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Mind Over Matter Meditation & Yoga Offer Peace of Mind and a Hefty Dose of Health Benefits
My first attempt at meditation was a certifiable disaster. There was no live instructor, just a glowing visage on my television set and a “How to Meditate” disk swirling in my DVD player. Within just a few minutes of sitting in a pin-straight posture with my legs crossed, my back began to ache and my foot fell numb. Soon, the angelic voice coming from the television evolved into a droning nag, and it didn’t take long for me to turn off the DVD and flip the channel to a rerun of “Seinfeld.” My second attempt wasn’t much better when finally I picked up a “How to Meditate” book and tried again. This time I was supposed to close my eyes and imagine myself floating in a blue lagoon. Seaweed cradled me in place as I was asked to picture the bright-blue sky overhead and empty my mind of thoughts. But suddenly the theme song from “Jaws” sneakily swam into my subconscious. Next, I imagined swirling sharks and quickly wrestled free from my seaweed prison to scramble breathlessly onto the “imaginary” shoreline. Not exactly what I call a relaxing day at the beach. This should be easy, right? How hard can it be to empty your mind of distressing thoughts and just be happy and enjoy the moment? Well, as I found out, meditation can be quite difficult for tech-obsessed, multi-tasking Americans who live life in the fast lane. We live in the age of instant gratification thanks to 24-hour news (not to mention 24-hour cartoons), buzzing BlackBerries, fast food and even faster cars. Even our children have schedules that could trump, well, Trump. And, boy, do we worry. We worry about the past, the future and not to mention the present. But something had to be done, and I set out on a mission to try the slow lane for once. I discovered the trick isn’t to say, “I must relax now, so just relax,” but to ease into meditation like a hot bath, slowly but steadily. Why Meditate? The question is not why meditate, but why not? An estimated 10 million Americans regularly practice meditation and the medical community is often recommending it to their patients suffering from heart disease and other stress-related illnesses. The benefits of meditation, as well as the complementary practice of yoga, have been well documented and include an impressive dose of good medicine, such as:
And as if these weren’t all good enough reasons to meditate, there is another significant benefit — those who meditate can actually reverse the affects of aging. According to early research published by researchers at Harvard Medical School’s Massachusetts General Hospital, daily meditation has been shown to “alter the physical structure of the brain and may even slow brain deterioration related to aging.”
Wanda DeVaughn, psychotherapist and owner of the Marietta Center for Yoga and Well Being, agreed that meditation is a natural way to turn back the sands of time. “If someone meditates regularly they actually have bodies and minds that are younger,” she said. “People have no idea that I’m 54, and I’ve seen yoga teachers that are old but can do amazing things and they still enjoy being in their bodies.” (In fact, this journalist still can’t believe her age because I thought she was at least 10 years younger.) Natasha Pavlovic, senior Dharma teacher with the Kwan Um School of Zen and meditation instructor at Sacred Garden Yoga in Marietta, confirmed the anti-aging benefits of meditation. “What happens when you meditate is that your heart rate slows down and your breathing slows down, and whenever you slow these two things down, the aging process slows down automatically,” she said. “It’s like having a car in the garage and not driving it a lot.” But the key to meditation as well as yoga is the reduction of stress, which has a ripple effect through our overall health, appearance and well-being. DeVaughn pointed out that both meditation and yoga help focus on the here and now. “So much of our time is spent on what happened in the past or what you want to happen in the future, or wanting something or trying to resist something,” DeVaughn said. “We spend a whole lot of energy doing that instead of living in the present moment. I have people come in with all sorts of ailments. I have a student with fibromyalgia; she has struggled with it for years and years, and yoga helps her tremendously not have pain and sleep better.” Although the popularity of both meditation and yoga have increased greatly in the United States there still seems to be some misconception that they are Eastern religions and would therefore conflict with Judeo-Christian principles. However, while meditation is used as a spiritual outlet by religions such as Buddhism, the act of meditation and yoga in and of itself is not a religion. “Both yoga and meditation have a spiritual component but it is not a religion,” DeVaughn confirmed. “Some people are concerned that it will turn them away from their religion but actually what it does is [allow] people [to] become more centered within themselves so their own beliefs are enhanced.” The key to successful meditation is commitment to yourself and to your own peace of mind. “Meditation is not easy and you have to have a really strong motivation for it,” Pavlovic said. “The thing is you really have to be sincere and honest with yourself. Meditation gives you time to digest your life, because we get wrapped up in our everyday life and can’t seem to digest what’s really going on or understand it either. People can live like this for a while, but then they come to a point where they say, ‘this is too much, I have to do something about it.’ ” I had finally reached this point, and my first true attempt at meditation came in a yoga class, often a great first step to successful meditation. Yoga: Meditation in Movement I could never be described as flexible so I was a bit intimidated when I walked into Satori Martial Arts and Healing Center in Roswell for my first yoga lesson. (Whom am I kidding? I practiced ballet for 13 years and never mastered a split and when the limbo bar came out in gym class, it was automatic forfeit.) But here I was anyway, giving yoga the good ole’ college try. Luckily, our instructor Kathryn Mensinga’s teaching techniques did not mimic the bullying aerobics instructors of my past. There was no pushing to go faster or farther or reprimands for not keeping up with the class. No, here everyone moved at their own skill and comfort level. Yoga is a combination of exercise, breathing control and meditation. In short, yoga is not a competitive sport. “Yoga is internal healing so you are lifting and toning internal organs, increasing circulation, enhancing your immune system and stimulating your thyroid,” Mensinga said. “For men, there are benefits with prostate health, for women, hormonal health and balance. It’s also good for depression and even children with ADD react very well, it’s amazing.” Mensinga assured me that despite my lack of flexibility, becoming an accomplished yoga student was not beyond my reach. “There are some senior level instructors who can’t touch their toes, because structurally they are not meant to,” she said. “You can, however, continually improve. For knee issues, very intense training can actually retrain the muscles to better align [beyond what] you are structurally dealt.” According to Mensinga, who is a life-long student of Iyengar yoga and has taught classes for the past 15 years, there are 85 basic postures in yoga and thousands of other posture variations, not to mention the fact that there are a wide variety of yoga styles to suit the needs of every person. The key is finding the class that’s right for you. Classes consist of stretches and poses that help with your body’s overall flexibility, alignment, balance and strength, and may include headstands or other inverted positions, which help rejuvenate your organs with reverse blood flow. Oftentimes, the class concludes in the meditative state. Meditation is often combined with yoga, and in truth, yoga is considered meditation in movement. It is in yoga class where you learn about the importance of breath and balance, and how you strengthen your body while quieting your mind. “There are a lot of people who start with yoga for physical benefits and they discover other benefits and flow from there,” said DeVaughn, who also teaches yoga. “Yoga is all about moving toward enlightenment.” As yoga students begin to master their breathing control, called pranayama, they are also releasing more toxins from their bodies and preparing their minds for the art of focused meditation. Since mostly everyone takes breathing for granted, our breaths are typically short and shallow, which can cause oxygen starvation. However, pranayama deep breathing exercises reenergize our body in amazing ways while helping with problems with stress, digestion, heart disease, sleep disorders and fatigue. Once the yoga breathing is mastered, lung capacity is increased and the meditation process becomes a more familiar and comfortable concept. The Time Has Come to Say Om After months of yoga, I was finally open to the idea of meditation when I met DeVaughn for her free meditation class one sunny Thursday morning. I was surprised she offered free classes to the public, but she just smiled and said that’s how important she believes meditation is and she wants as many people to experience it as possible. Like most yoga instructors I’ve met, DeVaughn became interested in this ancient practice after times of high anxiety. She was working as a psychotherapist for incest survivors and needed a constructive outlet for her stress. Yoga and meditation rejuvenated her life, and she now offers her psychotherapy services along with yoga, meditation and massage at her center in Marietta. “Massage, yoga and meditation work very well together,” she said. “That’s why so many people say after a yoga class, ‘that felt just like a massage.’ ” We assumed the typical meditation position, with legs crossed, hands resting palms up on my knees and straightened posture, although this time she suggested I use a wall to help support my back — an especially nice trick for beginners who have not yet developed a strong posture. I placed two bolster pillows under my knees and sat on a folded blanket before finally closing my eyes for 30 minutes as I practiced my meditative breathing and tried letting go of my thoughts to focus on the here and now. During my meditation, I started to feel the power of my own breath, and as thoughts popped into my mind, I followed DeVaughn’s gentle guidance. “You can think about [the fact] that you’re hungry, you can think about your fight with a relative, you can think about all those things but let them flow in and out and return your focus on your breath,” she said. “You should be aware of where your mind goes, but not get attached to it. You just let it go and imagine your thoughts as clouds passing through a blue sky or a stick flowing down the river. Label it as a thought, let it go and come back to the breath.” After the minutes came to a close, instead of just opening our eyes, DeVaughn asked us to rub our hands together to generate heat, then to cover our eyes and face with our hands while we slowly opened them and reawakened to the room. Afterward, I felt truly relaxed with a renewed enthusiasm for life, and I realized I just tasted a part of the many rewards of meditation. DeVaughn pointed out that meditation can be performed sitting in a chair, walking or even gardening, once you are familiar with the practice. I asked if you could do meditation lying down, and she replied, “The problem with that is you may fall asleep and sleeping is not meditation,” she said with a grin. However, it is important to be at ease when meditating. “It’s really important to find a comfortable position. You are not going to be able to free your thoughts if you keep thinking that your knee hurts,” she said. She also explained there are several types of meditation, including the use of mantras and mala beads, and that people should try them all to see what works best for them. With mantras, you repeat a meaningful word in your mind as you concentrate on your inhaling and exhaling. “Personal mantras can be So Hum [an Indian Sanskrit word meaning “I am that”], or you can also use Shalom as a mantra or Amen,” DeVaughn said. “Some people may use English such as peace and love, and then add that in with the breath. For example, say ‘So’ as you inhale and ‘Hum’ as you exhale.” Mala beads help keep one’s mind on the meditation and breathing practice. With closed eyes, practitioners hold this string of 108 beads in their hand while they meditate, with each deep breath and mantra, they touch each individual bead until they’ve come full circle. This practice can help quiet the busy mind and keep it focused in the present. “If you meditate for just three minutes once a day, you are going get physical benefits with just three minutes,” DeVaughn said. “Then extend it and do a 10-minute meditation and you will get even more benefits. Thirty minutes is what’s recommended, 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night, but it all depends on you. It does help to have a place in your house that is quiet and clean where you can devote to meditation. Include a candle or a picture of someone you love in the room as well as other things that are meaningful to you.” Thanks to DeVaughn’s guidance and my yoga training with Mensinga, my third meditation attempt was a resounding success. I felt calmer, relaxed and at peace throughout the rest of the day, including during my long commute back home through Atlanta’s bumper-to-bumper traffic. Now, that’s a testament to the miracle of meditation. PN Take a Breather While it’s best for beginners to try meditation with an instructor, you may want to test out the calming effects of meditation at home. Here are five steps to help get you started. 1. Find a quiet, dimly lit space and assume a comfortable position. Don’t be afraid to use a wall for back support or pillows and blankets to make your seating comfortable. Do not lie down, as it may tempt you to fall asleep. 2. Practice your breathing. Inhale slowly and deeply, while noticing how your breath fills your body. Meditation breathing is in three parts — beginning in the belly, next to mid lungs, and finally to upper lungs. Now exhale slowly in reverse. Repeat several times. 3. Now, close your eyes and begin breathing exercise. Continue for 10 minutes, you may open your eyes to check the clock from time to time but do not set an alarm. 4. Be present in the moment. When a thought comes into your mind, acknowledge it and let it pass quickly through your mind like watching a leaf float down a river that quickly disappears out of sight. Return your focus on your breathing exercise or chosen mantra — So Hum, Shalom or Amen. 5. Awaken from meditation slowly. First rub your hands together to generate warmth and then put them over your eyes as you slowly open them. Wipe your entire face with the warmth of your hands and take your time getting up and returning to your day.
For More Information Marietta Center for Yoga & Well Being Sacred Garden Yoga Satori Martial Arts and Healing Center |
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