Meditation Motivation: Tools for Starting Your Own Meditation Practice (Video)

Amanda Abella — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:00:32 +0000

I am a big advocate of meditation. It's made a tremendous difference in my life and that of many others. Most of you already know the benefits of meditation, but just in case you didn't here's a rundown from Mayo Clinic:

The emotional benefits of meditation include:

Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
Building skills to manage your stress
Increasing self-awareness
Focusing on the present
Reducing negative emotions

With that in mind, some research suggests that meditation may help such conditions as:

Allergies
Anxiety disorders
Asthma
Binge eating
Cancer
Depression
Fatigue
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Pain
Sleep problems
Substance abuse

Okay, now why wouldn't anyone take five minutes a day to try this? It's quick, it's easy, it's natural and it's FREE!

Below you'll find some of my favorite tools and resources for keeping my meditation practice alive. Feel free to use any of these or share your own resources in the comments.

Yoga

I've learned some pretty awesome meditations thanks to my yoga practice. Whether you're going to studio classes or streaming yoga online, there are a ton of different resources you can use to learn different tools, techniques and breathing exercises.

I personally go to Prana Yoga Miami for studio classes and use MyYogaOnline or Gaiam for online video.

Gabrielle Bernstein

She's got free meditations on her podcasts, groovy youtube videos, a myriad of empowering lectures and three amazing books that help make meditation easy, practical and attainable. Seriously, this chick is a one stop shop for spirituality.

(P.S. You can still win an autographed copy of her latest book, May Cause Miracles! Click here to enter.)

Meditation Oasis

Meditation Oasis is a 100% free resource for guided meditations. I've been using these meditations since 2010! They also have a stellar blog that answers all of your meditation questions.

Terri Cole

Terri Cole is a psychotherapist and meditation advocate. Her album, Meditation Transformation, has a variety of meditations to get you through your day.I particularly love Manifest to Sleep. I'm out cold as soon as it's done.

BONUS! Inner Health Studio

While working on my coaching model I came across an awesome resource for visualization, relaxation techniques and meditations. Inner Health Studio has MP3s, scripts and a podcast to help you deal with just about anything - from writing a report to nightmares.

Happy Meditating everyone!

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Wanna start meditating? Check out these awesome tools! @gabbybernstein @terri_cole @MeditationOasis via @amandaabella Buffertweetable text

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of going to see one of my sheroes speak live and in person. On Thursday night I went to The Standard on Miami Beach for Gabrielle Bernstein’s May Cause Miracles Book Launch Event.

If you’ve been following the blog for a while then you know I am a huge fan of Gabrielle Bernstein and her work. I have been following her for a little over a year and can testify that what she teaches about spirituality, positive psychology and meditation actually works!

I use her tools, techniques and teachings on a daily basis and have truly seen miracles occur - from managing my day job and having abundance to this blog becoming a major vessel for an empowering message. And, if you saw my Kick Ass Books for an Awesome 2013 video then you know that her teachings helped me have the easiest breakup recovery ever.

It is her work that helped me not only witness, but stop playing crappy records in my head. I now notice when I have thoughts like “My job blows”, “I’ll never make enough money”, “My ex is an asshole”, “I suck” etc. etc. Now instead of getting caught up in them I disengage and choose to see love instead. This kind of perception has literally created a better outward experience and has certainly helped me better deal with life’s occasional obstacles.

Gabrielle Bernstein has taught me and countless others how to live in an empowered love filled way. Following her work has literally changed my life for the better and I am constantly sharing these tools with you all because I whole heartedly believe in their power. (By constantly I really do mean constantly. You can read about my journey following Gabby here, here and here.)

So as you can imagine I was pretty excited to see one of her lectures live instead of on Vimeo. And I was certainly completely ECSTATIC when I got to meet her!

I met Gabby Bernstein! Squeal!

Autographed copy of May Cause Miracles and a pass to enjoy The Standard Hotel & Spa. Miracles indeed!

Seriously, dream come true! It's moments like this that make me realize how grateful for everything. If it wasn't for writing this blog that constantly forces me to look inward, take care of my side of the street and most importantly serve others, I may have never stumbled upon this incredible teacher. And I certainly wouldn't have had the balls to hand her a business card (Yes, I did do that. Make that two best selling authors I've slipped my business card to!)

You know what else makes me feel grateful? This beautiful setting on the water. I am so blessed to live in such an incredible city!

