meditation

I Tried It: Could Learning to Meditate Change How You Handle Stress?

Take it from a Harvard-trained doc, there is a case for the power of meditation. “The case for the use of the relaxation response by healthy but harassed individuals is straightforward,” says Herbert Benson, MD. “It can act as a built-in method of counteracting the stresses of everyday living, which bring forth the fight-or-flight response.” Dr. Benson published The Relaxation Response based on his research at Harvard in 1975, and the book was way ahead of its time. It made a detailed case for the many science-backed benefits of meditation long before Oprah hosted 30-day challenges with Deepak and trendy studios charged $30 per person for sitting in stillness. A few months ago, my doctor “prescribed” it to me after she searched desperately for an explanation as to how my blood pressure could possibly be high, given my knowledge of nutrition, 5-day-a-week exercise regimen, and overall good health. I’d been sort of “learning to meditate” for at least five years, dropping into classes, attending events, testing out new apps … but nothing ever stuck and I was never able to commit, even though I knew I should. RELATED: How to Create a Mindful Morning Routine A book written by a researcher in the 70s intrigued me, even if I already knew a lot of the science, and as soon as I dug into it, that quote struck me as genius. “Healthy but harassed,” I circled. What phrase could better explain the state of so many busy working people in the modern world? We prioritize waking up at 5 a.m. for spin class and adding 50 superfoods to every smoothie but the nonstop stress of long work hours and other responsibilities is something “normal” to take in stride. Until we have high blood pressure at age 31. I decided it was time to finally prioritize learning to meditate. Why Learning to Meditate Matters Since researchers like Dr. Benson started studying meditation decades ago, they’ve observed that the technique can reduce oxygen consumption, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. Essentially, it slows down all of the things that speed up when you’re stressed. This is important because scientists believe the pace and stressors of modern life cause the body to initiate the “fight-or-flight” response way too often, and that response leads to chronic stress, which sparks inflammation. Learning to meditate can help counteract that. RELATED: 3 Important Inflammation Triggers that Aren’t Foods Over the years, studies on whether meditation is effective at reducing stress have demonstrated mixed results, but many point towards real benefit. One meta-analysis found the evidence on Transcendental Meditation’s ability to reduce stress is particularly strong. (It’s the most studied form because its protocol is so established and has had a strong organization promoting it for a long time.) There are also many, many brain-health benefits, but we’re sticking to stress, here. I Tried It: Learning to Meditate The trouble is that as effective as meditation can be, it’s friggin’ hard, especially if you’re a high-strung, type-A person like me (which means you need it more, obviously) and sitting still just isn’t in your DNA. I decided to try meditating for 10 minutes a day for 30 days straight. First, I downloaded some apps with free guided meditations. I completed five over the course of about three weeks, each time noting how great I felt after…and then I fell off. RELATED: A 2-Minute Calming Meditation that Really Works Finally, I downloaded Headspace. So many people had been telling me how amazing it was, but I had initially resisted. Cartoons? A monthly fee? Once I started using it, everything shifted. I did a 10-minute meditation nearly every day for 30 days and it wasn’t even that difficult to keep it going. For me, Headspace works for two reasons. One, I like the structured programs. There are 10-day packs that teach you the basics and then 10- and 30-day programs on different themes (like acceptance, relationships, etc.). Having it laid out that way made me feel like I was committed to something I wanted to complete. Two, the technique taught by founder Andy Puddicombe is simple and tailored to modern life. His spiritual insights are smart and straight-forward and he speaks in terms that make me feel like he understands what’s in my head, not in tired, meaningless inspirational quotes (which is often how I feel about meditation teachers…). This isn’t an ad for Headspace, though. I know other people who swear by Insight Timer, Buddhify, and OMG I Can Meditate. I know people who love going to group classes, people who just set a timer and sit in silence by themselves, and people who like the bigger commitment styles, like Vedic or Transcendental Meditation. Just like a workout, it’s about finding the one that works for you. In the Relaxation Response, Dr. Benson identifies four elements he says should be present in order to “initiate the response,” AKA for meditation to work. They are: a quiet environment, an object to dwell upon (like your breath or a mantra), a passive attitude, and a comfortable position. Of the four, the “passive attitude” is the most important. When learning to meditate, you have to let go of the need to control what’s happening. You have to be able to observe distracting thoughts but not get weighed down by them, to accept your progress instead of trying succeed. For me, when I finally felt like I could do this, that’s when I started to feel meditation’s effects in my daily life. In my ability to deal with browser crashes and frustrating meetings and relationship challenges from just a slightly less frenzied place. A Headspace video illustrates the same phenomenon with a metaphor. You’re sitting on the side of the road and traffic is flying by. Instead of chasing every car, you watch them pass and then forget them. “The volume of the traffic isn’t important, how you relate to it is,” Puddicombe says. I haven’t had my blood pressure re-tested, yet …

