Even if you don’t sleep enough, have too many demands to juggle, and don’t eat right, doing this activity twice daily can help keep you going
Like many working people today, I spread myself pretty thin. I only get 5–6 hours of sleep most days, and work a full-time job, while running 2 side-hustles, and being a husband and father to two young children. At times, it can seem overwhelming.
But a few years ago, I found a secret weapon — one that helps me stay energized, enthusiastic, and present — even on days when I’m put to the test. It’s less of a weapon, and more of a daily practice. This practice costs me basically nothing, takes very little effort to do, and provides noticeable results. On the days when I do it, I feel calmer, more rested, and ready to take on the day.
A warning before I talk about this practice: it’s deceptively simple, but can be frustrating if you expect too much while you’re doing it. So be patient as you start out, and don’t expect to have your world rocked immediately. Paradoxically, going into it without demands or expectations is the best way to make sure you get the most benefit out of it.
So…What is This Practice?!
There are a handful of variations and names for this practice, but essentially, it’s a form of meditation. However, unlike the kinds of mindfulness meditation that can seem exhausting, frustrating, and intimidating, this type of meditation is the opposite. It requires almost no effort, and the goal is not enlightenment. Rather, the goal is to provide your mind and body with a dose of deep relaxation and stress relief, and prepare you to handle the inevitable demands of your day.
The roots of this practice go back to the beginning of meditation techniques, to writings called the Vedas. They’re the same source that gave us yoga as we know it today. Ideally, you make time to do it twice per day: not long after you wake up, and then again some time in the afternoon or evening.
You can do this meditation anywhere that you can sit and keep your eyes closed for 10–20 minutes. I have done it on a plane during boarding and takeoff, on a bus, at home on a chair, and in the office when I had 15 minutes between calls or meetings. It really is like a secret weapon you can use almost anywhere.
Here are the steps to doing it.
The Steps
Unlike other meditation, you don’t need to sit in the lotus position, on a cushion, or with any accessories. The practice works well in a chair, on a couch, or anywhere that you can sit comfortably.
As long as you have 10–20 minutes (but no more than 20), you can get the full benefit of this practice. Try to do it twice daily — once when you wake up, and once in the afternoon or evening. But even doing it once per day is better than nothing, and will provide you some noticeable benefits.
- Sit comfortably and close your eyes, and set a timer for 10–20 minutes — however long you have for meditating. Take a deep breath. Pull the breath in through your belly until it is full, then pull a little more in through your chest. Then exhale through your mouth. Do this 3 times.
- Release any tension in your body. Spend about 10–15 seconds scanning your body for any muscles that are tensed or flexed. Simply let them go slack and feel a bit of relaxation as you do it. This will feel really good.
- While relaxing, repeat a mantra silently in your mind. The mantra doesn’t matter much, and “Om” is a good one to start with. Make sure it’s not a word, but more of a sound that doesn’t mean anything in particular to you. Repeat the mantra in your head as if you’re hearing it in the room next to you, through thin walls. It’s not loud, but you can hear it, and it keeps pulsing, like the slow beat of a slow dance song.
- When your mind wanders away from hearing the mantra (which it will), simply come back to hearing the mantra in your mind — as laid out in step 3.
- When your timer goes off, keep your eyes closed, and stop hearing the mantra in your head. Just be in the moment, and feel the sensations of your body as you remain still for about 10 seconds.
- Take a deep breath in, stretch, get up, and go about the rest of your day.
A Few Pieces of Advice
Your mind will wander away from the mantra; it’s practically guaranteed. Don’t fret. The goal is not to focus on the mantra, it is to let your body relax, and get your mind to a deeper state close to that of sleep. In fact, there may be times when you lose track of time, and experience things kind of like dreams. This is perfectly normal, and a sign of your body becoming deeply relaxed.
Some sessions may seem long, others short. Some sessions may be deeply refreshing after you finish, others may feel less so. During some sessions may find you losing track of the mantra many, many times. Don’t fret about any of this. Pretty much anything that happens while you sit, your mind and body will use that time to release stress and recharge to some degree, and that’s always helpful.
If you miss a session here and there, or even if you stop for months at a time, no worries. Just pick up the practice again where you left off. There’s not getting rusty, or anything like that. Remember, you’re just allowing your mind and body to rest in a deep and helpful way. There’s no need to strive for anything else other than just fitting the time in when you can.
In essence, giving your mind and body this 10–20 minutes regularly to decompress and destress is immensely helpful. When you do the practice regularly, you should start feeling less stressed (physically and mentally) throughout the day.