5 myths about meditation

Would you like to meditate but you’re not sure if you’re able to do it? Are you afraid you’re too restless, unfocused or simply not the ‘meditating type’? Let’s dispel some of the most common myths about meditation so you can give it try and experience some of its benefits for yourself!

Myth 1. You have to be calm to meditate

Contrary to what you may have heard, you don’t need to feel calm before you meditate; all you need to do is sit down and observe what is there.

Perhaps you feel restless. Maybe you feel tense. You may even feel like breaking something. Or perhaps you feel happy and bubbly. All perfect!

Meditation is just about learning to be with all this jumpy stuff, not to avoid or fix it.

Myth 2. Meditating is about having no thoughts

Often people think meditation is about clearing your mind of thoughts. However, try ‘not thinking’ for a moment and see what happens…thoughts will come into your head, no matter what!

While it’s not possible to stop your thoughts, it is possible to learn not to invest in them so much. Notice them coming and going but simply let them pass through.

By focusing on the experience of this moment, you stop feeding your thoughts: you can’t concentrate on both at the same time. The more you practise this, the easier it gets to leave your thoughts alone.

Myth 3. Meditation is about controlling your emotions

Meditation is about getting to know your emotions, not about controlling them. Control is fear: fearing your own depth, your deep feelings.

In true meditation, you open up to how things are, not how you want them to be! So during meditation, every emotion is more than welcome to surface.

Myth 4. You have to sit crossed-legged to meditate

Lotus pose or sitting crossed-legged is not required for meditation. For me, meditation is not about form, it’s about awareness. You can meditate in a chair just as effectively if that works for you. Or sit up on cushions with your back against a wall if your back prefers it.

Myth 5. Meditation is difficult

It is only difficult if you have the wrong expectations. Like having to experience a deep inner stillness or a spiritual revelation. Let that go. Meditation is really about learning to embrace your messy, human nature…it is about getting to know yourself. You don’t need to change yourself to find out who you are! 

Structuring your week using ayurvedic principles

As you know, we are huge fans of Ayurveda, you don’t just eat Ayurveda you live Ayurveda. 

Did you know that different days of the week are governed by and embody the energy of different Doshas. By re-structuring our activities and eating to be in harmony with the Dosha and corresponding energy of different days of the week, we are able to live in more alignment to be more efficient and live with a greater sense of  grace and ease. Making small changes in our daily routines has the ability to completely change the flow of our lives.

As you read on you will see that how to generally structure your week to be in alignment with these energies.

Sunday

Sunday is governed by the Sun, therefore, this means that the Pitta Dosha dominates which encompasses energy, passion, and power. Take the opportunity to use this increased energy on Sundays to go for a run, a hike in nature or a strong yoga practice.

Pitta also governs our digestive fire, so making use of this to catch up with friends for Brunch or a picnic is also a nice way to enjoy this energy. As pitta is fire, try not to overload your body with foods and beverages that are hot in nature, so leave red meat, chilli, and alcohol for Saturdays instead.

Monday

Moon Monday, Monday is governed by the Moon which encompasses cooling, soothing and nourishing properties dominated by Kapha and Vata. Although in our society today Monday is seen as the day to rev up your energy and get things done, according to Ayurveda those actions are seen to be very harmful. Instead, take the initiative to incorporate some journalling when you wake, a stroll on your lunch break and a little extra time spent meditating in the evening.

Undertaking a yin yoga class is a wonderful way to embrace the moon energy on Mondays. Keeping this moon energy in mind, when it comes to your diet on Mondays it may help to stick to liquids via a smoothie for breakfast, soup for lunch, vegetable broth for dinner and lots of our juicy goodness in between.

Tuesday

Mars is said to govern Tuesdays, which embraces Pitta characteristics – fire, anger, and courage. Using this energy wisely, it’s a mighty fine day to commence one of our cleanse programs if we say so ourselves. On Tuesdays, we like to use this fire to work through more challenging projects that require a little more courage and stamina. When it comes to exercise, channel this fire into a spin class, some boxing or weight training.

Wednesday

Humpday is governed by the planet Mercury and is influenced by all three doshas, providing more balance and harmony. Wednesdays allow all that you have worked on the past two days to flow seamlessly, however, do not step back, keep working at a steady pace to reap the rewards. Take Wednesdays as a time to reflect on where you can improve going forward through the simple practice of journaling.

Thursday

Jupiter governs Thursday, where Kapha takes a stand to provide some much-needed grounding.  On Thursdays, try to incorporate some plyometrics, pilates or vinyasa yoga to keep your kapha in balance to avoid becoming stagnant and naturally heavy. In regards to food, you might like to eat a bit lighter – enjoy a little more juice today plus a wholesome salad.