How to Create a Mindful Morning Routine (No Meditation Required)

Establishing a mindful morning routine is just as challenging as it is important. (And living mindfully shouldn’t add to your stress…obviously!) Weekday mornings tend to be crazed, as you attempt to get yourself (and maybe your kids) out the door on time. They also set the tone for the hours to come. RELATED: How to Do Sunday Food Prep for Less Stressful Weekday Mornings “I’ve found if I wake up anxious over all the things I need to do and don’t take a few moments to center and feel calm, I feel like I’m running on a hamster wheel all day,” says mindfulness coach and Kundalini yoga and meditation teacher Tejal V. Patel. “I truly believe how you start your day lays the foundation for the rest of your day.” Patel is the creator of The Mindful Mama Experience (open for enrollment between April 3 and 11), a six-week online course that teaches women how to easily infuse mindful resets into their lives, be present and patient in the midst of chaos, and even teach their kids how to practice mindfulness. RELATED: 3 Easy, Healthy Snacks Your Kids Will Actually Eat In other words, she knows that telling you the solution to your morning woes is not to try to fit in a 20-minute seated meditation. It just. won’t. happen. Instead, we asked her to share a few ways you can easily incorporate meditative techniques into the routine you already have, to set you up for a less stressful day overall. 3 Tips to Create A Mindful Morning Routine 1. Set an intention before getting out of bed. The pressure’s on as soon as you reach for your phone on the bedside table. So, take one minute to set a daily intention before checking your email or placing those feet on the floor. “I do a few deep breaths right in bed with my hands on my heart to connect with myself. I say this: ‘Universe, please allow me to be the best version of myself. What would you have me say? Where would you have me go? What would you have me do? Allow me to be safe, be patient, and have fun,’” Patel says. Adjust the intention so that it speaks to you, personally, and then make it a habit. “It takes a minute and then I step out of bed knowing that whatever I do that day it’s with the intention that I will do my best, be my best, and let go of whomever I was yesterday.” 2. Turn brushing your teeth or doing your hair into a meditation. Okay, you don’t have time to sit on a pillow and Om, but you can practice meditative techniques while doing the things you have to do, like brushing your teeth or blowdrying your hair. “When I’m brushing, I make it a point to look deeply into my left eye, take deep breaths in and out through my nose and say ‘I love you’ to myself,” Patel says. “So many of us look in the mirror but never gaze deeply into our eyes. This took me awhile to feel comfortable with, but it transformed the relationship I have with myself. If you feel really gutsy after you’re done brushing, keep looking into your eyes and say ‘I love you’ out loud like you are saying it to your lover, child, or best friend. It’s super powerful stuff!” 3. Get your kids involved. Once your mindful morning routine starts to take shape, you can also involve your little ones. Patel recommends teaching the above “I love you” exercise to kids five or older, and even putting a note on the bathroom mirror to remind them to practice. “This will get them breathing and saying positive affirmations and help them start connecting to themselves,” she says. “For younger children, you could engage them in mindful conversation during breakfast or the car ride by asking them questions like ‘What colors do you see? What do you feel today? What do you hear today?” You know, in between repeating, “Hurry up, let’s go!” over and over. Maybe in time, they’ll be calm, collected, and ready to go before you even ask. You can dream, right?

