Well-being Guide
Meditation
UPSU supported Mental Health Week by running a session on Meditation. Following
on from the success of Emma and Mary’s talks, Katalina ran a session on 12 May
2015 at 11:30am - 12:00pm in Illusion. Katalina runs Mediation sessions as part of
the Give it a Go project, run by Louise Francis.
Meditation presentation - mental health awareness week
Presenter: kat savage
If you walk into the well-known bookshop on our high street today, in their ‘health
and well being section’ you will currently find a front facing display of mindfulness
and meditation books. Not only that, you will find cd’s with guided meditations and
relaxing music and many self help guides on how to overcome fear, stress, anxiety,
anger and even cancer through meditation and positive thinking.
Thanks to the scientific results of many international universities, meditation is now
more than ‘just that mind thing that the Buddhists do’ to a recognized cognitive
behavioral therapy benefitting our overworked nation. It has even caught the
attention of avid business men, and even the us military. Of course, the uk is slightly
behind when it comes to discovering the power behind meditation practice, many
religions from Buddhism, to native American Indians have practiced this technique
for thousands of years.
So what’s the big deal? And why have many everyday people started to incorporate
it into their lives?
If I told you that you may be able to lower blood pressure, significantly reduce
anxiety and stress, perform better in your job, in your decision making, in your
relationship, achieve higher grades, help yourself to quit smoking, lose weight, help a
child to manage obsessive compulsive disorders, help older generations to slow the
ageing process of the mind , help athletes to run faster, even grow extra grey matter
in your brain with just the simple act of essentially doing ‘nothing’, would you start
doing it?!
Only a foolish person would answer ‘no’ to this question, which is why, in a society
full of cynics used to taking pills and paying thousands of pounds on therapy to rid
themselves of these conditions we need to see some science, because surely, we
cant help ourselves for free can we?! Even though the science results on meditation
are relatively new in process, ( and by new I mean the last 60 years!) there are some
fascinating and incredible results being discovered. Here are just a few studies in
different areas that have recently cropped up in the media.
So here comes the science bit… concentrate!
A recent study conducted by Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General
Hospital determined that ‘meditation literally rebuilds the brains grey matter in just 8
weeks’. It’s the very first study to document this change over time. To quote Sara
Lazar of the MGH psychiatric research program and also a Harvard medical school
instructor in psychology:
‘although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and
physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides
cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day. This study
demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported
improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending
time relaxing. The analysis of MR images which focused on areas where meditation
associated differences were seen in earlier studies, found increased grey matter
density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in
structures associates with self awareness, compassion and introspection’.
World-renowned neuroscientist and co founder of the new hybrid science
‘contemplative neuroscience’ Richard J Davidson, works closely with the Dalai
Lama, being one of the first to conduct MRI imaging on meditating Buddhists, and
physically provide evidence of increased brain productivity , decrease in stress
hormone production and deeper sleep state cycles . he has conducted many
different research projects into the benefits of meditation. Taking one of his most
recent studies (and there are many, so please research him) , an initiative called ‘the
kindness curriculum’, Davidson boosts school success in pre schoolers, the results
published in the journal of developmental psychology:
Over the course of 12 weeks, twice a week, the 4-6 year old prekindergarten and
kindergarten students of the madison metropolitan school district , learnt about
attention, breath and body and compassionate practice to help promote social,
emotional and academic skills. The research provides clear evidence of significant
improvement in social skills, self regulation and academic performance. They hope
through longer research, to prove their hypothesis that This kind of early childhood
skill setting, will equip the child better in future physical and mental health, financial
stability and greater life decisions.
Researchers at Oxford university England have this year provided evidence that
mindfulness based cognitive therapy can treat depression with the same success as
antidepressant pills. MBCT therapy combines the mindfulness technique of
encouraging individuals to concentrate and meditate on the present moment, rather
than dwelling on unhelpful thoughts about the past or future with standard CBT
therapy on helping the individual to deal with underlying behavioral problems in a
more positive way.
This particular trial, published in the Lancet, recruited 424 adults with histories of
depression from 95 different practices. Half were told to remain on anti depressants;
the others took part on 8-12 group therapy sessions for 1 year and to reduce and
stop medication and prevent relapse. The relapse rate for those on drugs were 47%
and those with mindfulness therapy 40%. It would therefore seem to bear out current
NHS guidelines that certain high-risk patients should thus be offered MBCT therapy
as an alternative to medication.
The journal of clinical sports psychology recently published Keith Kaufman’s paper
on the ‘evaluation of mindful sports performance and enhancement (MSPE) a new
approach to promote ‘flow ‘ in athletes.