Getting ready for Gabby on the Bay!

I know a lot of you already follow Gabrielle Bernstein, but for those of you who don't here is a rundown of some of my favorite lessons:

Forgiveness is the bedrock of a happy life.

Relationships are assignments.

Gratitude is the only attitude.

Focus on the content instead of the frame.

Treat your romantic relationships as more brotherly and treat your friendships as more romantic (Good one!)

The Universe has your back.

Win an Autographed Copy of May Cause Miracles!

Since I purchased a VIP ticket for the event I got an EXTRA copy of Gabby's latest book, May Cause Miracles. And guess what? I got her to autograph it for you! Just use the Rafflecopter widget below (you may need to click refresh) to enter! I can't wait to share this amazing guidebook with one of you lucky readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr

Spirituality/Positive Psychology:

May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness by Gabrielle Bernstein

(Bonus: I'm totally digging Doreen Virtue as of late. If you're feeling open minded or your spirit needs a boost I highly recommend this.)

Money:

The Mint Manual by Tim Murphy (Check out a full length review here.)

The Law of Divine Compensation: On Work, Money and Miracles by Marianne Williamson

Kicking Ass:

Audacity Rules by Coach Jennie (Check out our one-on-one interview here.)

Amazon Store

For more of my favorite personal development books visit my store on Amazon.

Tweetable:

Check out these amazing books for rocking 2013! #health #money #geny #career via @amandaabella Buffertweetable text

make friends in the real world.

B. Networking becomes an integral part of their career or business.

But here's the thing - most people think networking and immediately imagine some boring event their boss is making them attend. They imagine obnoxious name tags, bad drinks and a windowless hotel room. They also imagine forced conversations with people who sound like car salesmen.

I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be that way!

As I write this I am preparing for a crazy week of professional and personal networking events. Some of these were planned while, others were - well - a surprise. Since I know I need to brush up on some of my skills I figured it would be pretty nifty to share some networking tips with you all.

(Note: Most of these events are for women. If any of you local Miami ladies would like to join some awesome groups let me know!)

Event #1: HerFuture.com Miami Meet-Up (AKA Spirit Junkies Invade Starbucks)

I'm finally meeting some positively empowered women in Miami (other than my friends) thanks to HerFuture.com. For those of you who don't know, HerFuture.com is a networking site that was created by my favorite authors, speakers and spiritual teachers Gabrielle Bernstein. It's purpose is to help like-minded women find mentors and support for anything from career to family.

Thanks to this lovely site I found the Miami Power Posse and we planned a small get together so we could all meet other like-minded women in this crazy city of 2 million people.

My co-worker is coming with as well so it should be a fun time.

Event #2: LocalLEVO Miami Launch

I've been a contributor to The Levo League for quite some time and I AM SO PSYCHED that they are bringing their LocalLEVO meetups to Miami! I've got an influencer dinner and a netWORKOUT spinning class. So happy that I'm going to get to meet other Levo Ladies in the Magic City. If you're in Miami and would like to come to the spinning class send me a message at amanda [at] gradmeetsworld [dot] org.

Event #3: Business Meeting? Planning for a possible future event?

One of my main goals through Grad Meets World is to provide coaching, lectures and events in order to empower a generation of young professionals who will forever be affected by The Great Recession - especially on a local level. I've met a fitness trainer/fellow personal development junkie through a mutual friend who has a similar vision and I'm so excited to possibly be collaborating with her. We're meeting later this week to get to know each other and possibly plan an event together.

Phew! That's a loaded week right there! What is an ambitious Gen Y gal supposed to do?

Networking Tip #1: Listen more than you speak.

There was a recent article in The Miami Herald about how effective listening can help you land a job or propel your current career further. This is also a concept that has come up a lot during coaching classes in the form of Power Listening.

Simply put, great conversationalists also happen to be great listeners. Stay present, listen fully and then put your two cents in. No one likes a person who can't shut up about themselves or their business.

Networking Tip #2: Give rather than receive.

If you walk into a networking event with an "I need to get something" mentality you can bet your bottom dollar people are going to sniff you out. Don't get me wrong, it's great to make some connections for yourself or your business, but there's a difference between looking out for yourself and genuinely wanting to connect with others.

The next time you find yourself networking try coming from a giving perspective. See how you can help others. Maybe you have a book recommendation or there's a great yoga studio you know of. By coming from a place of giving rather than getting, you'll make more meaningful connections, and who knows - maybe those connections will help your business.

