Meditation - Change Your Life One Breath At A Time

Are you feeling stressed-out?

Do you feel like something is missing but you don’t know what?

Do you have trouble concentrating?

Then perhaps it is time for you to consider an ancient practice with modern scientific proof of results: MEDITATION

Is meditation for me?

To evaluate whether you can benefit personally from a daily meditation practice, allow me to ask you a few questions:

1. Would having a subtle sense of internal peace and calm have a positive effect on your personal relationships? Would having that same sense of calm and peace affect your attitude in daily life?
2. Would a reduction in stress and an overall sense of wellbeing impact your health?
3. Would you like to stop reacting (and perhaps over-reacting) to events and situations and instead thoughtfully make the best choice for yourself and others?

If you are like most people and answered ‘yes’ to the above questions, then I can guarantee that meditation will provide many benefits for you.

Let me tell you my story
In 1994, I started a computer software and consulting company. As you likely know, 1994 was a very good year to start such a venture. My business took off and literally shot through the roof. By 1998 I had nearly a hundred employees, new business was pouring in, and money was in the bank. During that time I got married and had my first child. Life was good!

At least everything looked good on the outside. I was happily married with a healthy toddler; I had plenty of money in the bank, owned my own home, took exotic vacations and drove a new Jaguar. I went to church most every Sunday and had a good relationship with God. I was earning recognition in Silicon Valley for my achievements. What more could a 27 year old ask for?

Yet, something wasn’t quite right. My health was starting to deteriorate. I developed high blood pressure. I suffered from Insomnia. I was 35 pounds overweight. I was having stomach problems which (according to my doctor) was a pre-ulcer. In order to relax I needed to drink a beer or have a glass of red wine. In order to sleep I needed a sleeping pill. I began to feel like I was slowly dying inside. I carried around a subtle sense of anxiety or feeling that something wasn’t quite finished that should be done.

It was then that I discovered meditation. I had “toyed around” with meditation through my studies of self-development, but mostly using self-hypnosis and visualization to see myself succeed. I realized that I felt ‘really good’ when I did the self-hypnosis stuff and decided to begin my own research on meditation. Before long I was practicing a simple breath meditation each day.

What happened next is the reason that I sit here today writing this article. By simply practicing ten minutes of meditation each day, I began to experience the following results:
1. My relationships began to improve
2. I began to sleep better at night
3. I had an easier time losing weight and keeping it off
4. Little things that use to send me into a rage, just didn’t seem to bother me anymore
5. My blood pressure dropped and then normalized in a healthy range
6. I began sleeping through the night, and even if I woke up I could easily fall back asleep
7. I lost my desire for unhealthy choices and habits
8. My stomach and digestive problems went away
9. That subtle sense of unrest was slowly being replaced with a sense of peace

Being an entrepreneur and self-motivated I began to study meditation and variations of its practice in depth. I attended seminars and weekend retreats. I read books, listened to audio books and met others who practiced meditation.

I became a full-fledged “closet meditator”. I didn’t speak a lot about meditation because I was worried about the reaction that others might have towards me. I knew how much it was helping me but decided to keep it as my little secret.

That was until 2005 when I decided I had to share my story with others. I was now running a successful finance business, but somehow still found the time to meditate an hour a day and began to see tremendous benefits from it. I took a course through the American Institute of Health Care Professionals and became a Certified Meditation Instructor. I now teach classes and workshops as well as help private clients with stress management and well-being.

Here is a simple breathe meditation to begin with today

1. Turn off your cell phone, find a place you won’t be disturbed and set an timer for 10 minutes
2. Sit comfortably in a chair, keeping your feet flat on the floor and your back straight.
3. Allow your eyes to gently close
4. Take a couple deep, full breathes and feel the air go all the way down into your abdomen. Hold for a few moments and they exhale through your mouth letting go of all cares and conce
s.
5. Allow your breath to return to its normal and natural rhythm inhaling and exhaling through your nose.
6. As you gently breathe, notice the point in your body in which you most feel your breathe. That point could be in your chest, stomach area, or in your nostrils. We call this the “anchor point”.
7. Keep your attention on the anchor point for the rest of the 10 minutes.
8. If you become lost in thought, distracted by a noise in the environment or even distracted by a body sensation, gently let go of the distraction and return your full attention to the anchor point.
9. It is ok if your attention drifts, it does for everybody. As you notice your attention has drifted off, gently let go of the distraction and return to your anchor point until your alarm sounds.

Practice this simple meditation every day for a week and see if you don’t detect a subtle positive change in the way you feel. We don’t look for results during our meditation time, but we look for results in our everyday lives.