Meditation In Daily Life

Cultivating Compassion

(video 4:59) The Science of Meditation Summit interview with Dr. Kelly McGonigal was all about compassion, her research and experience.

Compassion for others is an instinct, according to her research, as social animals we’re geared towards helping our community members relieve their suffering. This keeps our survival group strong.

Self-compassion is not instinctive. Instinctively we respond to our own suffering with stress: distress, shame, guilt, fight, fight, freeze, etc.

If we’re going to train compassion for self and others, she suggests that we do both at the same time. Cultivate compassion for others, practicing to improve that natural process, and also include self-compassion in the practice to build that as well.

Watch the video for a brief description of a compassion practice.

Enjoy!,
Elena
www.ElenaMariaFoucher.com

Decision Fatigue

(video 4:13min) I’ve been reading research lately that talks about decision fatigue, the idea that over time, say over the course of a day, your ability to make decisions decreases. Essentially, you’re good at making decisions when you start, and then not so good, to bad as you continue.

The metaphor that is often used is that it’s like a muscle, it’s strong at first and then after using it for a while it gets tired and eventually too week to move.

After you rest you’re ready to go again.

This makes lunch breaks, coffee breaks, etc really important! Stop making decisions when you take breaks. Unplug.

If you can’t break for your whole lunch time, take a shorter break. Doing a 2 to 5 minute meditation practice is a great micro-break whenever you need one during the day. Or even a few mindful breaths… look away from your work & take a few.

Studies say you’ll make better decisions after enough rest.
Try it out & see if you agree!

Hypnosis & Meditation in the Resting Room

(video: 3:52min) Live from the Resting Room, brought to you by the genius of the Hive, interior designers, sound artists Tom Middleton & Musicstyling, life coach Patrick Wenko and I… We’ve all collaborated to create this space perfect for resting, refreshing, coaching and meditation.

…and hypnosis if you wish.
What’s the difference? How do you know if you’re hypnotizing yourself or meditating?

The simple answer is, are you aware of yourself? If you’re aware of yourself, your thoughts & emotions and all you are projecting onto the situation then you are meditating.

Here is what Tom Middleton has to say about his Bioharmonic Surround Soundscapes that he has contributed to the Resting Room:

“Thrilled to be partnering with The Hive, Musicstyling, Nexus, Elena and Mariko to showcase a brand new immersive multi-sensory innovation in the co-working sector to help optimise productivity and improve workplace mindfulness and wellbeing.

Sonux is proud to be supplying bespoke, mindful, holistic, complimentary bioharmonic surround soundscapes. Programmed to gently transport you away for between 20 minutes and an hour depending on the type of program*. Deliberately inducing the body to settle, relax and encourage deep, slow respiration such as Pranayama and Ujjayi breathing techniques to decelerate brainwave activity and reducing cortisol production for a state of calm, focus and clarity.”
“The Resting Room concept is a welcome solution in a fast paced workplace environment, whether it’s for a power nap, on trend ‘nappuccino’, meditation session, or simply some timeout to clear the mind and kickstart the creative flow.
Select a program on the iPad, get comfortable, and float away in a bath of sound!”
(*recommended duration for a sleep cycle optimised power nap.)
Tom Middleton is a pioneering Electronic Music Producer, Sound Designer and Architect, sleep tech/music expert and active/passive listening for mindfulness researcher.
Founder of Sonux, a strategic sound branding consultancy for bespoke UX (user experience) soundtracks for brands, experiences and spaces.
Implementing leading edge academic research in perception modulation, psychomusicology and chemosensory neuroscience.
www.sonux.design

What I Do in Crisis (3): Progressive Breathing

(Video: 4:35min) When we’re really stressed our nervous system goes into ‘fight or flight’ mode & we start breathing fast & shallow. One nice way to help our system relax is to deepen our breathing.

