Welcome to my TED (from bed) Talk on Mindfulness & Meditation
A roadmap into the intricacy of what it means to benefit from deep, restorative rest.
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Mindfulness & Meditation
I have been meditating off and on for years. I began practicing when I became a yoga instructor back in 2006. I studied yoga and meditation for years with many different teachers from different lineages. From Vinyasa with Seane Corn, Anusara (at the time) with Elena Brower, Istha with Alan Finger (Kavi Yogiraj), plus a handful of others who you may or may not know.
Image: Mia in Rishikesh, India circa 2007
During my first ever teacher training, I had just come out of a meditation session and was walking back to my locker. At that moment I was struck with this undeniable feeling of being alive in every way possible. I knew that I had just tapped into something that was going to be a profound shift in my life. Yes, it sounds a bit cliche, but I will never forget that moment, standing in a tiny hallway, the smell of incense wafting through the air and literally feeling every cell in my body smiling as if it just unlocked some secret code.
Throughout the years and studying with different teachers and trying new lineages, my meditation practice was never something I was committed to. Even though I knew it did wonders for me and my day, it was always the first thing to go when I was busy.
In 2020, I was on my hospital campus attempting to join a class I needed for work. I came to find out that the class had been canceled, and no one told me. For my effort and having been put out, a very kind woman in charge of some office offered me a scholarship for a meditation training. At first, I said no thanks thinking I just didn’t have the time, and plus, I knew how to meditate. Then she said it was a scholarship for nurses from the David Lynch Foundation, and of course, I was immediately intrigued. I had heard of TM meditation but didn’t know anything about it other than you could only learn it from a certified instructor who would give you a secret mantra and it was ridiculously expensive. So something this cynic would never have actually paid for. But for free, sure, do tell.