Hooray! It’s lunch time! Or even if it’s not, hopefully you have some break throughout your day for a bite to eat and a breather. You might have five minutes, thirty minutes, or an hour. Use some of that time to nourish your body with filling, healthy food. On top of that, I’m challenging you to also nourish your soul with a lunch break meditation. The day’s event can sweep you up into a tide of stress and imbalance. Maybe you haven’t really taken a second to step back and catch your breath or allow your shoulders to lower from your ear lobes.
Whatever your day is–work or not–it’s important to take a break. And one of the most productive breaks you can take is a meditation break. It will refresh mind and body. You don’t need to sit in the middle of your office floor, legs crossed, shoes off, and be humming an ‘om.’ You just need a quiet place where you won’t be bothered for a few minutes. Maybe that’s your desk, a conference room, a table outside, even the bathroom. Find a spot. You don’t even have to be seated. If it’s loud around you and you can’t escape the sound, listen to some calming music. I have a “yoga” Spotify playlist that has some wonderfully soothing tracks (such as Home Again by Drala). Try to block out the outside noise, but don’t stress if you can’t. This will only take a few minutes, but try to give it your full attention.
Nature is always a great place to find some peace
1. If you can, close your eyes. Feel the weight or the lightness in your brain as everything goes dark. Let go of pressing work assignments, your to-do list, or what your coworker just said to you.
2. Inhale a slow breath, feel your chest expand, and then let it out your mouth as a big sigh. Allow some stress out that way.
3. Now, start counting your breath. Inhale with one, exhale with two, and so forth until you reach ten. Start over and repeat twice.
4. Once you feel that focus on your breath, breathe naturally once more.
5. Now I want you to think of a good moment of your day thus far. It doesn’t have to be a big moment like a promotion or anything like that, it just has to be happy. Maybe someone held the subway door open for you so you’d make the train, maybe a friend sent you a nice text, maybe you made really good eggs this morning, maybe you woke up with your animal cuddled by your side. Anything! Anything that generated a smile and/or gratitude from you.
6. Focus on that happy moment, that brightness in your day (no matter how small). Let it fill your mind and let yourself smile, if you want to.
7. After a minute or so, return to your breath. Feel free to keep that smile on your face.
8. End with three big exhale breaths, like how we started. Inhale all the air you possibly can and then exhale with a loud (if you can) sigh. If not, a quiet sigh is okay too. Just make sure it’s a big breath. Do that three times and let your body expand and deflate with that breath.
9. Slowly open your eyes.
Just a quick, refreshing break to remind you that there’s brightness, happiness, and a sense of quiet calm in your life, even if it’s small. I find that stepping back and taking stock of these small moments of gratitude or happiness can completely change a mood. I think people are no stranger to stress, especially at work, so that notion of finding happiness easily slips away during the day. I encourage you to try this, and then do it again a few times through the week and see if it has an impact on your current mood, work performance, or even your whole day. Taking a break and gathering perspective is a beautiful, refreshing thing. I hope this meditation helps you. And as always, stay hungry and fit!
