10 Ways to Meditate When You Struggle to Clear Your Mind

When most people hear the word "meditation," they think of a Buddha sitting quietly with a peaceful look on their face. They make it look so easy! 

But anyone who has sat down on a meditation cushion and tried to "clear their mind," knows it's a lot harder than it looks. Sometimes even getting yourself to that seated position is difficult.

I took part in a meditation retreat and another weekend workshop on Mindfulness, Meditation, and Mantras as part of my master yoga teacher training last year. Though I'd dabbled with it before, it was mostly only guided. Yes, we were guided in many of the meditations during my training, but we were also left to our own devices with minimal direction too. 

These two experiences were the real deal, and I learned a few new ways to meditate.

Those days when you make it to your cushion, but the whole "clear your mind" thing isn't working for you, try one of these types of meditation instead.

10 Types of Meditation You Should Try

1. Guided Meditation 
2. Yoga (or meditation in movement as many call it)
3. Mantra Repetition
4. Candle Gazing 
5. Walking Meditation 
6. Breath Counting
7. Loving Kindness (Metta) Meditation
8. Visualization
9. Open Awareness 
10. Create Something - Cook, Art, or Write

Have you tried meditation before? Have you found one type to work better for you than another? Let me know in the comments below.

My Yoga Teacher Training Journey: Part 3

I graduated and am now officially a certified yoga teacher (RYT200) by the Yoga Alliance!!

2016 Yoga Teacher Graduates from Discovery Yoga

Wow. Graduation was two weeks ago and I'm still over the moon. From the experiences of going through the training, and from our last weekend and graduation ceremony. ALL THE FEELS right now. 

When people say a yoga teacher training will change your life in ways you never expected, they are so right. It truly does crack you open and evolve you as a person. The first day of training I was scared to death and thinking, "What did I get myself into? "Speak your truth." What the heck does that mean? This is a lot of speaking! I don't know if I can do this..." The list of negative "I can't" thoughts went on and on. 

10 months and 200 hours later:

1) I've never practiced so much yoga in my life (and I love it!)!

2) I'm more self-confident across the board.... in my writing, speaking to people, even communicating with my family and friends. 

3) I feel comfortable teaching a yoga class. Of course, I'm nervous but nothing like I was towards the beginning of my training during my first practice teach. 

4) I've learned so much (but there's so much more to learn) about the history of yoga, chakras, meditations, breathing exercises, anatomy, etc. Tools to carry me throughout my life.

5) I've experienced the feeling of energy in my hands and in turn become a reiki practitioner. 

6) I feel accomplished. This is something I knew I wanted to do after my first month of practicing yoga six years ago. Making the investment in myself and learning how to instruct others in their practice is something I'll have forever. 

7) I've made connections with some amazing women who have touched my heart in a way that is hard to explain. These women learned many of my fears and strengths as I discovered them myself. 

Here I am teaching my final. A 75-minute class that incorporated trikonasana (triangle pose) and dirgha pranayama (three-part breath) into a full sequence.

Demonstrating Trikonasana (triangle pose).

Providing assists as part of my final practice teach.

Warming up.

Guiding the class to feel the breath physically with their hands.

Our three instructors, Deva, Suzanne, and Lisa, were knowledgeable, helpful, sympathizing, understanding and REAL! As much as we opened up, these ladies opened up to us as well. The three of them are amazing teachers and an inspiration for my own teaching.

I'll be offering private/small group beginner yoga workshops, as well as classes at the beach soon. Stay tuned for more on that!

The excitement for my 500-hour training is already high, so I'm keeping up the momentum and will be starting on that in the next couple of months. :)

I highly recommend Deva's yoga teacher training at Discovery Yoga. The training is in the Kripalu tradition of yoga, the yoga for everyone. It is very spiritual, but not in a religious kind of way. Check out their website for more information.

My Yoga Teacher Training Journey: Part 1
My Yoga Teacher Training Journey: Part 2

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Using Mantras to Overcome Anxiety

Departing from my sister's bachelorette weekend a couple weeks ago I hit massive amounts of traffic. So bad that my sister's best friend, and the one who was dropping me at the airport, consulted the Android version of Siri. Bad idea. It took us in a huge circle (with more traffic) and right back to the line of traffic we were already in. When I get stressed my hands start to go numb, luckily I wasn't the one driving.

Yogic breathing wasn't helping, but repeating this mantra to remove obstacles brought me a slight amount of peace. The most I felt the whole day. While this practice is not a cure for my anxiety it has helped for me to find ways to get a little control of it. Maybe three-part breathing would've done something for me, but while in that anxious state, it didn't even cross my mind.