Friday

Friday is governed by Venus which is influenced by Kapha and Vata. This means that Fridays are for creativity to stimulate all of your senses. This could look like wearing more colorful clothing, a walk in nature, mix up your look with bold lipstick and listening to music. Friday is a time to get creative, so if you have followed the principles that we have mentioned so far, you shouldn’t need to order pizza, wine, and a Netflix marathon.

Saturday

It’s the weekend, which calls for movement, passion projects, hobbies, and creativity. As Saturday is governed by Vata it provides the perfect opportunity to dive into all that defines you away from work. A balanced Saturday could look like a morning walk and breakfast with a friend, a ceramic class before lunch and a yin yoga class in the afternoon. It is really important that you don’t skip meals on Saturdays, as Vata requires a lot of grounding, so make sure you emphasise wholesome meals on Saturdays.

Balancing the masculine and feminine

In the beginning of time, a divine being sat absorbed in deep, blissful meditation. He sat with legs crossed at the mouth of a cave on the peak of a cosmic mountain, meditating upon his breath. Millions of years passed with his every breath. His name was Shiva.

In his state of complete and full absorption, he was unaffected by the external world. He was anchored in bliss and felt great contentment. But one day, Shiva felt a stir inside him. From a still, silent place within, the subtle pull of kama (desire) awoke. This stir of desire grew into a rippling, pulsating field known as spanda.

Shiva opened his eyes from his millennia of deep, transcendental meditation. His gaze landed upon the figure of the Goddess, Shakti, dancing and weaving around him in beautiful spirals. As their eyes met, spanda pulsed with an even greater vigor, and Shiva’s longing for her grew.

As the Goddess danced, Shiva held space for the beauty of her form and movement. In that moment, the world was born. The Goddess pulled a great cauldron out from the ether and poured in the element of earth. The cauldron gave birth to great mountains, canyons and plains that carved their way into our great and powerful planet. She poured in the element of water, which nourished the ground with rivers, lakes, streams and divine oceans. She poured in the element of fire, which brought us summertime, blooming flowers, bonfires and our sun-filled days. And finally, she poured in air, which brought us the great winds and gaseous chemicals that support all of life on earth. These elements stirred and churned with the great spanda, pulsation, of divine masculine and feminine connection; this gave birth to animals, plants and the entire world as we know it.

Masculine and feminine energy exists within each and every one of us, regardless of our sex and gender. Both of these energies are necessary for the balance and longevity of life here on earth, but can easily fall out of balance.

HARNESSING THE MASCULINE AND THE FEMININE

The masculine in balance offers us structure, discipline, organisation, protection, and containment. When the masculine is allowed its true expression, it holds space for the more organic parts of life while keeping us on track with our vision and goals. In our modern day, we’ve found ourselves in a time of excessive masculinity, which has led to a culture revolved around overachievement, overconsumption and reckless overuse of the resources of the earth for personal or industrial gain. We’re left feeling overworked, stressed and undernourished. When we live this way, it can lead to a degradation in our health and the natural environment.

Even in the world of yoga and spirituality, a similar dynamic is at play. Our practices easily become too forceful, competitive and regimented. Much of the asana we practice was originally designed for 15-year-old male bodies! Masculine practices focus on transcending the body to attain a state of enlightenment. These practices are powerful in the right context, but must be balanced by the feminine. When we only feed masculine practices, we are getting just half of the story. These practices focus on aesthetics, purification, strict and regimented movement and big, heady philosophy organised in linear charts and formulas.

Where the masculine focuses on transcendence, the feminine brings us into embodiment. Bliss is something we experience right here and right now, in the midst of imperfection. Feminine movement happens organically, intuitively and in spirals. Feminine meditation cultivates body awareness, acceptance, emotional expression and pleasure. The feminine brings us into our feeling, sensing and ever-changing bodies. We are drawn to experience the world with presence, joy and heart.

OUR TOP TIPS FOR BALANCING THE MASCULINE AND THE FEMININE

• Ask yourself throughout the day, “Am I in a state of doing (trying to get somewhere) or being (accepting myself as I am)?”

• Add more intuitive, circular movements to your yoga practice. Close your eyes and let your body lead the way.

• Use your hands to feel your body. This nourishes our desire for touch and intimacy.

• Breathe into the pelvic floor and womb space. This is a plexus where feminine power resides.

• Get outside and connect to Mother Earth.

• Practice gratitude. When we do this, we can connect to the spirit of generosity in the world and in nature.If you found this article beneficial, please spread the love and share it with your friends!

Moving with the seasons: Our guide to Autumn yoga

Autumn is the season of transformation. We can see this all around us in nature: the leaves are falling, the air is changing and we welcome our new season’s fruit and vegetables.

