Stillness & Meditation (aka Taming Our Monkey Minds)

What comes to mind when you think of meditation? Do you envision sitting cross legged, atop a mountain or on a special cushion, with an empty mind?

I used to think I couldn’t meditate because it’s hard for me to sit still, or because my mind is constantly filled with thoughts. But now I think of it differently.

Stillness - I think some time spent each day in stillness is good for us all - this could be just sitting down with a cup of herbal tea to catch our breath, it could be formally meditating, could be lying in savasana - as long as we each take 5,10 or 20 minutes to just slow down.

Meditation - Meditation takes stillness a little further, as we get a little more intentional. This is something we can do sitting, lying down or moving. Any body type can meditate, as can anyone from any spiritual or non-spiritual background. We might include mantra or specific breath techniques to stay present. It’s 100% ok if thoughts come and go, in fact it’s normal that they will. This too is a practice, one which helps to alleviate anxiety, reduce stress, connect to our intuition,improve mood and energy and so much more.

Guided Meditation - really just helps us to stay present in a distracted world. You might like to test out some apps like Headspace or Calm on your phone.

The Nitty Gritty - Is it simple? Yes, absolutely. Is it "easy"? Not always. While meditating (wherever, whenever, for however long you like) choose conscious breath as your anchor, and silently whisper - "I’m breathing in, I’m breathing out" - or you can run a personal mantra through your mind to help keep you present… "peace, love, calm, nourish" or "love love love love" … or you can simply observe those thoughts, without judgment, then watch them drift by, like a cloud in the sky on a windy day.

The benefits of meditation on the brain ~

Some guided meditations for you:

You might find wearing headphones helps to keep you present. You may prefer the sound of nature to a formal guided meditation. You might like to meditate indoors, or outdoors, on your roof, in the woods, in the middle of Times Square, in the middle of a meeting, lying down, seated, cross legged. It's all good. Just make your spine long and tall, and your head facing straight forward (no tucked or raised chins) - and give it a try.

Below you will find guided meditations for 5 minutes, 10-15 minutes and then some longers which you may use to work, sleep and move to.

Sacha’s Meditations:

You asked, I delivered. Here are a few really short, simple meditations that I have recorded just for you (a learning curve). They vary in length but all are pretty short.