The Om Apadamapa mantra is another great mantra to consider. It's also known as the freight train mantra because it's so long. We did learn about mantras in my yoga teacher training, but I'm learning these from AnaLisa Rutstein's Periscope videos. I highly recommend them if you are interested in incorporating mantras into your life. She has a beautiful voice and is awesome about translating and explaining the mantra.

Patience. Apparently, something neither of us had at the time, would have gotten me to the airport with time to pick up water for my slightly dehydrated, post-bachelorette party self. Nope - that didn't happen. Instead, I stood in the wrong line for ten minutes before I realized Regan has multiple security checks depending on your gate. This was followed by a sprint/jog/speed walk in my d'Orsays. So much fun {sarcasm!}.

Finally making my way to the right line, two other passengers were late due to the same traffic. After finally making it through I found my gate, with of course more confusion. Five different flights go out of one gate, some upstairs and some down with, wait for it... a shuttle out to the tarmac. I could not wait for my meager cup of water and to plant my bum in a seat. After 15 minutes of not moving in the bus, we finally made our way to the plane and I to my seat.

I was able to get in a nice yoga practice overlooking a field and the Appalachian Mountains while I was in Maryland.

Patience is something I've always struggled with, and I often need reminders- this was clearly one of them. As mentioned in a previous post, Just Breathe. It makes things a lot better. Now for that bath. ;)

What do you do to calm yourself in anxious situations?

My Yoga Teacher Training Journey: Part 2

My yoga teacher training has really begun to open me up. It's giving me more self-confidence, piquing my interest in other modalities of alternative healing, and I've seen some muscles I didn't know existed in my arms starting to appear. ;)

During our most recent weekend of YTT, I taught my first 75-minute yoga class. It was incredibly nerve-wracking leading up to it (I've never been a great public speaker), but afterwards, talk about a sense of accomplishment. I seemed to get more relaxed as I got into the class,  and if I felt a flash of anxiety, I could recover and bring myself back within the pose.

That same weekend I guided yoga nidra. If you're not familiar with yoga Nidra, it's a yogic "nap." You're not really asleep, but you're guided into a state of deep relaxation. That was also pretty scary for me, but my "students" all loved it. :)

It's hard to believe we're already 7 months into our training. Only 3 more weekend sessions and I'll be a certified 200-hour yoga teacher!

Over the last two weeks, I did yoga on a horse, on a stand-up paddleboard and I had a reiki session. If you're scratching your head wondering "why?!" or "what the heck is reiki," I'll explain...

Wow. Talk about exhilarating and nerves. I'm familiar with horses, I had a pony when I was younger and took lessons for a few years. So my awareness of their ability to unintentionally hurt someone made this experience a little less relaxing than I'd hoped for.

Not to discredit the experience, I enjoyed the practice and being around a horse again after a 5-year hiatus. However, I don't think this will be a regular style of yoga I'll be taking up.

If you currently have balance issues, be prepared if you try SUP Yoga. It's a very strange sensation to be in downward dog (or any other yoga pose for that matter) while the ground moves beneath you.

The class I took was a Full Moon SUP Yoga class, so it was in the evening and dark by the time we were done. Luckily I didn't fall in, however, I did have a couple close calls and one of the other girls did.

SUP Yoga requires serious balance and control. I'm excited to try it again this summer when I'd happily jump in and have fewer worries about falling in.

If you're looking for other uncommon yoga classes check out this article I wrote for St. Augustine Social on 5 Yoga Classes You Haven't Heard of in St. Augustine.

Flourite, Reiki's power symbol on a quartz pendant with amethyst
inclusions, and a chevron amethyst egg from my collection.

Reiki... if you've been a reader here a while, or know me at all, you know that my home and purse are scattered with crystals. Reiki is a similar form of energy that cleanses and aligns your chakras.

The technical definition of reiki from Google:

1. "a healing technique based on the principle that the therapist can channel energy into the patient by means of touch, to activate the natural healing processes of the patient's body and restore physical and emotional well-being."

After I go through my training and I better understand how to explain it, I'll write a full post on Reiki and my training. I'm going through the training to offer it to my future yoga students in Shavasana (a final pose in yoga practices) as it provides an amazing sense of relaxation.

Are you interested in taking a yoga teacher training course? 

If you have completed yoga teacher training, do you have any advice or stories you'd like to share?

My Yoga Teacher Training Journey: Part 1

6 Reasons You Should Practice Yoga

I'm sure you've heard the surface reasons why you should practice yoga... it's good for you, it makes you flexible, it relieves stress, etc. If those aren't enough to propel you to a yoga mat consider these other reasons. I hope they'll open your eyes to the knowledge that yoga is for everyone.

