This is how my day used to start:
The alarm goes off, but I don’t feel rested or reenergised. I get up after hitting the snooze button two or three times and rush to the shower. Within 25 minutes of waking, I’m usually locking the front door and heading down the road to the station. Whilst on the train, I’ll check my BlackBerry for emails, I’ll look at my calendar and see what meetings I have ahead of me and when I might get a chance to take a break that day. I get off the train and head into the City via a coffee shop and pick up a pastry and a coffee, then hurry to my desk where I usually arrive bang on time. I then spend the day at my desk or in meetings, usually taking a short lunch-break to buy something that I then eat at my desk. When I get home at the end of the day I’m tired, possibly agitated and lacking in energy. The next day, it starts again.
Does this sound familiar?
When I travel into the City now (I do my best to avoid rush hour), I look at the faces of the commuters as they hurry from place to place. Most people look harassed and fatigued. Whilst you can’t necessarily change your job overnight, you can change how you feel about it. We all form our own emotional soundtrack that we play when certain events are occurring, such as a workday or commute. It is possible to alter your reactions and feelings about these events and change your physiology at the same time.
Meditating your way to a better day
There is something you can do that takes just ten minutes a day and is very powerful for changing your stress response and overall physiology. That thing is meditation. There are many benefits to mediation, and I’ve recently been experimenting with it myself, and I’m really enjoying it. Some of the benefits I’ve noticed are:
- An increased sense of calm and fewer feelings of agitation / frustration
- Increased resilience and a more tempered response to stressful events
- Improved concentration
Other benefits that have been observed in scientific studies include:
- Improved immune system
- Improved fertility
- Improved creativity
- Reduction in pain
How I practice meditation
I’ve been using a couple of apps on a trial basis to see which I prefer – Headspace and Calm. Both offer a free trial (ten days for Headspace and seven days for Calm) before asking you to sign up for a small annual fee to unlock all the functionality. I spend ten minutes each morning doing a 10 minute meditation, and I do feel it has made a positive difference to my day. It helps me start the day in a calm manner rather than rushed (although my morning routine is very different from how it used to be!), I practice deep breathing as I do it, and I open the blinds and window to get some natural light in and fresh air. It’s a great way to start the day. If I’m busy or feel a bit stressed out, I’ll grab my noise-cancelling headphones and find a 10 minute meditation to do. It really helps.
My challenge to you
Why not download the free app for Headspace or Calm, and do your own seven or ten-day trial? There are 1,440 minutes available in a full day, so even allowing for sleep, dedicating just ten minutes of what remains should not be a tall order, and it could significantly change your day.
Leanne Spencer
www.bodyshotperformance.com
This article first appeared in the August 2017 issue of SE22 magazine.