3 Meditations for Living Calmer, Sleeping Deeper and Eating More Mindfully

The founder of OMG. I Can Meditate!—an app filled with guided meditations that address specific life challenges—shares a fast way to find Zen.

How Does Lauren Roxburgh Live a Nutritious Life?

Lauren Roxburgh is an international best-selling author of ‘Taller, Slimmer, Younger – 21 Days to a Foam Roller Physique’, and creator of the Lo Rox Aligned Rollers and the Aligned Life video series. Certified in the fields of Structural Integration, classical Pilates, nutrition and pre/post-natal yoga, Lauren is a body alignment, fascia and movement healer, and has been fortunate enough to work with some of the world’s top athletes and celebrities. She is the go-to writer and expert on all things fascia, alignment and foam rolling and regularly works with some of the country’s top orthopedic surgeons. Currently, she is working on making me two inches taller. Perhaps I won’t get two inches, but she can, for real, make you taller (and calmer at the same time.) Named “Body Alignment Pro” by Vogue and dubbed “The Body Whisperer” by Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop.com, Lauren has also been listed as one of the “Hottest Trainers in America” by Shape magazine. I love every minute I spend with Lauren as she truly radiates all things Nutritious Life in her calm, positive, beautiful inside and out way. Read on to learn how this gorgeous mama lives her most Nutritious Life: (PS: I know you’re going to want to lie down on the ground and start rolling the minute you read this and lucky for us, you’ll be learning more from Lauren in the blog here soon. So, keep checking back.) How do you DRINK UP? I stay hydrated with Alkaline water, Rosemary Lemon Water, Chlorophyll Water, loose-leaf green tea and a bit of Italian or French red wine and organic coffee. How do you EAT EMPOWERED? Nourish and live with the 80/20 Rule! Go Alkaline 80% of your life and go ahead and allow yourself to indulge a bit for the other 20%. Start your day with an 8oz glass of water and a squeeze of lemon before you have coffee or breakfast. Reduce red meat, wheat, dairy, processed foods, refined sugar and alcohol in your diet. How do you LIVE CONSCIOUSLY? My whole philosophy is about empowerment and connecting with our true strength and authentic selves. Finding alignment in your physical body is the first step to aligning your life, connecting to your gifts, attracting your deepest desires and feeling like you are on your true path. It’s not about what you think the world wants you to have, but actually digging deeper into what your own true desires, passions and loves truly are. Over the years as I was so deeply studying the body, I realized many other things in my life and self were also coming into ‘alignment’. I’ve seen it with hundreds of my clients too. People who have struggled with weight issues, stress, toxic relationships, addictions or other personal issues often find they finally get resolved once their body is correctly aligned, connected and stronger and they start to feel empowered. When we take time to really BE in our bodies and out of our heads, magic happens, light bulbs go off and your true inner self can start leading the way. Hence my motto: Aligned body, aligned life! I also practice TM meditation to help me connect to my higher self. How do you LOVE MORE? Practice gratitude, soulful self-love and acceptance, not just saying it in our heads, but feeling the love for self and acceptance of self in our bodies and at a cellular level…That’s when we change our vibrations and we start connecting to what and who we truly desire. When people focus on the positive, life becomes better, you glow more and you attract more positive in your life. Even when we go through awful things in life like break-ups, losses, deaths, illnesses and betrayal we can choose how we view the experience. We can choose to be a victim or look at lesson. Ultimately, finding balance in life, letting go of the small stuff, prioritizing love, health, laughter and nurturing your body and emotional wellbeing. How do you NURTURE YOURSELF? Roll, bounce, sauna, mineral bathes. Surround myself in scent. Rub 2-3 drops of skin suitable lavender oil into your palms and rub together, then inhale 4 times to relax my mind and body. Then rub on my temples and neck and feel the tension flow away! Another great way to nurture myself is to take hot salt bath. Salt baths and saunas helps release unwanted tension, flush the body of toxins, hydrate connective tissue, reduce soreness, help you sleep better and fully relax your entire body and mind. How do you SLEEP DEEP? Natural CALM Magnesium drink helps relax my body so much. How do you STRESS LESS? Be here and now. Remember to breathe…in just a few minutes a day you can dramatically increase your lung capacity, improve posture and reduce stress by doing what I call “Umbrella Breathing”: Visualize your lungs as a 3-dimensional umbrella. Imagine you are opening the umbrella by taking a full inhale to expand your lungs as much as possible. Pause at the top of the breath, then take a full calm exhale (as if you were sighing in relief). Pause again at the bottom of your breath and repeat. Decide which way is easier for you: the inhale or the exhale? Then focus on the weaker direction to help increase the absorption of oxygen. It’s so simple but the benefits are increased metabolism, better posture, decreased stress, more energy and even feeling more inspired. How do you SWEAT OFTEN? Get on my Bellicon rebounder and do my Total Body foam roller Workout Aligned Life video series Foam rolling increases circulation, smoothes out fascia and helps ‘wring’ out your organs all of which can help regenerate and restructure your connective tissue, reduce stress and inflammation, detoxify your body, and even beat cellulite once and for all. Cellulite occurs when underlying fat pushes through weakened, dry, or brittle connective tissue (or fascia). This weakened or imbalanced connective tissue structure can be caused by gravity, aging,

