Reflect and Meditate
By Esther Lubenau
I am so excited to be working with Esther. I have been so delighted by her methods and her ability to help others to relax, recover but more importantly heal! She is a beautiful person committed and dedicated to making the world a better place, one person at a time. She loves people and she loves helping others. I am so proud to be able to gift this wonderful meditation (see below) designed by Esther with you in mind. Please let Esther know how much you love her work and if there is anything else she can do to help support you, please do not hesitate to reach out to her!
A Short Introduction to Meditation…Meditating is Easier than You Think
There are many styles of meditation and whatever style you practice will do you good. Forget about having to sit down for a full hour and think of nothing, which is a hard thing to do. If you only have 5 minutes a day you can already benefit of it. If you have 10 to 15 minutes, it will be even more beneficial*.
Some people like guided meditations, others prefer to put on an easy flowing piece of instrumental music or just have nature as a background. For those who are too energetic or agitated a walking meditation could work better. Some say they enter a meditative state when jogging, swimming, surfing or drawing and colouring mandalas. It is all perfect, as long as it brings your awareness into the here and now, and connects you with your internal world.
The Mind
We are used to listen to our mind and ego and as such tend to forget about our heart and soul. Our mind can be very obsessive, repeating the same thought over and over again. If those thoughts cause us stress, anxiety or depression it is even more important to try to educate our mind consciously to take a break and engage in more healthy (thinking) behaviour for our overall wellbeing.
When you start meditating it is extremely difficult to control your thoughts. You’ll get better at it with practice. Actually, the thinking is not the problem as such. It is what you think and how you think what causes you trouble. Often you are not even aware of your though patterns and obsessive thoughts. So if you try meditation and your mind is very active, just observe what kind of thoughts you have every time that you start thinking. Then, try to clear your mind. You will get to know yourself better. Don’t judge your thoughts or yourself for thinking. Always be kind to yourself.
“Mind over matter”. This famous quote shows the beautiful creative power of the mind. You can use visualization techniques during your meditation and as such reprogram your mind and (sub)consciousness. You can bring yourself to a place where you feel good and safe, and experience gratitude. Your mind becomes your ally.
Breathing
One way of diverting attention from your thoughts, especially if you are not using guided meditations, is focussing on your breath. An additional benefit is that breathing techniques also influence physiological factors by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system. You learn how to calm down the mind and body.
The Heart
Why connecting to your heart? For one, it is the centre of your feelings. It is also the place where you are connected to your own soul. Your heart knows. And on a physiological level, it is the main oscillator of your body, let’s say, it sets the tone and frequency for the rest of your body to follow. The effect of heart activity on brain function has been researched extensively over about the past 40 years. When you feel connected to your heart and your heart rate is coherent, balanced and calm, it has a mayor effect on your physiological, cognitive, and emotional systems.
* There are thousands of studies that have shown meditation can positively impact mental and physical health. Whether it’s by reducing depression, anxiety, stress, improving sleep, promoting emotional health and well-being, increasing focus, improving immunity, building resilience to pain, stabilizing blood circulation and much, much, more. If you want to read more about the positive effects of meditation, than the following article is a good start: https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-meditation
A Short Guided Mediation:
Getting ready:
- Prepare the room you will meditate in.
- Find a comfortable place to sit or lay down.
It can be on a regular seat, on the floor or on a bolster. Assure that your spine is straight and that you feel comfortable in that position for a longer period of time. Whenever you feel you need to change your position anyway, do so, but keep your eyes closed. Don’t cross your arms or legs, unless you are sitting in lotus position. If you lay down to meditate, especially at night, the chances that you fall asleep are bigger. That is also relaxing, but not the purpose of meditation.
To listen to a short guided meditation on quick heart coherence, click here!
If you would like to learn more about how to meditate or you would like to do guided meditation sessions, please contact me.
Stop stress and create a healthy happy life.
Who is Esther Lubenau?
Esther Lubenau is a dedicated and investigative professional, an experienced project manager, communicator and healer. She is empathic and committed to the wellbeing of others. She is a natural networker and loves to work in international environments. She enjoys seeing how initial ideas take form and reach desirable goals. She loves nature and likes to travel and to explore. She currently lives in Costa Rica.
She obtained her degree in International Tourism Management and Consultancy and has worked many years in the public broadcast media industry and at a NGO promoting multicultural media. She is certified as a healer and spiritual therapist at the Academy of Metaphysics and Spiritual Studies of Budapest and has a Thai Massage Therapy certificate (level I – IV). In addition she’s a certified mentor that uses a transformative methodology to increase internal leadership.
Contact Ester: http://www.estherlubenau.com/
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