It is important that we change with the seasons — just as nature does — by adapting our daily habits, yoga practice and food choices.

Ironically, it is only through change that was can stay grounded during this shifting season.

AN AYURVEDIC APPROACH TO AUTUMN

According to Ayurveda, there are three primary doshas, or energies. Just as each person has a dosha that predominates, each season is also dominated by one of the three doshas.

The vata dosha is most prevalent during autumn. Vata governs movement in the body, as well as activating the nervous system and the processes of elimination. The qualities of vata are cold, dry, rough, light, changeable, irregular, and moving. Vata is composed of the elements of air and space. Because of vata’s association with the nervous system, its state is often reflected in our mental health.

With the abundance of vata energy circulating during the autumn season, our bodies and minds can become overwhelmed and out of balance. During this time of year, you may feel unsettled, ungrounded and unstable. But while we cannot change the seasonal weather shifts, we can maintain internal balance by adjusting our lifestyles to counter the predominant vata energy in nature. We do this by incorporating yoga poses, food, and lifestyle choices that naturally hold the opposite qualities of the vata dosha.

5 Autumn YOGA POSES

During autumn, try to schedule your yoga practice at the same time every day and for the same length of time. This will help to build a routine and calm the chaotic vata energy. Do yoga poses that focus on the lungs and large intestines, as these are the two organs associated with the autumn season.

1. Twists: Half Lord of the Fishes Pose, Noose Pose, Revolved Triangle Pose

2. Side Stretches: Revolved Head-to-Knee Pose

3. Backbends: Bow Pose, Bridge Pose, Camel Pose

4. Warrior I Pose and Warrior II Pose

5. Sun Salutations will also warm the body during the chill of autumn

After your practice, enjoy a long Savasana (Corpse Pose) to stabilise the moving energy of vata.

Autumn FOODS AND HERBS

It is important to eat three meals a day, preferably at the same time each day. Try to avoid skipping meals and sporadic grazing, and be sure to sit down while enjoying your food. Like all other lifestyle choices around this time, set a routine around eating.  Here are some insights to help guide your autumn meal plan.

• Eat lots of warm soups.

• Choose foods that are warm, cooked, and moist. Avoid raw veggies and salads, as these are vata provoking.

• Eat two apples a day to aid with elimination.

• Drink warm tea of fresh ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon. This will warm the body and enhance circulation and digestion. If not this tea, aim to drink some kind of warm beverage.

• Eat root vegetables to enhance your connection to the Earth.

• Sweet, salty and sour tastes are calming to vata.

LIFESTYLE CHOICES

• Lights out for bed at 10:00 p.m. Try to get a full eight hours of sleep and awake when the sun rises.

• Consistent, moderate exercise regulates vata’s mobile nature, so make sure to schedule time for physical activity.

• Curb your tendency to talk unnecessarily, and settle into the rejuvenation of silence whenever possible.

• Use a neti pot to help keeps the lungs clear of congestion.

• Apply oils to the skin to keep it moist. This practice, called oleation, reduces the vata emotions of anxiety, depression, fear, and nervousness.

• Commit to a regular meditation practice to assist in quieting, centering and grounding the active vata mind.

• Practice right nostril breathing: Close your left nostril using the ring finger on your right hand. Inhale through your right nostril for 6-8 seconds, then exhale through the same nostril for 5-7 seconds. Repeat for 7-10 rounds, a few times a day. This will enhance the sun energy that helps keep the body warm as the temperature drops.

a New Moon Ritual for you

If connecting to the elemental flow of nature isn’t enough to shift your perspective, our ever present luna moon has her unique cyclical rhythms of influence that she bestows upon us all. Being lovers of ritual coupled with intention, we’d like to share with you how you can harness the power of the New Moon.

The new moon is the birthing phase of the lunar cycle. This metaphysical energy of “new birth” that surrounds us as each new moon darkens the sky, hands us an opportunity to focus our attention on fresh new ideas, ways of being and manifestations we would like to call into our lives.

You might be feeling a void, a space or a gap in your life and you’re not quite sure how to fill it

Maybe you are beginning a new project or path for yourself and you’d like a little say in the vibe it carries

Perhaps you’ve discovered some new ideas or philosophies and you’re not sure how they fit into your life just yet

This is the time to ask our Luna New Moon for some guidance or support.

Setting the scene

A couple of days out leading into the new moon, begin to use your moments in between moments to be with yourself (instead of scrolling) and notice the emotional quality of your life. Naturally, desires and wishes for yourself may begin to surface. If and when they do, notice the emotional quality behind your desires. You might feel the calling to discover a new business idea, but at the core of this desire is to find a sense of purpose and creativity.

This is your New Moon offering or intention.