In this paper, Kaufman deconstructs that well-known phrase ‘the zone’, where
athletes perform at their peak. In this so called ‘zone’, athletes report a physical and
mental state of fusion, a heightened sense of skill mastery, deep concentration,
emotional buoyancy, increased self confidence, a sense of destiny, relaxation, self
transcendence and automaticity of performance. These states are rarely achieved
voluntarily, whilst most athletes use visualization, meditation, prayer and sports
psychology techniques. Kaufman wanted to show the evidentiary link between these
practices and the outcome of a successful ‘zone; state. He cites kabat-zinns
mindfulness-based stress reduction program and Segal, Williams and Teasdales
MBCT therapy (mentioned above) and provides the evidence that regular practice of
meditation provides a decrease in stress and anxiety, alleviates internal conflict,
reduces negative mindset as well as enhancing bodily function and improved
thinking patterns.
There are many many published scientific journals out there on meditation and its
effects, some of the most exciting being funded studies on helping those that suffer
with illnesses such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Autism.
There is one main difference that no matter how you look at it, always comes up
when researching meditation. That is the difference in mental outlook and personal
self worth. There is now no doubt within the scientific community that meditation
creates a higher sense of happiness and relaxation, contributing to the reduction of
mental anguish in all its shapes and forms. When the brain is happy, the body is
happy, and this shows significant control over things like blood pressure, obesity and
habit breaking.
Before practicing meditation, the brain has strong neural connections within the ‘ME
CENTRE’ (medial prefrontal cortex- the part that refers back to ‘you’ and your
perspective, reflection on the self , daydreaming, empathy and engagement in social
situations) and the BODILY FEARS/SENSATION centres of the brain (amygdalaresponsible for our fight or flight response and the insula- responsible for ‘gut
reactions’ and sensations within the body). This means that whenever you feel
anxious or worried, or have a tingle or pain in the body, you immediately assume the
worse and most frightening outcome. This is because your ‘me centre’ is working on
bulk information. It processes things quickly and in turn creates the most likely
outcome, even if it is ridiculous. It is also this constant reliance on the me centre that
allows us to create thought loops about our life, mistakes we have made, past
regrets etc. why does this happen? Because the assessment centre part of the brain
(the lateral pre frontal cortex- the part that allows you to see things in a balanced
way and overriding automatic behaviors etc) has a relatively weak link to the me
centre. If however, you were to access a higher capacity within this link, you could
override excessive activity with ease. This would allow you to see all the information
you are presented with in life situations, without the ego of the me centre getting in
the way of a truly balanced and logical thought processes. This in turn, would create
a rational ‘outcome’, allowing the thinker to be more relaxed and focused , whilst
able to let go of fear and negative future outcomes.
And this is where meditation helps. It DOES allow this connection to happen! If you
meditate regularly for 15-30 minutes a day, the strong tight bond between ME Centre
and FEAR Centre weaken, which means that if you have a weird body sensation,
you will not automatically think the worse, allowing your mind to relax and hence
anxiety reduction. You can then see these sensations for what they are and not what
they ‘could be’. A stronger connection between assessment centre and me centre is
created, allowing you to see an upsetting situation or body trauma with more
rationality, allowing the situation to be observed and ‘play out’ like a story, Instead of
becoming fearful or anxious and accelerating the body into panic or shock. Finally,
the connection between the ‘helpful’ aspects of the me centre (dorsomedial cortex)
and the bodily sensation aspect, involved in empathy, also becomes stronger. This
healthy connection allows you to see where another person is ‘coming from’,
especially between yourself and those you don’t think you can understand because
you perceive things so differently. This increased connection explains why those that
practice meditation are seen as more compassionate, as they simply relate better to
others in all shapes and forms.
These differences however, can only be maintained through regular practice, like
going to a mind gym. Science proves that just like the muscles ‘untone’ without
regular exercise, so does the mind, we call this neuroplasticity. We are organic
matter, which means we are never in a solid state, only a maintained one. Luckily we
are highly adaptable, we can create new neuro pathways with relative ease of
practice and meditation is not a hard sport! Contrary to popular belief, you do not
have to sit in a certain way, listen to certain music (although engaging with the same
piece of music every time you meditate creates association, and ease into meditative
states become quicker) or wear certain clothes to meditate. You can literally be sat in
the office and stare into space for 10 minutes on a lunch hour to improve your well
being!
So how can I start to incorporate meditation and mindfulness into life?
