Yesterday I ran a story from US Magazine with profiles of celebrities who love celery juice. This is a new trend since some quack who calls himself the Medical Medium has been touting its health benefits. As I mentioned yesterday, at least it’s cheap, harmless and no one is selling anything. Plus if it gets people to drink vegetable juice why not? Today US has a similar story compiling celebrity quotes about meditating. In this case they’re not touting any one practice or guru, which is appreciated. I’ve been meditating for about two years, after I suffered a concussion and needed to recover. I try to do it about 3-4 times a week. Props to US for putting this together. I especially like the recommendations for apps and shorter meditations.
Danai Gurira: “I aim to do something in the realm of meditation and prayer every day. That’s crucial,” [Danai] told Shape magazine in April 2019. “It’s about having a spiritual relationship and total well-being and really being a person who cares about things far beyond herself.”
Connie Britton: “Meditation has been a big part of my adult life — meditation, breathing, and connecting to whatever is my own version of my center. It can be 10 minutes; it can be in the car while I’m driving or just taking a deep breath before I’m about to shoot a scene,” she told Health magazine in December 2018
Jenna Dewan: “I have learned the hard way about burning the candle at both ends.” Now, before she gets that feeling, she added, “I try and… go and have a spa day or even a hike with friends. Or meditate, I know that sounds so boring, but that’s literally what I do.”
Mayim Bialik: ” I have a free app that I use on my phone, and usually before bed I’ll do a sleep meditation. Which is usually like a guided meditation, to kind of help my brain to wind down.””
One thing the celebrities mention is that you don’t have to dedicate an entire hour to this. I was intimidated by meditating and thought it would require a lot of discipline until I found quick guided meditations. There are 10 minute meditations on YouTube which can make you feel amazing, depending on how suggestible you are. (I’ve heard good things about the Calm app and other free apps, but have never gotten into them.) As I mentioned in one of the Amazon posts, my favorite YouTube meditation channel is The Honest Guys. If I can’t sleep or if I just want a quick meditation theirs are some of the most creative and relaxing. Here’s a 15 minute meditation where a bird on a boat (spoiler) takes away your anxiety. It’s so wacky in theory but the imagery works for me. This is my favorite 10 minute meditation from another channel. I sometimes do this 15 minute abundance meditation. I’ve also recently found Rasa, who has healing meditations and a very calming voice. (I don’t buy into everything she says about energy creating reality, but it’s relaxing and I think it does help somewhat.) So this is just a little reminder to myself to meditate more and also a recommendation to try it. You might be surprised how easy and relaxing it is.
Photos credit: WENN and via Instagram
I have never meditated, but I’m thinking I should try it. I have some mild anxiety and it most bothers me at night, so I wonder if some meditation before I go to sleep would help quiet my mind. I figure it cant hurt, right? so might as well try it. People I know who meditate regularly really like it.
You absolutely should! I’ve been meditating for almost 20 years and the calming effect on my anxiety has been one of the best results. I used to struggle to fall asleep and now that my husband and I do guided meditations at bedtime, he said I’m usually knocked out before it even gets going. My favorite is when he said I was snoring and the guide was still doing the intro.
I also work for a company that starts every meeting with a brief 1- 2 minute meditation and it’s amazing how that short amount of time can center the mind and help with focus and preparation.
A therapist at a job I use to have gave a candle and a meditation book and DVD years ago that I still use. It was never something I thought about until I received it and it is pretty great.
The instructions on the DVD help you focus and the commitment is not that long.
what is the dvd if you don’t mind my asking?
Sure thing.
Practical Meditation with Buddhist Principles by Venerable Thubten Lhundrup. There is also a book that comes with it that is a quick read and short enough to always come back for notes.
Thanks for this post. I’ve been trying to convince myself to start meditating and these suggestions are really helpful, I don’t have an excuse to continue to avoid doing it.
I also really enjoy reading the fitness/health posts, even the ones that are about “quackery”, lol!!!
I listen to The Honest Guys sleep meditation every night and love it!
My work has 4 minute mindfulness sessions that they encourage us to do at our desks several times a day. They actually give us t-shirts and gift cards for committing to it for 30 days. I’ve never worked at a company with so many resources for mental wellness.
I have the free mindfulness app and I can do 3 or 5 minute guided or silent meditations. I’ve been using it for years but ever since Nov 8 2016 I often ruin my meditation bc I’m getting mad about the Orange One!
I’ve one Doyouyoga meditation. Takes about 10 minutes and is different every day. There is a 30 day challenge on the app.
I’ve been using the Buddhify app for several months now. It’s got meditations for all kinds of situations and I really like it.
I’m so glad that you mentioned The Honest Guys! I love their meditations, and the particular one you mentioned helped get me through a bad panic attack. Check out The Silent Watcher, as well. They’re not guided meditations, but the videos are great for meditating or giving you something relaxing to listen to during a crap day at the office.
I’m using the Headspace app. I realized I was useless in doing it on my own, so I said, fine, I’ll pay a coach.
I meditate 15 minutes a day and no more than that. The effect is indescribable. The closest I can say that it’s like taking vitamins for your spirit, as cheesy as it sounds.
Doesn’t sound cheesy; it sounds AMAZING!
OK, gonna do something meditation-like this week.
I use Insight Timer. It’s free but also has options to buy different versions. I have been using it for years. I love it!