Why You Should Practice Yoga:

1. You don't need to be a contortionist. There are different styles of yoga. The style you see on Instagram where the yogi is balancing on their arms with their legs in the air, is often Ashtanga, one of the most physically challenging. 
2. It can open up your mind to other healthy habits, like Ayurveda or vegetarianism.
3. Yoga can prevent workout injuries. Having well-stretched muscles will allow you to recover quicker from workouts. 
4. A vigorous vinyasa or power flow yoga class can take the place of your cardio workouts. 
5. Yoga can relax you and quiet your mind. Most yoga classes include a focus on the breath or pranayama. These breathing exercises have been practiced for thousands of years to balance your energies and calm your brain. 
6. Yoga can lower your health care costs. Dr. Michelle Dossett, a physician, and researcher at the Benson-Henry Institute told The Huffington Post, yoga and meditation "can decrease a wide range of stress-related symptoms and medical conditions."

The more regular your yoga practice is, the more benefits you will see. Most studios offer beginner classes, some even have a program for new yogis to explore the basics and get comfortable with the postures.  The first step, get yourself to class.

More sources on the benefits of yoga and meditation:

• Healing veterans' trauma through yoga by CNN
• Here’s an Exercise You Can Do Even in Late Pregnancy by Health.com
• Mindfulness meditation may improve memory for teens by Fox News

Do you have anything to add on why others should practice yoga? 

Just Breathe

Yoga is all about the breath. Breathing is the constant that you can always come back to in your practice. "Focus on the breath." If you've been to a yoga class, you've probably heard this a thousand times. When I'm off the mat and in a stressful/anxiety inducing situation I try to focus on the breath too. It really helps.





Another way to become more aware of your breath is to meditate. You can start with just 1 minute every morning to get started, and add a little more time each week. It's such a simple thing that can be done in any quiet space, I would even suggest it at your work desk if you are getting a bit frustrated or just want to come back to center.

There are plenty of apps out there to get you started. The one I'm familiar with is the Headspace app. It requires 10 minutes a day and encourages you to gradually build up your meditation practice. You'll begin to establish a habit of meditation with their foundational course, Take10, and can sign up for a monthly subscription thereafter if you prefer a voice guided meditation.

Meditation after a yoga practice is easier for me than just sitting down to meditate; my mind is already calm and meditation fits right in. Try it out if you find yourself antsy when you sit down to meditate.

Adaptation of a meditation from Gabrielle Bernstein's book, May Cause Miracles:
Take a deep breath in through your nose, and a long exhale out through your mouth. For your second breath think about breathing in joy and strength, then breath out wisdom and peace. Take 3 deep breaths like this and see if you feel any different afterwards.

What is your experience with meditation? 

What questions do you have about starting your own meditation practice?

My Yoga Teacher Training Journey: Part 1

Since September, my free time that's not spent with Dee and our dogs has passed falling deeper in love with yoga. I started a Yoga Teacher Training in September and have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the philosophy of yoga. It's a weekend class, so one weekend a month for nine months.  It's awesome to be around individuals with so many similar interests to my own. We're all of varying experience levels; some with over five years and some with less, but experience in meditation.

Our first session was very basic, meet and greet style. The following morning started at 7 AM (6:30 if you were scheduled as a teacher's assistant) with a two-hour long yoga practice, or sadhana. I thought it was going to be too much, I'm used to one and a half hour long classes; but it was amazing, I probably could have actually practiced longer. Then we had a lecture from our amazing instructor. She's been practicing for almost 50 years and was a resident of Kripalu many years ago. I love it when she gets side-tracked and starts telling us about her life there or her experience with yoga in general.

A peek inside the studio where I spend 24 hours one weekend each month with 9 other amazing women.

Then after a lunch break we come back for Yoga Nidra. If you're not familiar with yoga, it's nap time- just kidding. ;) It's a form of guided meditation that you do in corpse pose. Usually with a blanket over you and an eye bag to block out any distractions. It's pretty great and always energizes me for our afternoon lecture.

Next, we segway into the yoga poses. Watching the teachers do the pose, watching how to instruct the asana, being guided through it, and then finally instructing each other. The first time I did this I was a stuttering Sam. I'm not really so keen on public speaking and this was very unfamiliar to me. However, as we do more and more poses I'm becoming more comfortable; even one of my fellow classmates commented on my improvement.

All six of our full days so far were formatted like this. My yoga weekends are really enjoyable. I feel like I'm away on a retreat or something. I'm thankful for my husband's willingness to take care of everything while I'm out.