It is so simple to start your meditation journey! Even if you find it hard to visualize,
you can list or say things in a repetitive way to begin transformation of mind. There
are many guided meditations on you tube, classes and books and cds waiting for
you to access them. If you suffer with clinical depression or anxiety, make sure that
you see your GP before practice and get a proper assessment as to whether you
would benefit from mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Here are a few of my favorite meditation/mindfulness techniques to try this week.
Mindfulness technique: gratefulness exercise.
Best time to perform? Morning & evening.
Time allotted 5-10 minutes.
Emotional achievement: joy and positivity
This meditation is a great way to start your day or recount your day. It fills you with
happiness and motivation.
When you wake in the morning, start to list the things that you are grateful for in your
mind. For instance
‘I am grateful for waking up to another day when so many will not’
‘I am grateful for the water to cleanse my body and keep me alive’
‘I am grateful for the delicious and healthy food I am fuelling my body with’
‘I am grateful for my family who love me so much’
you get the point. With each gratefulness phrase, take a nice deep breath and fill
your body with a joyful sensation. Smile whilst your eyes are closed. As you say your
happy thoughts in your mind, visualize the feeling, image or memory associated with
them.
Once you have finished, take another deep breath, smile, and open your eyes to
start your day.
This is also a great one to do before bed, especially if your day hasn’t gone to plan. It
helps you to see the positive outcome, allowing your mind to let go of thought loops
that can keep you awake at night. Really focus on your happy thoughts and then
allow your body to sleep.
Meditation technique: focus on breath.
Best time to perform? Anytime! Especially before a big event, exam or meeting.
Time allotted: between 10-30 minutes. emotional achievement? Focus, relaxation,
calm
(the wind down )
Make yourself comfortable, and wear relatively warm clothing (in the meditative state,
the bodies temperature reduces, just as in a sleep)
Make sure you will not be disturbed, and are in a relatively quiet environment. You
may also want to meditate to a piece of music that spans for the length of time you
would like to meditate as this meditation can tend to drift you to sleep!
Ask your body to relax, starting at your feet, and working up the body saying to
yourself ‘my feet are relaxed’, ‘my legs are relaxed’ etc etc. every time you ask your
body to relax, take a deep and cleansing breath. Feel heavier against the floor; really
allow your body to let go. Once you have come to the face, take a nice deep breath
and then return breathing to normal.
Meditation:
Focus in on your breathing. Start to notice the rise and fall of the ribs and lungs, feel
the sensation within your body. As you breath in, see the breath as a coloured
smoke, travelling down your spine and out through your belly button. Imagine that
smoke then travelling up to your nose in one continuous motion, a wheel of breath.
Really allow yourself the opportunity to see this coloured wheel as it flows in and out
with ease and delicacy.
(I am going to add in a visualization now, called ‘The Jelly Fish”. You do not have to
continue into this visualization if you fancy strongly connecting to the sensation of the
wheel)
once you can see the ‘wheel of breath’ imagine that the breath in your chest is
changing into a jelly fish. As your breath rises and falls, imagine the sensation as a
jelly fish gently rising and falling its jelly like body in the ocean, expanding its body as
you breathe in, and propelling upwards as you breathe out.. What does that jelly look
like? How does its motion feel? If you breath quicker, does it propel itself? If you
breath slower, does it fall still?
If you wish, you could do the same with a butterfly opening and closing its wings,
seeing the colors as the wings open on the in breath and how they disappear with
the close of the wings on the outbreath.
Really see if you can focus in on that breath, controlling your visualization with the
motion of your breath.
The revitalizer
Once you have finished, return the image back to the wheel of coloured smoke, until
you gently imagine that smoke dissipating and then allow your body to come back to
itself by gently waking up your feet by wiggling your toes, wiggle your legs, your
arms etc and then take a big stretch. Gently pat your face, cheeks, chest, arms and
tummy to bring sensation back to the body. Do not drive or operate any heavy
machinery until you are focused back in reality. We refer to this process as
‘grounding yourself’, and its very important, as essentially your body is coming out of
a deep sleep focus.
Meditation technique: ‘The padded room”
Best time to perform? After an upset.
Allotted time 30 minutes
Emotional result? Peace, calm and rational thinking.
(Refer to the ‘wind down’ in the previous meditation to begin this one)
Imagine yourself in a green room. The walls are green and soft, there are many
pillows on the floor, along the sides and on any seats within the room. There is also
a long hanging mirror on one of the walls.
This is a safe place. It is a room where you can express anything you like. No one
will judge you, no one can hear you and no one can see you. In this room, you can
act and do as you please.