How Does McKel Hill Live a Nutritious Life?

McKel Hill, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Founder of Nutrition Stripped, a healthy living website dedicated to optimizing the wellbeing of women over the globe through recipes, nutrition advice, fitness and much more. It’s not hard to understand why the first time I chatted with McKel we could have talked for HOURS! And, by now we have! McKel is crushing it in the world of nutrition and as someone who’s been doing my nutrition thing for a long time, I love seeing this happen. McKel recently launched The Nutrition Stripped Society an exclusive meal planning membership site with reset/detox guides aimed to take your health to the next level, grocery shopping lists, cooking how-to’s, batch cooking guide, cooking videos, fitness videos, workout tips, tips on wellbeing and ongoing support. Check it out and keep an eye out for the The Nutrition Stripped Cookbook which will be published in the fall 2016 with William Morrow. For a peak into this healthy girl’s life, check out here how McKel lives her most Nutritious Life: How do you DRINK UP? Plenty of water with lemon and lime first thing in the morning, followed by my Matcha Tea Latte or Coffee, Elevated if I need a little pre-workout boost. Also I’m a huge tea drinking all day long whether it’s green tea, liver supportive tea, peppermint, or ginger. #gimmiealltheteas How do you EAT EMPOWERED? Whole foods as much as possible, but I’m all about flexibility! I try to listen to my body and focus on nourishing from the inside out to be able to carry out my work and passions in life- it’s an added bonus that it gives me energy, clearer skin, stronger hair, and weight maintenance. How do you LIVE CONSCIOUSLY? Meditation. Meditating each morning and setting up a morning ritual that is non-negotiable is, well, non-negotiable! It keeps me feeling energetic and spiritually centered which is a driving force during my days. If I don’t meditate I feel I have less space for clarity and focus. How do you LOVE MORE? This is something I’m learning more, especially this past year finding balance in my professional and personal life, going through a break up, you know- life. Loving more in the present moment means self-love, love and support with friends, family, and the beautiful NS community that makes my heart smile. How do you NURTURE YOURSELF? Meditation, taking the time to find balance and set boundaries with work, getting a monthly massage, routine acupuncture, taking a walk outside (daily), talking to friends and family on the phone, girls nights, alone time reading a book and drinking tea, helping others, eating well, and sleeping at least 8 hours. How do you SLEEP DEEP? I’m routine about it and make sleep a priority- I always try to get 8 hours a sleep a night and do pretty well at that, but it takes discipline! 98% of the time I wake up around 4:30-5am each morning so going to bed early enough to match that takes willpower but also knowing when to let loose and pull those 2am bedtimes after a night out in the city. I share my favorite tips on sleep for a nighttime routine on the Nutrition Stripped Blog. How do you STRESS LESS? Acupuncture, meditation, and journaling are my favorite ways to stress less and manage stress- acupuncture has really changed my life and wellbeing this past year. It’s been another tool to use in my “toolkit” for stress management and I’m a huge advocate for finding those tools so you can rule stress and not let it rule you. How do you SWEAT OFTEN? I workout about 6 days a week in the gym, a combination of heavy weight lifting, sprinting, running, walking, swimming, all the things. I love working out and have since high school—it’s my happy place and part of my morning routine that’s non-negotiable! Other than that I love doing anything outdoors where I can both get in some exercise, breathe in fresh air and be in nature. I also started to incorporate more yoga for balance and posture, both of these things I cover and share with the members of the Nutrition Stripped Society because EVERYONE can do it- no yogi-skill needed. Learn more about McKel at nutritionstripped.com.