One surprising benefit of all of this yoga is the improvement of my writing. I've noticed my focus is clearer and the writing comes "easier" when I'm writing a blog post or newsletter for work. Part of our "homework" is to practice a minimum of three hours a week and to write in a journal after each practice. This is hardly homework. It's enjoyable and not much of a difference from my practice schedule before I started the training.

Someone took my spot when I got up to grab a cup of tea in preparation to study. 

As I continue on my journey you can expect to see more yoga posts coming to this blog. I sat down and created 25 new post ideas yesterday, a lot of them are on yoga, social media, and content marketing/blogging. Of course, there will be some dessert and style posts mixed in there too. Oh, the freedom of a lifestyle blog... ;)

Are you interested in taking a yoga teacher training course? 

If you have completed yoga teacher training, do you have any advice or stories you'd like to share?

Changing Tastebuds & Finding New Favorites : : : Why You should Try Vegetarianism

If you have been following for a little while you may remember that I tried out the whole strict vegetarian thing for a year, then added poultry and seafood back into my diet. I still really enjoy vegetarian meals a couple times a week. There are so many combinations out there using beans, vegetables and other meat alternatives that it feels like another world of food and flavors. Over the last two years I have fallen in love with olives, come to like onions, and I'm starting to like red peppers...totally crazy and out of the norm for me. I think a lot of it has to do with a cleansed palette if you will; not having steak, burgers or bacon has made me want to try new things and see what else there is out there.

I'm glad I stuck with it for a year and I could see myself switching back. I just would need to do a bit more research on getting all of the vitamins I need to allow me to workout still, which is the main reason why I added seafood and poultry back into my diet. I would get about 3/4 of a mile in on a run and be at the brink of exhaustion. Protein powders made me break out like crazy and most of them tasted like chalk — so that wasn't cutting it. A couple weeks after adding poultry and seafood back in I was fine for at least 2 miles before I felt even a little weak.

The norm of what my meals look like in a day. Not shown of course are the in between snacks I can't live without.
I.e. granola bars, guacamole, occasional dark chocolate, coconut fruit bars and other various sweets... 

I am now about two and a half years into not having a hamburger, steak, bacon, etc. and I don't even miss it! Sometimes when I smell a steak cooking on the grill it makes my stomach grumble, but have you had vegetables on the grill? YUM! Veggie burgers are surprisingly tasty (with cheese) and I have found that I like tempeh. Tofu is good, but only when it's prepared right. Order this out at a restaurant for your first time, don't try it at home as you won't be impressed.

Struggling with what to make for dinner is a major determent for sticking with any diet.  Pinterest is a huge help when deciding on dinner but it is often overwhelming with soooo many recipes. A lot of times I just flip through my cookbooks until I find something. The easiest for me as a vegetarian and now a pollo-pescetarian has been to make a meal plan for the week and construct my grocery list from there. I can cut my trips to the grocery store from once a week to once every 10+ days when I go that route.

A quick vegetarian meal I found recently and really enjoyed as a chicken salad lover is the Mashed Chickpea Pitas. So easy and hubby (meat eater) even liked it!

If you are considering testing out the vegetarian waters I say go for it, try it for a day. Challenge yourself to a week, a month... who knows you might end up loving it and finding a new favorite food!

Have you tried vegetarianism? Do you have any favorite recipes to share?

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Back to Center

This blog initially started to track and encourage my journey with yoga(funny story from the beginning). Be prepared that part is coming back, and stronger than ever. I may not go to church, but I still consider myself a spiritual person. I believe in the healing powers of crystals, I do believe in God, and I believe we all have an energy. People who don't really know me will probably think I'm a kook after reading that, but oh well.
Today I've started Day 1 of May Cause Miracles and am excited to put in the work to be brought back to my spiritual center.

I plan to supplement this book with my yoga practice, or more so the book may be the supplement to my yoga practice. For over 6 months I was practicing regularly, and even stopped eating meat (almost a year now). Then I stopped attending classes when my usual studio switched hands and moved locations. I am not a fan of change, I'm sure this is somehow fear based and will come up in my work with May Cause Miracles.
Anyway though, if you follow me on twitter (@meaghanmae) you know I tried out a new yoga studio over the weekend and had an enjoyable experience. I'm planning to go back on Wednesday, and I'm building my home practice schedule up as well.
My current yoga mat has a chewed up corner from a fuzzy brown dog named Ziggy...I'm eyeing this beautiful Mat from Lululemon like no other. Isn't it pretty? It will make an excellent replacement mat.

The Mat, $68

Do you practice yoga regularly? Do you supplement your practice with any other means, be it books, audio, or anything else?

