January 8 - Ohmmm

I've discussed in an early post this month that part of being a better parent, at least in my mind, is making sure I'm still here for my kids.  And that means taking better care of myself.  A lot goes into that, it's not just the physical (although, one look at me and you can probably figure out that's one area that needs to get tackled ASAP). It's also spiritual health, relationship health, financial health, and of course, mental health.

As anyone with children can tell you, it's very, very easy to get overwhelmed by it all.  You go to some very dark places in your head when it's 4am and you've been up all night with a screaming baby.  It's easy to retreat into your thoughts and isolate yourself, and it's easy to get triggered by outside influences when you're already extremely on edge.  Because of this, taking time to reset your mind is vitally important to not only your overall health, but also your effectiveness as a parent.  It's kind of hard to take Dad serious when his eyes are crossed and all of his hair is pulled out...

One of the perks of working at my university is that it offers its employees a free wellness program. It's a points system, and if you complete different tasks or activities throughout the year you can get a reduction on the costs of your insurance for the following year. The program includes (among many other things) a gym, guided monthly workshops, a weekly walking group, and what I participated in yesterday.

This was our Meditation Monday meeting, which is held in the Inter-Faith Space on campus.  Every Monday, Melissa, the head of our wellness program, leads faculty and staff through a directed meditation for about 20 to 30 minutes.  She normally does two sessions to accommodate the amount of people that can fit in the space and to work with their schedules.

I went to the second session yesterday, and was actually the only person there. There were positives and negatives to this.  On the one hand, I didn't have to worry about a room full of my colleagues passing out from the smells emanating from my feet.  On the other hand, since I was the only one in the room with the instructor, it was pretty easy to figure out where those smells were coming from...

The biggest positive of being the only person in the room, however, was that I was able to completely relax.  Because I was the only one there, it felt like Melissa was talking just to me and guiding me through the meditation.  It started by taking deep breaths and concentrating on only those breaths. Melissa then walked me through a scenario.

I was asked to imagine walking through a wooded area.  There was no one else in the woods with me, just glowing lights and rustling branches and leaves.   I was asked to imagine the environment in great detail, and leave my physical surroundings behind.  Melissa did a wonderful job creating this space, and I really go into it.  To the point where I found myself nodding off throughout the time I was there (some of this had to do with lack of sleep due to Eleanor, but most of it had to do with how relaxed I was).

I've tried meditation before, but this was the first time I truly felt relaxed throughout it.  I came out on the other side refreshed and recharged, and that feeling carried over for the rest of the afternoon. I even felt that sense of relaxation when I got home, which was what I was hoping for.  Of course, relaxing around a two and a half year old who decides to play with all of his toys simultaneously on the kitchen floor was a little impossible, but I still saw the positive benefits from that 30 minute session.

I want to put this into practice more, so I'll continue with the Monday sessions because if anything, it starts my week off on the right foot.  I'm hoping I can make a habit of this beyond these sessions, so I've also downloaded a guided meditation album from none other than the Dude himself, Jeff Bridges. I tried it this morning and it worked pretty well.  Hopefully it works for you too!