what else it can do.

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