Meditation for multitaskers
Maybe you’re one of those people who already take care of themselves, do sports, relaxation and eat healthy food, but if you’re not and you feel like you need that in your life, then start now! Today I’m going to talk about relaxation and why is so important for e-workers, especially for multitasking professionals like translators and many other categories.
I started doing meditation more than 1 year ago, along with mobility exercise (stretching), breathing and some easy yoga. I’m not an expert, not even close, but I started feeling the benefits and enjoying it, so I want to share this with you. Keep reading, please.
When you multitask, you activate your brain at high speed and consume a lot of “power” (mostly glucose, actually), this way you get fast, productive and do your job. But you also deplete your energies, your body produces a lot of cortisol and, basically, you get stressed, even if you don’t notice it. Personally, I feel it and describe it as overheating: my head is like an engine that needs to cool down, otherwise the fast thinking I used to work is going to compromise my tranquility and the rest of my day.
Basically, the human being is not designed for working and thinking at the pace we keep nowadays.
What do I do? I stretch, I do sport and I meditate.
Meditation, after some practicing, put you in a different state of mind, it really does. It soothes and calm you down, it takes your metal activity to a more normal pace. Also, while you meditate, you stretch your legs because of the stance and get your back straight, which for people who work sitting on a chair, in front of a screen for several hours a day is vital! VITAL!
I will spend more time on physical and spiritual benefits of exercise and meditation later, for now, let’s get down to business.
Meditation is easy, you only need:
A quiet place
A comfy cushion, not very soft
10 to 30 minutes of time.
Put the cushion on the ground, preferably on a thin mat, sit on it with you butt right on the edge of the cushion and your legs bent and almost crossed in front of you, like in the images below.
Try to relax your legs and put your weight on it, so it doesn’t fall all on your butt. Get rooted and supported by the ground, feel balanced and strong. Find a comfortable position, feel free to change it as many times as you need. This is a moment just for you, so take your time.
Now think of your back as a pile of coins and keep it straight, one coin upon another, but relaxed (I know, it’s not easy at the beginning) and close your eyes. Keep your chin a little bit towards you chest, rest your hands on your knees, relax your jaw, keep your mouth ajar and start breathing mostly with your belly.
Don’t force your breath, just follows it, relax. The idea is to slow your thinking. In order to do that, you don’t need to be a yogi or a Buddhist monk, you only have to focus on your breathing, counting when you breathe in and then again, while you breathe out. When you see that you’re thinking of something, don’t give conversation to that thought, just observe it, let it go and go back to counting and to your breath.
Now the golden rule: don’t be hard on yourself. If you find it hard at the beginning or if you can’t relax completely, it’s normal. Accept it, accept yourself as you are, at the point where you’re at in your life, it’s ok. Just breathe and, at some point, maybe not today or tomorrow, you will feel it, you’ll start falling inside yourself and discover a peaceful place we all have inside ourselves.
You don’t need anything else than yourself to feel better.
So, to sum up, you should give meditation a try because: it’s good for your joints, brain, lungs, mood and attitude, it nearly affects everything in your life. The first benefits you will notice after you start doing some sports and relaxation are enormous: better concentration, less stress, better sleep, a better mood, less back pain and contractures… the list can go on forever.
You can find dozens of meditation videos and tutorials on the Internet, just search on YouTube.
And remember: we’re professional, but work is only one part of our lives.
Have a wonderful week!
