Permission To Breathe: Rx For Meditation

Permission To Breath

"Breathe in, 

Breathe out. 

Breathe in............. 

Hold it."

"You can Breathe."

The radiation technician, safe in her closed control room, chanted this mantra to me repeatedly, through the speaker and into the radiation room, during each of my 28 daily radiation treatments for breast cancer throughout the summer.  

I often heard the words in my head later the same day and found myself thinking, "You now have permission to breathe."  And so, little by little, day by day, I have let out a little bit more of the breath and the anxiety I've been holding inside for the past several months of my cancer treatments.    

"Breathe.  It's O.K.  Just breathe."

The purpose of the breathing and breath holding was to protect my heart from the radiation beams that were bombarding the left side of my chest.  But, in my mind, the "permission to breathe" was more about learning how to fully open up my heart and to keep it open to the full potential of life, health and happiness.   And the first thing that came to mind to facilitate that was meditation.  

Why Meditation?

I was first introduced to meditation many years ago as an undergraduate college student when I took a course entitled "Eastern Psychology" at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.  As part of that course, we began each class period by sitting on the floor and participating in Zen meditation.  Since then, I have tried unsuccessfully to make mediation a part of my life, but now I feel it is imperative to bring it back to my daily routine.  

Good For Your Mind and Body

The benefits of meditation are widely accepted by mainstream medicine and are well documented by scientific studies in medical journals linking it to therapeutic benefits (Gawler, Ian and Bedson, Paul, Meditation: An In-Depth Guide, 2010).  With daily practice, meditation can help you achieve the following:  

• Improve Memory and Concentration
• Increase your I.Q.
• Lower Blood Pressure
• Reduce Stress and Anxiety
• Relieve Symptoms of Depression

A Tonic For Stress

Have you ever had a moment of serendipity, where the exact thing that you needed presented itself to you at the exact time you needed it?

That happened to me a few weeks ago when I learned about a free two-day meditation workshop being offered in my town by a medical doctor and meditation guru from India who has led meditation workshops in many countries and large cities in the United States.

At the workshop, I learned that meditation can help alleviate the lack of fulfillment that is so prevalent in modern society.  Money, fame, or success do not buy happiness. We often go about our day in a robotic fashion,  saying "Good Morning," going through the motions, without expressing our true feelings.  When this happens, our feelings become suppressed and buried deep in our subconscious minds, which can then lead to problems like depression, anxiety and physical illnesses. This is known as the mind-body connection.  

Not only are the mind and the body connected, but everything in the universe is also connected. Every molecule, every cell, every breath we take, connects us to everything else in the universe. 

Through meditation, we can become a magnet for the positive energy that vibrates through the universe.  

Meditation, yoga, and relaxation are all tools we can use to release all of our negativity, and focus on the present moment.  Meditation is like a tonic for stress.  We can each become "our own doctors," and through meditation, begin to take control of our own health and our happiness.

This beautiful field of sunflowers was in full bloom right across the street from the workshop,
which added to the positive vibe.

Meditation Techniques

The point of meditation is to focus your mind on something to keep it from wandering.  At the workshop, I learned that the mind is like a baby that you are unable to control.  The baby/mind wanders around and needs a toy to play with to keep itself occupied.  There are many techniques that can serve that purpose and we practiced the following at the workshop:  

• Breathing exercises
• Visualization exercises using all five senses
• Yoga
• Chanting ("Om")
• Full body relaxation

We also played a fun game of "concentration" where we performed steps such as clapping, "flying," laughing, and rolling our hands.  Then we were quizzed on the order of the steps to test our focus.  

How To Get Started:  

• You can begin with only five minutes a day of focused concentration using any meditation technique  
• Gradually increase the time to 24 minutes a day
• Smile, celebrate and enjoy life
• Live in the present moment
• Be aware of your thoughts and words, positive thoughts will bring positivity back to you, while negative ones will bring negativity

The following links have free guided meditations that are great for beginners.  

Sip and Om:  I just signed up for a free 100 day meditation quest from this website.  Join me and have a daily podcast meditation sent to your email.   www.sipandom.com

UCLA:  Click on link and pick any of the free audio guided meditations http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22

Deepak Chopra:  Click on link, scroll down to "Explore our Resources", click on "Guided Meditations".  chopra.com

A Magnet For Positivity

I want to leave you with one final thought for the week.   As I mentioned earlier, sometimes we are in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, and it is almost as if a miracle happens.  It is in those kind of moments, I think that we can realize what is meant by being a "magnet" for positivity.  

Last Sunday, I had a day filled with several of those serendipitous moments, and as I wound my way home in the dark through my neighborhood streets, a powerful feeling of complete peace came over me.

Every cell in my body seemed to relax and I thought to myself, "Now I really can just breathe."   For the first time in over a year,  I felt that everything was going to be O.K. and in that moment, I felt like I was connected to that flow of positivity.  

I hope that whoever reads this post will have many moments like those and that you will be able to find your peace and serendipity, to live in the moment, celebrate life and find true health and happiness.  

Namaste.