… and I’m super happy I did.
I am trying to bring more thoughtful language into my bodywork practice, especially when it comes to the newer services I am offering. I have a lot of training under my belt, but I’m not terribly great at verbalizing in the moment.
Doing this challenge–and consequently, taking notes so I can re-process wording–is helping me curate the language I’m seeking to create.
However, it’s also equipped me with some fascinating new tools. Having been around this field for a long time now, I don’t often feel like many new ideas are added to the wellness community. Well–other than the plethora of new scientific discoveries supporting that which we already experience and know.
See, I forget I’ve lived in a child-induced cave for the past ten years. This practice was a good reminder that while ‘breathe in, breathe out’ is a golden standby and will always be, fresh wording can be created to engage the brain and reset the nervous system.
Insight Timer’s challenge lasted twelve days. However, I freely admit I did have to double up some days due to weekend shenanigans. Even so, the sessions were ten minutes or less for most of them. For those who feel a time crunch, it was perfect to get a meditative activity in each day without surrendering a “to-do” on your never ending list.
Six Notables of the Twelve Sessions
- Vagal. The repetition of breathing in for three breaths, and out for three breaths over and over again for several minutes without a break was simple and effective. The lasting effects of doing it for more than just a few cycles of breath made a difference.
- Body-Based Grounding. Beyond just sussing out where a body part is touching something for awareness, you were guided through a series of actions and assessment which added depth to the meditation. Feel the support of what you’re touching, then the weight of what you’re touching. Add pressure, then release, noticing what you are left behind with. Is it warm? Is it cool, tingly? You work with one point at a time, settle, then do a little stretch. Ingenious.
- Five-Finger Tracing. Why have I never heard of this?! (Oh yeah, the cave thing.) I’ve taught my son another variation of this finger tracing. Unfortunately, while he loved it and asked me to share it with him again, naturally I couldn’t remember exactly how to do it. This method however, is super easy to remember. All you do is trace the outside of your fingers with the index finger from your opposite hand. Breathe in on the outside, exhale on the inside. It engages various senses to disrupt an unwanted cyclical pattern in your brain.
- Extended Exhale Breathing. You’ve got to be in it to win this one. It was hard to do. I knew it would be, yes, from personal experience as an asthmatic, but also from yoga training suggesting asthmatics nevvveeeer do breathing like this. If you are up to the challenge, you can really extend the exhale. Beyond the six seconds. Breathe in for four to six seconds, but out eight to ten seconds. What?! The second time I practiced this meditation, I managed to do it without coughing. It definitely breaks up monotonous thought patterns, but heed with caution! It is not safe for everyone.
- Humming for Calm. Sure, we’ve all OMMMMMed at some point in our lives, but this was different. This was led as a directed practice to hum your own sounds for a bit, then stop, then do it again. Maybe I enjoyed as much as I did because of the directional approach to humming rather than it being open-ended.
- Regulating Through the Eyes. This was really interesting. I’ve tried EMDR before, but to use your eyes in meditation as a way to look without attaching judgment was new to me.
In Conclusion
Insight Timer often offers challenges you can do for free. If challenges aren’t your jam, you can also find random sessions of many different types, including energy sessions. There are sounds, and as the name suggests, a timer you can use for background sounds during your unguided meditation. It’s a pretty cool app with a lot to offer! It’s been around for a while now, but the improvements I’ve seen in the past several years are nothing short of miraculous.
This OMMMtastic post is brought to you by Allison of Nani Lotus Bodywork, & powered by Meditating Squirrel. AI was not used in crafting this article, thus, all errors belong to Allison. Also–she is in no way affiliated with Insight Timer, although, truth be told, she did upload a kid’s meditation once, which was rejected due to sound quality. Will she try again? That is the question.
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Swellness Vibes 