Think about the reason behind your upset or frustration. Maybe its an argument with
a friend or boss, maybe you failed an exam. Maybe you bumped into an ex partner
and it through up old emotions.
Look around you. And act out in a physical way. Punch a wall, throw a pillow, stamp
on one, run and jump at a wall, unleash your primal instinct. You are an animal, and
in this room, you are allowed to express all the carnal instincts that you prevent
yourself from in everyday society. Scream, shout, use any language you want to
express yourself. Maybe you just want to hug a pillow and cry, it doesn’t matter, this
is your room, and you can do what you like in it.
Take yourself over to the mirror and stand in front of it. Allow your reflection to
change into the person or thing that has upset you. Now say all the things you are
feeling, all the things you want to say. Imagine their reaction.
When you are done, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Let it go. Do not waste
any more time on it. Open your eyes and stare at the reflection of yourself in the
mirror. Focus on your breathing. With every new breath, feel calmer, feel relief. Tell
yourself that ‘you are allowed to feel upset’, ‘you are allowed to express yourself’ and
‘you forgive yourself for feeling the way you do’.
Take another deep breath. Find a positive about the situation in your mind. Maybe
seeing that ex partner has now reminded you of how far you’ve come. Maybe an
argument with your friend has reminded you how much you care for them, hence
your reaction…. There is always something to find, so find it and bring it into your
mind. Say that positive to the mirror. Maybe you need to say it a couple of times.
Maybe it makes you cry. Remember this is your room and you are safe.
Once you have done this, hold yourself high, give yourself a hug and tell yourself
how proud you are for expressing your true feelings. Tell yourself how much you love
who you are and how you handle difficult situations.
When you have finished, take a breath. Close your eyes, and bring yourself back to
your body with the revitalizer technique previously mentioned.
Mindfulness technique: driving the car/walking/public transport
Allotted time: time of journey
Emotional result? Focus on the present, clearing the mind, total awareness
This is a simple technique for absorbing yourself in a current activity.
Lets start with driving a car.
Approach your car. Do not think about where you’re going, the time you have to get
there, anything other than the task. Take your keys, feel them in your hand, and
notice the sound as you unlock your car. How does it feel to sit in the seat, close the
door and start the engine? How are you feeling about driving today?
Do not put on the radio. Focus purely on the experience of driving. Notice the signs
on the road, other drivers and cars, your distance from someone else, how far down
the road in front of you can you see? Open up your sight to allow everything to be
seen in your vision. When you get distracted by a stray thought, take a breath, let it
pass through, and focus your attention back on the experience of driving. Become
totally focused on the act, on the environment, on the road and its many activities.
See what it feels like to drive at certain speeds, to observe all the signs and all those
around you. Keep your mind clear and immersed on the drive.
When you have reached your destination, sit in the car for a moment. Absorb what
you’ve learnt about your driving skills, recap what you have been aware of, what you
found hard to be aware of, how others drive around you, how you react to those
other people, just like you, in their own driving bubble, reaching their own destination.
Then, get out of the car.
Now apply this technique to walking, taking public transport etc etc. see what you
can observe, absorb everything in a total focus of the action, see how alive your
brain feels after total immersion into something you do without even thinking.
Mindfulness technique: “once upon a time”
allotted time: 5-15 minutes
Time of day: anytime
Emotional result? Heightened creative thinking, focus and energy
This is a fun way to stimulate focus and release creativity! It is also a really fun way
to create positive memory and increase performance in the work environment.
Look around you. Find an object. It could be a pen lid, a coin, a piece of jewelry. It
could even be teabag! Hold that object in your hand and stare into it. Find an
imperfection on the object and focus in on it. Adjust your breathing, slow it down, and
immerse yourself into staring at that imperfection. Allow your eyes to stare a little
longer than is comfortable. Really focus until everything around the object blurs away.
You are at one with the object, and your eyes are totally focused on one area of this
object. (If you cant find an object, stare at your hand or a section of your clothing)
now ask yourself to relax. Open your mind. Say to yourself that ‘you will allow every
thought, no matter how irrational or silly to enter your mind’. Say ‘I allow myself to
see the fantastic and magical, I can suspend my disbelief’. Now, start a story in your
head, beginning at this point, at this imperfection. Maybe the imperfection is in the
shape of a banana or a cube. So you would say in your mind ‘once upon a time,
there was a cube…’ create a story in your mind, whilst you continue to stare at the
object and allow your breathing to remain controlled. Allow yourself to think whatever
you wish, and describe it in great detail in your mind. For instance, if you see a
seagull, you may decide it’s a fluffy black seagull with dragon horns! Be creative and
allow total ‘flow’ of your ideas.
