Refresh Your Mind with a Daily Brain Shower
Do you shower every day? Why?
How do you feel after a hot, refreshing shower?
Showers are wonderful things. I enjoy them daily myself. It always amazes me how a bit of warm water shooting out of a spout can make me feel reborn and revitalized. In fact, during the hot and humid Barcelona summers, I sometimes treat myself to two to three showers per day. Pure heaven!
Imagine, a mere generation ago it was common to bathe only once a week. In my grandmother’s time, it was a monthly event with the whole family sharing the same bath water. The daily shower really is one of the Western world’s modern luxuries.
Once in a while, when I have a hectic morning, I might drop off my kids at school before I have had time to have my shower. Oh, how I hate that feeling! It’s on those days that I try to avoid chitchatting with the other moms, or bumping into one of the kids’ teachers. It’s a funny thing, as I am sure no one would ever even notice, but I just feel like my day hasn’t started properly if I haven’t had my shower. I just feel icky. I’m sure you know what I mean.
Reset Your Mind With a Daily Meditation Practice
You are probably wondering what on earth all this has to do with meditation.
Well, as a meditator for over fifteen years now, I have found that meditation is like my mental “brain-shower.” On the days that I don’t manage to fit in my meditation practice, I just don’t feel right. I tend to lose my mental clarity, my mind feels cloudy and I’m just not on top of my game. When I meditate, it seems to cleanse me of any stress and negativity that has built up from the day before, and I can start afresh. It’s like pressing the reset button.
Meditation gives you mental purity. When you are alert and rested in your mind, you are also more productive, more likely to make good decisions, have better problem-solving skills and are more likely to produce new ideas.
When the brain is relaxed, your brain waves slow down into the alpha and theta state. These states activate your right brain, and this is where your creativity and genius lie. Meditation cleanses your mind (it really is a “mental shower”). Even a short meditation session is enough time to flush out any negative emotions and thoughts that have been building up in your brain throughout the day. Many successful people use meditation to rest, recharge and reset their minds to enable them to take on any new challenges which arise and to keep them at the top of their game.
For example, Oprah Winfrey spoke to the media (actually she’s revealed it many times) about the profound effect meditation has had on her life: “The one thing I want to continue to do is to center myself every day and make that a practice for myself, because I am one thousand percent better when I do.”
Even right now you can close your eyes for the next three minutes and put 100% of your attention on your breath. Just notice the sensation of your breath as it enters in through your nose and travels down and fills up your lungs with rejuvenating oxygen. On each new exhale allow any tension or stress to flow out of you. If you can do this, then you can meditate. This will bring you into the present moment, quickly recharge your brain and refresh your mind.
I challenge you to try this three times per day during the next week. Soon you will see how this simple practice is like a wonderful refreshing shower for your brain.
About the Author
7 Ways to Ease Into Meditation
Meditation is for everyone: monks in Tibet, yogis, corporate lawyers, gardeners, the rich, poor, young, and old. We may all approach life differently but in meditation, we are all doing the same thing: quieting the mind and looking within. In a society where information is so readily available, we often look to other sources for opinions and advice. It’s more important than ever to make meditation a priority. Our bodies and minds are our greatest compasses in life. They will always tell us if something we are doing is good for us or not; we just have to stop for a moment to look, feel, and listen from within.
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Here are 7 Ways to Ease Into a Meditation Practice:
1. Give yourself some “soft time” before meditation
Often, the moment you try to quiet the mind it will wander in a thousand different directions. “I forgot to do this today… the kids have a big test tomorrow…my husband forgot to take out the trash…there is a sale at the grocery store…I don’t have time to sit here doing nothing…” Give yourself a few minutes to let the mind do this and then ask it to quiet down. Truly ask it; it’s usually responsive.
2. Compose a to-do list
If after letting your mind wander and asking it to quiet down, you are still unable to reach a place of stillness, write those pesky things down, and acknowledge them. Sometimes that’s all thoughts need— acknowledgment.
3. Start a ritual
Meditation can be done anywhere at any time. It can be done in the middle of the subway during rush hour or in the middle of a meeting with your boss (I don’t recommend the latter). I’ve found, though, that training the mind to quiet down in a specific setting prepares it to settle down with less effort. Light candles have chamomile tea, take a bubble bath. Signal to your mind that it’s time to relax.
4. Learn to observe
We are not our thoughts. We have our thoughts. Try to detach yourself and simply watch them go by. View them in a cloud or a bubble and allow them to float away.
5. Focus on the breath
I know, you have heard this a million times. But it works! The best lesson I received in meditation is to focus on the pause between inhales and exhales. The four stages of breath give the mind something to focus on and connect us to our life force. You can focus on the breath and reduce your stress in just 15 minutes with Seize the Day! prior to even leaving the house. It’s lovely.
6. Do yoga
Yoga flows can become a moving meditation. Yin yoga can bring your mind and body into stillness. Kundalini can prepare the breath. Any type of yoga can open the mind and body to meditation. You can’t lose.
7. Think Positive Thoughts
Finally, if you’re having a crazy day and can’t get your mind to settle down, it’s OK. Think positive thoughts. There are days when meditation is easy, days when it takes a little longer to become still, and days when it just doesn’t want to happen. I used to become annoyed with myself if I couldn’t stop the endlessness of my thoughts, but that defeats the purpose. On those days, I ask my mind to come up with as many positive words as it can. Joy, peace, serenity, gratitude, etc. After even just a few minutes of doing this, I guarantee you will be in a calm, peaceful place.