How Does Candice Kumai Live a Nutritious Life?

CANDICE KUMAI is a classically trained chef, wellness journalist and best-selling author of Clean Green Drinks, Pretty Delicious, Cook Yourself Sexy and Cook Yourself Thin. She is a regular contributor on E! News and The Dr. Oz Show and has appeared as a regular judge on Iron Chef America and Beat Bobby Flay. She contributes to food and lifestyle publications such as Cosmopolitan, Shape, Men’s Health, Clean Eating and Prevention and volunteers at dozens of charitable organizations. She is a Top Chef alumni, and is obsessed with avocados, coconut and her cat, Sisi. One funny thing you may not know about her, “I do a killer impression of my Japanese mom. I’ve been told, if all else fails, stand up comedy is right around the corner. Hell yeah!” Her latest book Clean Green Eats is filled with recipes I promise you are going to want to chow down on! I recently had the chance to do just that cooked by the lady herself (the benefits of healthy friends!) When Candice and I chat health, we usually can’t stop. Read on to learn what she told me about how she lives her most Nutritious Life. How do you DRINK UP? With my Clean Green Drinks, of course! 😉 How do you EAT EMPOWERED? Clean Clean Clean & Green. Donnatella Arpia coined me as the “queen of clean green”, so I’ll have to live by that line. How do you LIVE CONSCIOUSLY? Meditation, yoga, I dig green beauty products only, I clean with safe, green household cleaners and I love my DIY recipes for beauty, cleaning and life! No need to over-consume! I try to be as mindful as ever of others and their lifestyle. I respect differences and keep my heart open to change. How do you LOVE MORE? With my sweet man, we love making delish dinners together, spending time together reading mags, relaxing in the park or the beach in the summer, traveling all over, opening our hearts and minds to new cultures and foods all over New York and the world. We are obsessed with watching Mister Wonderful on Shark Tank. Sharing, being mindful & laughter together are key! How do you NURTURE YOURSELF? I’m a big fan of long-time friends (I’m still friends with all of my girls from elementary school, high school, and college in California!). I love them all to pieces and would not have the depth of life I possess now, had it not been for these life-long girlfriends. They are incredible women and they accept me for me, and I do the same for them. I love laughter and a lot of phone calls with Mom. My Mom (back home in San Diego) is one of my favorite people in the whole world, we chat about food, recipes, Japan, Japanese food, how the cats are doing, Dad and my Sis. She truly feeds my soul! How do you SLEEP DEEP? No electronic devices in our bedroom, no tv in the house, only reading, art, vision boards and photography on our walls. Lots of plants in the house for oxygen. Lavender tea, yoga class, valerian root drops can help naturally on those long, stressful work nights, and I try to meditate as much as possible! How do you STRESS LESS? I love my Young Living essential oils, my diffuser with lavender oil, yoga with a girlfriend and green matcha tea. I am totally cool with aging, and who I have become today. I feel we get calmer, more graceful and wiser with age… plus you stop giving a damn about what everyone else thinks!! How do you SWEAT OFTEN? Lots of workouts! I am constantly at Bar Method, Soul Cycle, yoga and doing long runs with my man! Anything to get my ass moving 30 minutes a day, minimum. Check out Candice’s new book, Clean Green Eats available to purchase now!