Once you have finished, note how you feel. What did you find difficult? What was
easy? What ideas did you perceive as ‘silly’ or ‘surprising?’
Now apply this level of creativity in your day. Maybe be more creative with your
cooking, or consider suggestions to your boss you would usually dismiss.
Meditation technique: up and away!
Allotted time 30-40 minutes
Time of day: evening
Emotional result? Humbleness, a sense of perspective, calm.
Begin with the wind down technique previously mentioned, but make sure you are
lying flat not sitting up.
Clear your mind, and see yourself in the room you are in, but in your minds eye.
Imagine that as you breathe in, with every in breath, you start to rise off the floor.
You are not scared, and you feel peaceful and light. You slowly move towards the
ceiling and then, as if travelling through water, go through the ceiling. Maybe you
have entered the next room above, or maybe you’ve entered the sky above the
building you are in. you keep travelling upwards. As you enter the sky, you feel the
coolness of the air on your skin, the feeling of air rushing over your cheeks and in
your hair. As you look left and right, you notice the cars and houses getting smaller,
you start to see the patchwork of the fields, you notice sounds becoming silent. You
look up in front of you, and notice you are heading into some clouds. As you pass
into the clouds, you feel the cool wetness of condensation on your skin, the air you
breath feels wet and cold, you close your eyes and feel the lightness of the water
vapor on your eyelids. Feel every sensation.
You come out the other side to bright blue sky. You travel up higher and higher, and
the sky starts to change to an inky blue. You start to see the moon; you start
travelling a bit faster. The air is really cold. You start to notice stars appearing as the
inky blue fades to black. You look left and right and you can see that you have left
the earth. You start to slow down until you are merely floating in space. You see the
stars, planets, and asteroid belts. You leave the Milky Way until you are completely
surrounded with a dense blackness. There is no sound, no movement, it is a thick
nothingness. As you float in this vast empty space, you realize just how small you
really are. All your thoughts, your worries, even your hopes and dreams are so small
in comparison to the vastness of the universe that you are apart of. Suddenly your
dreams seem so small, so irrelevant….you could quite easily achieve them. Your
worries are tiny flashes of thought that the millions of people far below you also have,
they too are irrelevant. Even your very existence is miniscule… the world you think
you live in, is not really the world at all. It is part of this vast, dense, black infinity you
now find yourself in. contemplate how short your life span is in comparison to this
grand design, this infinite space. You are no longer important, just a flash of life in
this huge emptiness.
In this humble feeling of self, reassess what is now important. what really matters, if
anything at all. See the illusion that you create for yourself. See the actual
importance of your job, your house, etc etc. from this perspective….what really
matters? What is really important from up here?
With this sensation of awe, and humbleness, you gently start to descend. You start
to see the stars, and the planets and the asteroids. You start to see the dot that is
earth. You gently float back into an inky blue sky, all the while contemplating the
nature of your actual existence, see how your perspective has changed. You
continue into blue skies, back through the cold, wet clouds. You start to see the
patchwork of the land, hear the cars and see the ant like people. You start to see
where you live, your road, your house. You gently come to the roof, and sink through
it like water, down into your body.
You feel the heaviness of your body. You breath at a normal rate…
End with the revitalizer previously mentioned….
In conclusion
Including mindfulness into your day can take the time it takes to have a shower, to a
whole day! There are no negatives that can come out of it, and it may help to protect
your brain power in later life, help you to relax and re focus on whats truly important,
and even change your whole life circumstance. Having a calm and compassionate
outlook in life only enriches the fabric of your life experience and may help you to
overcome those fears or anxieties that are currently holding you back. There is no
right or wrong way to meditate. There is no scientific outcome that can express the
immense worth that you gain from including this ‘time out’ in your life. It is human
nature to dream, to contemplate, to resolve, to immerse, and this process can be
found even in the most mundane of tasks. Beauty of experience and meditative
practice are intrinsically linked; only in the deep immersion of living do we find
meaning and compassion for life.
As the great philosopher and meditation practitioner ‘OSHO’ once said:
‘you will have to understand one of the most fundamental things about meditation:
that no technique leads to meditation. The ‘old so-called techniques and the new
scientific biofeedback techniques are the same as far as meditation is concerned.
Meditation is not a by product of any technique. Meditation happens beyond mind.
No technique can go beyond mind’ (osho)
So go, be happy, be joyful and find that special time to include ‘yourself’ in your busy
day!
Thank you. Kat