Pink guns, tofu pudding and getting fit

 This may be one of the weirdest, oddball, conglomerates of a blog post many fashion bloggers have ever read, but this is me and here it goes.

In addition to my pescatarian eating lately, I've been trying to get fit.  I am actually underweight for my height, but I am starting to notice the little things that need toning up.  This probably has something to do with the fact that I'm getting "over the hill" tomorrow. No longer will I be in my early 20's, 26 here I come!!

I've been running, practicing Yoga and doing the Tone It Up bikini series. Karina & Katrina are awesome- if you haven't worked out to one of their videos before you should totally check them out. They are so motivational and you "check in" with them and their other followers regularly to keep you on track.  

I ran a 5K a week ago and cut my time from the October 5K that I ran by over 8 and a half minutes! You better believe I am a happy girl about that!  Now to keep going and get my time under 30 minutes for the next one.

My birthday is tomorrow, and here's what I'm getting from my man! A pink Sig Sauer Mosquito .22 pistol. :)  I can't wait to go take it out to the range this weekend and blow some targets away.

My Birthday Present

Dee shooting at the range

My turn!! Good shot of my ombre hair too ;)

We went to the range after my 5k and made the day that much more EXTREME! haha

A yummy dessert was very needed after all of my healthy endeavors, so I made some Chocolate Tofu Pudding.  Non-tofu eaters, before you turn up your nose- this stuff was gooooood! It was like a healthy, slightly thicker chocolate mousse.  Here's the recipe in case you want to try it, it was so easy
.

I'm on the look out for more vegetarian recipes to keep on track with this new "diet" of mine so any readers with recommendations please send them my way.

Chocolate Tofu Pudding Ingredients, just add water.

Thanks for reading, I hope y'all are having a good week!

Vegetarian, Day 28

I'm currently on Day 28 of my "experiment" with vegetarianism and I am a happy girl. The hardest times for me have been when my boyfriend takes me along to the Rib place here in town, or when I drive past Bono's BBQ and their smoke is billowing out. Other than that, I honestly have not missed meat.
What I am having a problem with though is sweets and carbs! I have actually gained weight since altering my diet, which isn't a huge problem as I'm underweight for my height anyway but it's still weird.  I'm blaming it partly on starting yoga at the same time and hoping some of it is muscle weight. ;)

Slightly weary about it though and currently researching low carb vegetables.  I'm not eating potatoes all the time or anything so what the heck! Lots of stir-frys and skewers on the grill.

Apparently squash is pretty carby which totally sucks because they are a recent favorite for me. I made this butternut squash bisque we ate when we visited The Biltmore  for our anniversary. Soooo good! Here's the recipe in case you want to try, it really was yummy.

Biltmore's Butternut Squash Bisque

I plan to try out this muffin recipe this week from Delighted Momma for Low Carb Chocolate Chip Muffins in an effort to cut down more on the big bad carbs. Mmmm... chocolate! Is it lunch time yet?

Routine

Humans are creatures of habit, we've all heard this a thousand times.  I am one for routine, but I also do enjoy changes of scenery every so often.  Now that I've been at my new job for about 8 weeks now I'm settling in to a habit/routine of my own.

I've gotten myself  back into Yoga and just need to keep it up; City Yoga here in town is great.  They changed hands a little over a year ago, and I stopped going (again creatures of habit).  But I've been there about 2 weeks now and Jan, the new owner is such a sweet lady.  The practices are all so different from one another due to the different teaching styles of various instructors, and of course the different yoga that is practiced.  

I've been taking a Hatha, Vinyasa and Freedom Style.  The Sunday Hatha class is very relaxing and refreshes me for the new week.  Vinyasa, which is today, is more strength based and definitely makes you work the hardest.  The Freedom Style class is a fun, very upbeat practice; you can tell the teacher is very happy to "be here now."  

To add to my "reborn" yogi lifestyle, I also have been eatting no meat for the last 2 weeks.  Trying to do an experiment and see how I feel after 30 days and then I'll go from there.  I was eatting a LOT of red meat, I mean a lot- probably 4 out of 7 days a week.  Too much.  Anyway, I watched a few food documentaries recently and it is just too hard to ignore the facts out there once they are smacked in your face.  

I highly recommend watching Forks over Knives and The Cove.  I'm not telling you to become a vegetarian tomorrow, just watch them and take what you learn and apply it as you wish; or ignore it as I had been doing for far too long.

It is honestly not that hard to do, and yes I'm getting all of my protein so I'm not going to wither away on you(directed at worrying family & friends).  I'll write more about the vegetarian "diet" soon.  I hope your having a great week and thanks for reading!