Networking Tip #3: Have fun!

Networking events aren't about forced situations in windowless hotel rooms where you've got a "Hello My Name Is..." sticker. In fact, these days networking can be as simple as going out for coffee!

With that being said, only go to events you'll actually enjoy! Have some fun, make friends! Not everything has to be about business or your career.

Just make sure not to have too much fun...no one likes the office lush.

For more on networking tips check out this awesome video Marie Forleo posted recently - Networking Basics: 8 Tips to Networking Without Being Fake.

Happy Networking everybody!

We get in funks and we get in these funks because we're not being true to ourselves - whether it's our jobs, the way we're living, a relationship that isn't working out, or our belief system.

Since recovering from a stint of severe anxiety I've learned a few things about managing stress. In the last year, and especially in the last few months, I have learned to recalibrate and do whatever it is I need to get centered and focused again. Sometimes it involves taking a break. Sometimes meditating and yoga will do the trick. And sometimes I just really want to watch some freakin' TV for once.

I can credit this to a few of things. First, learning the hard way that plowing through your days at 100ph will probably just make you sick. Second, yoga has helped me discern when I need a break by tuning in to my mind and body. Lastly, my coaching course with Gabrielle Bernstein has helped me start noticing when I'm in the zone (she calls it ~ING) and when I'm not.

So what do you do when you start to get in that funky mood? Below I give some examples from my own life while describing things that have helped me overcome some severe anxiety issues I grappled with for a pretty long time.

1. Don't give in to guilt.

We live in a society that's all about achieving, as such we tend to feel guilty when we're not being productive or nailing our next big goal. We also tend to feel guilty if we haven't yet reached a milestone we thought we were supposed to get. Don't get me wrong, having an achieve mentality isn't necessarily a bad thing, unless of course you let it get in the way of actually living your life.

We have to realize that sometimes doing nothing is exactly what we need to be doing. We need to accept the fact that sometimes our minds and bodies need a break. We need to be okay with not doing anything for a little bit.

2. Let loose.

I spent the last two weekends partaking in street festival shenanigans. The first was Calle Ocho which is basically some huge latin fest with live music and tons of food from around the world. The second was of course St. Patrick's Day where I let loose with some friends and enjoyed the company of some new ones.

Truth be told I just really needed to have some fun. It was kind of liberating actually. Sure, I was exhausted from the shenanigans, but I felt like I'd actually had a weekend.

This was pretty refreshing to me as I reflected back on how I was feeling this time last year - burnt out, anxious over a job situation that I knew wasn't working out, sick, and moping around over the current life situation. Shortly afterward I made some major changes, like getting a new job, and a year later things are much brighter.

3. Be a witness to the present.

Part of what gets us in a funk is living in the past and future tripping. I was an expert at both upon college graduation, and the anxiety that ensued lasted for over a year. And I'm talking "Holy shit I'm literally making myself sick and my doctor just gave me happy pills" kind of anxiety.

I was being way too hard on myself by replaying painful stories and being nostalgic about parts of college that were clearly over. Furthermore I was future tripping over where I thought I should be.

First, stop replaying the stories as if you can change something. You can't change that past and the stories you keep telling yourself serve you no purpose. Second, forget how you think things should be and start realizing that you are where you're supposed to be for right now. It doesn't mean you'll be in this place forever, it just means you're where you need to be for the time being.

There's a popular saying in Spanish that I think sums up this point perfectly, "No cojas tanta lucha con la vida". Translation: Stop fighting with life so much.

4. Stop comparing yourself to others.

I went to a small conservative college where I didn't totally feel like myself. Don't get me wrong, I had some great times and made wonderful friends, but there were certain aspects I could never accept or agree with.

Instead of just accepting that everyone has a different path in life, I tried to conform. The result was a very long term funk where I spent a couple of years feeling totally off balance - eventually it even took over my physical body and nervous system.

The problem was I kept comparing myself to my peers thinking I should be doing the same things they were. I should be on fire about the religion I was raised with like they are. I should be getting married soon. I should believe certain things.

Or, on the other side of the spectrum, I shouldn't be doubting. I shouldn't be acting this way. I shouldn't even be thinking this way.

Real talk? It's not me. It never has been. It never will be. In fact, it's utterly crazy that I even compared myself to something I always knew didn't resonate with me.

