S1 E25 - Stillness and Small Movements for Busy Brains

I begin the episode by reflecting on what I learned from Dr. Ashley White on Responsive Eating and how I've named my hunger an "inner Calvin" after one of my cats, who is very food-motivated.

The rest of the episode focuses on a few different ways to practice of meditation, especially if you have a restless mind or body. For some of us being seated without moving on a cushion feels more torturous.

Breath awareness can be a great point of focus since it allows our mind to have a "place to settle."

Yoga practice can be a way to physically prepare for the stillness of meditation, or savasana, the "yoga nap" at the end of most classes.

Sometimes a mantra can help us with focusing during a meditation. My favorite is: I am here in my body, I am home. And I can repeat this many times when my mind runs off.

I mention the work of Bodyfulness by Christine Caldwell and quote from her book, which is linked here. I'm becoming allergic to the term mindfulness, because the mind can be a good master, but a terrible servant.

I also speak about the ultradian cycles that typically last 80-120 minutes for most people, and how this can affect our focus throughout the day.

Doing a slow, somatic practice, can be a meditation in itself, since meditation is about noticing and awareness. Conscious movement can allow us to release tension and then can use somatic practices to release tension before we sit for a meditation.

Becoming present can occur during a walk in nature, and this can be a more active form of meditation. Or you can journal your thoughts (a form of meditation I love) so that you can release the "thought loops" that are on constant repeat in your brain.

In the future, I will record a set of different lengths of guided awareness practice with somatics and without so you can have a resource on the go to help you settle in.

My dance teacher, Beth Giles, will be speaking to me in a future episode and I'm linking her website here. Happy birthday, dear Beth!

One of my coaches, Stephanie Lindloff, has wonderful guided inner journeys available on SoundCloud, which you can access here. She will be speaking on the podcast in November. Her website can be found here for more information.

This podcast is sponsored by my book, Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven. This book can be accessed via the MN Library system on Biblioboard via the Indie Author project.

I'm starting work on the audio book and just received the cover art from Natalya Kolosowsky. It is beautiful! Check out Natalya's portfolio here.

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Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/