If I’m really stressed, I can’t do that. I’m too overwhelmed to change my breathing. I will usually take a mindful breath , observing my (fast!) breathing & then when I’m a bit calmer I can play with my breath.

Progressive breathing starts with noticing my breath as it is and then inviting the next breath to be just a little bit longer & deeper. Just a tiny bit. I invite the next breath to again, be a tiny bit longer and I keep doing that bit by bit, until I’m taking much deeper breaths.

With this simple, subtle method, I gently encourage my nervous system to settle down pretty quickly.

Try it out & get good at it when you’re calm so that you already know how to do it when stress hits. As one client said, ‘build your parachute before you jump.’

What I Do in Crisis (1): A Mindful Breath

(Video: 3:45 min) I spent some quality time this summer understanding what helps me when I’m really stressed.

This is the first in a series on what worked during those crisis moments. These tools are what I used when I needed to do something to gain composure versus blowup or meltdown.

This first one, a mindful breath, is a great tool for giving me some perspective without requiring too much of my already overtaxed system.

Where Is My Center – Mindfulness Practice

MME Album Art(5:22) I like to use this mindfulness practice when I am out in the world and I want to play… play with balance and play with getting calm and clear.

It is a standing practice, which makes it good fun in elevators, on escalators or standing waiting for the train or the light to change.

It can also be done sitting, which is perfect for getting calm and clear at my desk or in meetings!

Mindfulness Practice: Where Is My Center? (Standing or Sitting)

  1. Start by becoming present: bring your attention into the space you’re in by looking at what you can see right now.
  2. Close your eyes, or lower them so they are 3/4 closed, and gently shift your attention to your breathing. Notice your breath moving in and out of your body right now. Be curious about your breath. “How am I breathing right now?”
  3. Shift your attention to your feet and notice the natural weight of your body pressing down.
    1. Begin to notice if your weight is more on one foot than the other. With small, subtle movements, rock from side to side to feel where your weight is, and find the place in the middle where your weight is evenly distributed between both feet.
    2. Now notice the fronts and back of your feet, the balls of your toes and your heels, and notice where you weight is from front to back. With small subtle movements, rock forwards and backwards and find the place where your weight is evenly distributed front to back.
    3. Notice how it feels to be standing with your weight evenly distributed from side to side and front to back.
  4. Begin to end by shifting your attention back to your breath, noticing it moving in and out of your body.
  5. When you’re ready to end, open your eyes noticing the space that you’re in right now.

When your mind wanders, as it inevitably will, gently bring it back first to presence by noticing your breath and the quiet between thoughts, and then re-focus on the heart of the practice.

 

 

To Download:

Click on the Download button below.

If it does not download automatically:

  1. A new window will open with an audio player (like the player above).
  2. Right click on the player and choose “Download File” or “Download Video”
  3. iPhone users will want to first copy the meditation into iTunes (on your computer) and then sync with your iPhone.

Note that you are welcome to download and share this files as many times as you like provided you do so in it’s entirety and it is used for personal or educational uses only (no commercial uses).

 

Secret to Savoring Precious Moments

(3:33) Ever feel like time is flying by? Here’s a simple secret to savoring your precious moments… Drink in all your senses!

How?
When you’re standing on the beach, holding your loved one’s hand this summer, inhale slowly and take a moment to drink in all that you can see, hear, feel, taste & smell. Drink in the rich blue of the water and the fluffy white foam dancing over the top, the crash as the wave hits the wet sand, the call of the gulls and children laughing, the warmth of the sun kissing your skin, your loved ones hand softly caressing your’s, the salty tang in the air, the soft smell of sea.

It’s a great way to drink in the moment!

Runners: Mindfulness on Foot!

Want to take mindfulness on your next run, walk or hike?

Here are a few tips for how to take mindfulness on the go!

I’ve used these practices on the uber crowded streets of Causeway Bay, the trails of Sai Kung country park, and the kilometers of the Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon… take them where ever you go!

Enjoy!,

Elena