Comparing yourself to others and trying to tailor your life based on false ideas you think you need is a sure fire way to end up in an uber funky mood. Seriously, axe the comparisons.

By the same token, you definitely shouldn't be comparing yourself to others in order to feel better about yourself. At the end of the day money, marital status, jobs, cars, and social status don't really matter. We're all woven from the same cloth and we're all ending up in the same place.

5. Do you.

Doing you, following your gut, and accepting yourself for who you are will work wonders in terms of feeling centered in your life. Seriously, get real with yourself - most of the time you already know what you want and need, but for whatever reason you just feel like you shouldn't accept it.

6. Take it slow.

Ever heard of that saying "Life is what happens when you're too busy making plans?" It's true.

There's no reason to rush through life in order to reach x, y, and z milestones. Take it slow and enjoy the ride. Savor every moment - even the painful ones because they can teach you something and even open the doors to some amazing things.

And that my friends is what I have learned while recovering from severe anxiety. Some of you may be scratching your heads thinking that some of these things are completely impossible, that there's no light at the end of the future tripping tunnel, that things will just totally suck for a long time, but I promise you by taking some small steps in your daily life you can start seeing some improvement.

Facebook Fans probably already watched this, but I figured I should also share with the rest of you

The Workshop

Last night was Night #2 of the yoga workshop I'm taking at my local studio. As I mentioned before, it goes a little more in depth than a regular class and there's more room for discussion. It's purpose is to give you a good foundation and understanding of basic principles so that you carry them over into your regular practice - whether it be in a class or at home.

Last night we touched upon how yoga, through asana and the subsequent mediation, helps us stay in the present moment and calm our minds. We also discussed how this affects different parts of the body, which was tailored to the conditions and injuries of the students in the class. We had anywhere from forms of insomnia to fibromyalgia.

We've also touched upon having patience with our bodies and with ourselves. Anyone who has known me for a while knows that I tend to go at 100mph. I did this all throughout college to the point of illness and it continued through much of last year. Even my boss told me how I'm extremely high energy and I do a lot so I should start taking it a little easier.

I had a tendency of being the same way with yoga. I'm so impatient that I want to get everything down NOW. I want the positive effects NOW. I want the spiritual aspect NOW. I want to be able to do a pose NOW. However, I have noticed that with time I can ease into things (yay for touching my toes and ALMOST getting my heels down in downward dog). I've noticed that if I just let go and stop overanalyzing it, that I can move more easily into a pose. These are principles that are not only helpful in yoga, but in life. All I need to do now is work on patience and learn to enjoy the ride.

A Review of Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein

After stumbling upon Gabrielle Bernstein and her Authors@Google talk (Thank you The Daily Love!) I decided I had to pick up her book and give it a try. In it she discusses how she was able to overcome hardships such as drug addiction and bad relationships by changing her perception of life. Her change was thanks to A Course in Miracles .

Through her story of modern-day spiritual struggle Bernstein is able to explain the basic principles of the course in a way a new generation can understand. Our minds are on constant overdrive and we look for instant gratification from the outside instead of turning inward. We think that new iPhone, or a boyfriend or an awesome job will complete us. . In reality we're pretty much just fooling ourselves. We also have a tendency of stressing ourselves into ruin and our health suffers as result of it.

According to Bernstein we already have the tools we need, we just need to learn how to reconnect with what she calls an "-ing", otherwise known as our inner guide. I was completely hesitant at first because it sounded kind of new-agey, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. It wasn't at all preachy, nor did it sound totally crazy. In fact, a lot of it seems like common sense and the visualizations really help to put things into perspective. I found myself saying "Holy sh*t that sounds like me!" or "Dammit I totally do that!" throughout much of the book. The book also emphasizes the importance of journaling, which is an old habit I dropped long ago. Through it's meditation and journaling exercises you then start to recognize what's ailing you, how to release it and how to stop controlling every little detail of your life. Most of all, it teaches you to trust your intuition and start seeing others as equals rather than separating ourselves from them.

All in all it was a pretty cool book narrated in a way that our generation can totally relate to. I highly recommend giving it a shot.

Grad Meets World » gabrielle bernstein

Meditation Motivation: Tools for Starting Your Own Meditation Practice (Video)

Spread the Love with a Tweetable:

Win an Autographed Copy of May Cause Miracles!

The Workshop

A Review of Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein