breath

The One-Minute Meditation

Cate Kodo Juno 1 Comment

Although it’s taken me several entries to describe the why’s of this one-minute meditation (see here and here), it is really very simple to do and in fact takes less than a minute.

First of all, at the moment when you remember to do this one-minute meditation (more on ‘remembering’ later), make a note of what you are thinking about and give it a simple label, such as “what’s for dinner,” “last night’s argument,” “worrying about the kids,” etc. Keep it simple and don’t add further comments like “what the hell am I still thinking about that for – I should let it go!” No judgements, just observing what is in your mind at that moment.

2013.01.20.02Then, take a deep breath, feeling your belly expand. It is surprisingly difficult to take a deep breath correctly. Because stress is held in our bodies in an almost chronic continuity, our diaphragms and bellies are really very tight, which restricts our breathing. Here’s a tip to check if you are really taking a full deep breath: if you feel your shoulders rise as you breathe in, you are only breathing into the top of your lungs; whereas if you place your hands on your belly and feel your belly extend softly as you breathe in then you’re on the right track, as well as a sensation that your lower ribs are expanding as well, as your diaphragm expands. This is especially difficult for women because we are always being made conscious of our tummies and trying to suck it in all the time – so let it all hang out, baby!

This first deep breath works to switch off the flight-fight triggers of  your autonomic nervous system, which keeps us in a constant state of stress. Take another deep breath and let out a sigh as you breathe out. You will feel your body respond almost immediately as your whole body joins in that feeling of letting go.

Next, do a scan of your body from head to toe: check your head – is it tight, is your scalp tingling; does your head feel heavy or light; is your forehead tight; how do the little muscles around your eyes feel; are you eyes dry or moist; where is tongue resting; is your mouth dry or moist. Then move down to check your breathing – are you breathing fast or slow; does your chest feel tight. What about your stomach – does it feel full or is it gurgling with hunger… and so on down your whole body, until you reach your toes. It may surprise you to know that many people who are stressed actually cannot feel their feet and this realisation can be a little distressing, so if it that happens to you, don’t worry about it – just register it as a simple observation.

2013.01.20.04The key to this exercise is just to check your vitals in very clinical way and not to make mental interpretations such as “Oh no, my shoulders are so stiff – I should be more relaxed.” Imagine that you are a doctor in a white lab coat with a clip board, objectively taking your own vital signs; that is, treat this scan as just a simple checking exercise, without any judgement about what your body should or shouldn’t be experiencing.

When you get to your toes, take three deep breaths, deep into your belly, and feel your whole body sighing with each out breath. Enjoy the sensation of your body letting go even for just a moment – it is delicious!

Then just go back to whatever you were doing… until you remember again to do this one-minute meditation, which would ideally will be at least several times a day.

What you are doing in this deceptively simple exercise is to create a space of deep and healing rest in the midst of your everyday busyness. It momentarily breaks the stress cycle by stopping the tapes that constantly go on in your mind which contribute to this ongoing chronic state of stress because there is never a chance to switch them off and simply ‘take a breath’. This moment of respite helps you to experience the ongoing impact of your thoughts upon your body by creating a deep connection between your mind and your body, which will in turn help your whole being to come back into natural synch.

2013.01.20.01It is very important to note that no judgement is taking place, there mustn’t be a critical voice going over the top pointing out all the things that are ‘wrong’ with either what you are thinking about or what state your body is in; it is more important to develop a balanced and objective awareness that places no strain on you and this simply allows your body and mind to find a space of deep relaxed peace. After a while, you will notice that you feel so much more relaxed in a general way, have more energy, and I guarantee that this will also improve your sex life! So, ENJOY!

Next time, I’ll share some tips on how to keep remembering to do this simple one-minute meditation.

One Minute Meditation Pt2

Cate Kodo Juno Leave a comment

I’m writing today from Wakayama City in Japan where I am currently doing some research for my Japanese course at university. It’s going well and I am inspired by the glorious autumn foliage putting on a fabulous show in the temple gardens and mountains. But let’s get back to the one minute meditation… now where was I – oh yes, I said I’d talk about the relationship between meditation and the autonomic nervous system. Say what? Don’t tune out just yet – you’ll know what I mean…

Okay, it’s the middle of the night and you suddenly hear an unfamiliar noise – what do you do? If you are like me, you’ll suddenly freeze with all your senses suddenly on high alert as all those scary thoughts rush through your mind – a burglar? Did I lock the door? Am I safe? And just before those thoughts flood in, you will probably take a sharp intake of breath and hold your breath for a moment while you listen intently. Then you realise that it’s just a branch scratching the window or the cat coming in or some other innocuous reason. Whew! You let out a sigh of relief and your body relaxes and after a bit of a chuckle to yourself for being so jumpy, you’ll hopefully drift off back to sleep. Does that sound familiar?
Well that’s your autonomic nervous system kicking in: when your body senses danger it goes into flight-or-fight mode – adrenalin gets released to get you ready to flee quickly, the blood rushes to your vital organs, your heart rate increases, your blood pressure goes up, all actions that will help you escape the perceived danger. All this action is triggered by your fearful thinking which switches on all the flight-fight reactions. But when your thoughts register safety and you realise that you are actually not in danger, it is that deep sighing breath that is your body’s signal to switch it all off again and allow your body to return normal. Not only that, but the sighing signals to your body that it needs to repair and heal from the trauma of the sudden changes experienced by your en

docrine system (adrenalin), blood flow and blood pressure, so at this point your body will begin to heal itself, which is most effective when you are resting or asleep.

The body’s response to perceived danger in this case is natural and if you’re able to go back to sleep then your body has again quite naturally dealt with the stress caused by the possibility of harm, and naturally continues to heal and replenish. But the problem these days is that we keep flipping that switch on and keeping it on, so that our bodies don’t have time to recover. For example, every time you think about whether you can pay all your bills this month, it switches on to alert mode, and every time you’re late for something, and every time you get a red traffic light, and every time you are rushing to get dinner prepared, and every time you think about all the things you didn’t get done today, and so on and on and on. The problem is made worse because we tend to keep our bodies in a constant state of tense alert, and eventually our bodies forget to take that deep healing breath that switches off the flight-fight mode, leaving the body perpetually with the ready-to-flee-danger switch ON, even when there is actually no danger. Until in the end you feel exhausted and stressed out and unable to relax because the autonomic nervous system is on hyperdrive! And that’s when your health becomes compromised and you can easily get sick. It is well-known that stress is certainly the root of many of the diseases in modern times.

BUT…

If you are able to help your body to switch off it’s flight-fight fixation, then you will be able to help it to heal naturally and you’ll find life in general a whole lot less stressful. And it all starts with, and centres upon, the breath. I’m sure you will have noticed that all yoga and meditation exercises work with the breath in some way or other, and this simple physical explanation about how your nervous system works is the reason why. There isn’t anything particularly mystical about all this – it comes down to simple scientific facts… yet the yogis and yoginis and wise men and women throughout the ages knew that already, didn’t they! I think we are just a bit slow on the uptake! So, next time I’ll move on with the nuts and bolts of the one minute meditation and you’ll see how your body, your thought processes and your breath can be used together to strengthen your body’s natural healing powers. Until then… don’t forget to BREATHE!