I often tell people that I'm a type A person that tries really hard to be type B. One of my friends says "I'm chill! I have a checklist to prove it!" I love this, and it makes me feel so seen!
One of the things that has helped me be more lowercase b has been my daily meditation practice. And this all comes down to the Default Mode Network.
The Default Mode Network (DMN) is a set of regions in the brain that organizes sensory perception and creates order. If you have too much order, this results in rigidity. If you have too much rigidity, this results in anxiety, OCD, and addiction.
Daily meditation can do wonders for your mental health, microbiome, immune system, and gut health. I used to think ‘I don’t have time to meditate’. Now I think, ‘I don't have time to not meditate!’.
If you’re looking to get into meditation I highly recommend the Pause Meditation MBSR program. MBSR stands for mindfulness based stress reduction, and it gives you a full toolkit of mindfulness techniques to help you experience resilience & equanimity. (For those of you on the holistic membership with QC Natural Health, this program is included in your membership. *Cue Happy Dance*
They’ve got a free orientation coming up in September - mark your calendars! And please take a look here if you think you might be interested: https://www.pausemeditation.org/mbsr
There is a fascinating amount of research on the health benefits of meditation & even more specifically on MBSR.
For those that like to nerd out on research, check these resources out:
Please reach out if you'd like to sign up for MBSR this fall, and I'll help get you registered! Thanks for reading & stay well!