Breathe, rejoice, and repeat.

Beautiful Readers,

Lately I have become totally preoccupied with meditation and Buddhist philosophy. It began a few weeks ago with a visit to a meditation center near my house in Brooklyn after interviewing instructors for Beautiful Fitness. I went to the Buddhist center nearby instead of signing up for a less philosophical meditation class or hiring one of the instructors I had met with, because, when I googled meditation in my neighborhood, it just happened to be the first place to come up.  And now I am hooked.

I can’t say that I accept Buddhist teachings in their entirety (though, believe me, I want to drink this particular Kool Aid). There’s the usual set of seeming inconsistencies that I have trouble getting past, plus a healthy dose of my natural skepticism– but there is no denying the almost inherent appeal of Buddhist philosophy.  I am deeply moved by its unique combination of healthily un-uptight self-discipline and impulsive kindness. And if it were not for the vastly inequitable treatment of Buddhist nuns versus priests in so many countries, which rightly, or wrongly, I hold Buddhism accountable for, I swear, I really would be inclined to start identifying myself as a Buddhist right now. Learn the secret handshake, carry the card, and wear the t-shirt.

Learning to meditate is amazing. Meditation is very profound (does that sound stupidly obvious?). I have really only succeeded in finding my way into that blissful meditative space a couple of times now, but boy, the experience feels as close to something supernatural as anything I have ever done. I mean, I had been told for years that meditation was great, but I had no idea that it was great in so many ways.

Afterall, what’s not to like? Pulse slows down. Freedom from anxiety. Resetting your brain by forgetting about everything for a little while. Sounds great, right? But it gets even better– no one ever explained the psychadelic part of meditating. The part that’s like the early posters for Hair, or something from a classic rock album cover. The flood of images and ideas before you reach the meditative state is intense. The awesome problem solving ability just prior to getting there is astounding. It’s like ’sleeping on something’ and then waking up with the perfect answer, but it’s way faster, and the process is a lot more dynamic than sleeping.

So in an effort to pursuade you to try it yourself, here are some tips that have helped me, a total novice meditator, with no special ability, to enjoy the fruits of this remarkable art:

Sit comfortably with your back straight. If you are new to this, I advise you get comfortable on a chair with your feet on the ground, or sitting on a cushion, or towel on the floor with your legs crossed.

Now, close your eyes, and take a moment to soften your face, be sure your jaw is not clenched (your teeth will likely be slightly apart in your closed mouth), and that your eyes are softly closed, not squeezed.

Begin to focus on the feeling of your breath leaving your nostrils and returning. At this point I like to try to elongate the breaths slightly so that I can become aware of the pause at the end of the inhale and the beginning of the exhale. But maybe that’s just me. It helps me gain focus.

It is likely that once you have relaxed with your eyes closed that you will start to think of things other than your breathing…sounds in the room will seem loud, thoughts about what you did today will distract you…how you are feeling physcially may take your attention….all kinds of things will enter your mind. For me, the hardest thoughts to move away from are the self-conscious awareness of the experience of meditating. ”Look at me meditating-isn’t this cool.” and ”I wonder if I’m going to be able to meditate properly.” are the things that tend to distract me most. The object now is to try to label everything and I mean everything in the biggest way possible, as just superfluous noise for the time while you choose to meditate, and to remain interested only in the feeling of the breath in and out of your nostrils.

If you do happen to be distracted, be easy on yourself, try not to think ”damn. I screwed up meditating”, just accept that your gently bringing your focus back to your breath again and again is part of the process. If you do however think “damn. I screwed up meditating.”, just accept that ex[eriencing some level of self-criticism  is fine too, and then let that go as well. You may find yourself flooded with all kinds of mixed up emotions while you go through this process. All totally normal. All totally fine. Blissed out is just how it looks on the outside at first–blissed out on the inside takes some practice.

It sounds simple enough, I know, and in a certain way, it kind of is. But I guarantee you that if you can succeed in really doing it for any amount of time you will find that you have enjoyed some combination of the worlds best power nap, and an experience that could only be had otherwise on narcotics.

Enjoy the holidays however you want to!

All the best,

Alix Florio                   CEO; Beautiful Fitness