Take a deep breath.

Today was one of those days where it felt like I had a million things to do. I woke up in the early hours and got to work before 8 a.m. I was exceptionally busy and productive today, although I still have so much to work to complete before I go away for another long weekend. I had to leave work by 4:30 p.m. so I could make it to a doctor’s appointment. After that, I went shopping to get new luggage for my trip. Next, I rushed to get my eyebrows threaded but alas I arrived just after the salon closed for the day. Then, off to make an appearance at a rooftop birthday party in mid-town. Then, I cabbed it back to the Upper East Side just in time so that I could get in a good workout before my gym closed. Suddenly, it’s eleven o’clock at night and I realize I haven’t taken even a moment to breathe today! And on top of all that, I still have to write this blog!!!

Well, although my days can sometimes be hectic and crazy, I find that one thing that really helps to keep me centered is meditation. I tried it just for a few minutes during my cab ride tonight and felt so much more relaxed and less crazed by the time I got to the gym. Meditation can mean many things to different people. To me, it means taking time to breathe deep and enter a state of relaxation and to then focus my thoughts and my awareness. It’s something that I’ve only taken interest in recently and I honestly don’t know that much about the various techniques that exist. I certainly believe there’s a huge opportunity for me to learn more about it!

For me, one thing that seems to work is to begin by breathing deeply and counting backwards from ten to one. With each breath I tell myself to relax and try to clear my mind of all clutter. Then after I’ve finished counting down, I repeat in my mind one or a few phrases that I want to focus on. For instance if I was trying to relax/focus before a job interview the phrase might be something like: “I’m so grateful to be working as a blank making blank amount of money”. I believe that meditation can be used for many different objectives and I look forward to exploring new different ways to relax and focus my mind.

Xoxo

Micah