Basking in the energy of the New Moon

As the new moon arrives (in this case on Saturday) plan to spend some time where you can connect with her. Most people find being in nature the easiest conduit of connection, but do what resonates with you. If being outside in nature isn’t possible due to little humans (who you can absolutely include in this ritual!) or due to other limitations, some ideas could include;

• Having a warm bath with essential oils – our moon is deeply connected to the element of water.

• Reading your kids a story about the moon as they go to bed, holding your New Moon intention in your heart as you do.

• Making a warm cup of tea, with 5 minutes carved out just to focus on your New Moon intention as you lovingly consume it.

Wherever your circumstances find you, allow yourself to firstly come into a state of reverence towards the moon. Physically look up towards her direction if you can to take in the majesty of the night sky. Find yourself coming into a state of gratitude and awe of her magnitude, her influence on the rhythms of natural life – take her all in. 

Next, allow the energy of her to move through you, in whatever shape or form that takes for you in the moment. The new moon holds the qualities of possibility, potential, limitlessness, freshness, opening & wonder, so ask your body to open up to and accept these qualities. You may find yourself simply being in still presence with her, moving your body, crying, laughing or breathing deeply… there really are no limitations.

Handing over your offering to her

From this place of deeper connection with her, bring your offering or intention for this phase of the lunar cycle to mind and heart. Visualise your offering floating out of you and up up up towards the moon till it reaches her and is lovingly held by her. Allow yourself to feel a sense of trust, knowing that your intention may manifest itself in limitless ways, which will be for your highest good. With full surrender, we then say thank you.

During this ritual, include any other rituals that feel like home to you. This could be lighting a candle, lighting incense, sage or using essential oils, moving your body to rhythmic music, singing, repeating a mantra, saying a prayer and so on.

Tools for becoming more in sync with the lunar cycles

By far, the best way to become more in sync with the cycles of the moon is to pay attention to how you feel during her different phases. You can do this easily by downloading a free moon cycle and journaling your thoughts and feelings daily, with a little note next to each journal entry for the corresponding moon phase.

How to cultivate work life balance

The concept of work life balance has shot to glory in recent years, as society moves away from hustle-at-all-costs culture and closer towards something resembling the hallowed concept of balance.

While work life balance is an idyllic goal, we like to keep things realistic and dedicate ourselves towards life juggling—meaning we keep track of what balls we have in the air at once, what ones we can afford to drop and what ones need particular attention.

Here are our top tips to help you juggle it all.

GLASS VS RUBBER BALLS

On the subject of balls in the air, it might be construed as slightly cliché to talk about ex Coca Cola CEO Brian Dyson’s infamous speech on glass vs rubber balls in this context—but we reckon it’s exactly how the ever-important words were intended to be received, and absolutely fundamental to the work-life juggle.

He very famously said “Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit – and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.”

So, on that note, perhaps the first question to ask yourself when striving for more balance in your life is, do you treat work as a rubber ball? Or do you treat it as a glass one? We’ll leave that with you…

HAVE DEDICATED TIME OFF

It becomes all-too easy when you’re committed to your career to set flexible boundaries that quickly give way to answering the odd email here, or taking a phone call during family time there.

Having non-negotiable time off is one of the most important ways to juggle work with life, as it keeps work from controlling (read: consuming) your schedule. At Gill & Hooper, we enforce a ‘no emails from 7pm until 7am and on weekends’ rule, where we silence the app from our phones. That means we have to be super intentional if we want to check in on anything. This prevents it becoming habitual and a major drain on our time and energy.

MAKE TIME FOR THINGS THAT FILL YOUR CUP

Whether it’s yoga, a standing coffee date with friends, a gym class or swimming lessons with your little one, it’s so important to set aside plenty of times that refresh and revive you—and bring you back to who you are as a person. Not as a Property Manager, or Sales Associate, or whatever your job is, but as a human with a family and interests and goals that extend beyond the day-to-day workings of your career.

You’ll undoubtedly have heard the saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup”—and understanding this is central to carving out balance in your life. Schedule these cup-filling joys as you would a work meeting, and notice how you begin to feel less overwhelmed as a result.

DEFINE WHAT “ENOUGH” LOOKS LIKE FOR YOU

One of the major realisations that hits when you reach adulthood is that there is always more that can be done. Whether it’s work emails, housework, planning for your side hustle or life admin, the list really, truly never ends.

So getting clear on what constitutes “good enough” for you will help you spend your time wisely—leaving you with more time for variety and balance in your day-to-day. Adding a “must-do” section to your to-do list is a great way of implementing this on a granular level; as it defines your non-negotiable and maps out what your “enough” looks like for that day.

What tips and tricks do you use to juggle the many balls that are life—work, family, friends, interests, hobbies and the rest? Let us know in the comments below!