1 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: Hi, and welcome to the Rise and Conquer Podcast. I'm 2 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: your host, Georgie Stevenson. I am a lawyer, tend health coach, 3 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:22,479 Speaker 1: social media influencer, wife and dogmam. On the Rise and 4 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: Conquer Podcast, we dive deep into all things mindset, habits, career, health, 5 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: relationships and more. This is a podcast for women who 6 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,840 Speaker 1: want to rise up to be the best version of themselves, 7 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: who have big dreams in who are willing to put 8 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 1: in the work to get there. I want to bring 9 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: you the tools and actionable steps to feel confident in yourself, 10 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: inspired to take bold action, and motivated to conquer your goals. 11 00:00:48,920 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: Are you with me? Your friends, Let's rise and conquer. Hi, guys, 12 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,839 Speaker 1: and welcome back to the Rise and Conquer Podcast. I 13 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:10,320 Speaker 1: am so excited about today's episode because I have a 14 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: very special guest for you today. I am chatting to 15 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: doctor Elise Bellu, a medical doctor plus. She is the 16 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,399 Speaker 1: author of the number one best selling mindfulness guidebook, The 17 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: Happiness Plan, and she's the founder of Mindful in May, 18 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: the world's largest online global mindfulness campaign that teaches thousands 19 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: of people how to meditate while raising funds to build 20 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: clean water projects in developing countries. So the reason why 21 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: I'm so excited about today's episode is because I feel 22 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: like we put a lot of time and energy into 23 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: our training routines, you know what we're eating on a 24 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: daily basis, But something that we really need to put 25 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: a lot of time and energy into is our mental fitness. 26 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: It is just, if not more important. So today day 27 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: we are chatting about how mindfulness can release stress, improve 28 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 1: well being, and basically transform your life. As Elise is 29 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 1: a medical doctor, she gets into the kind of science 30 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: behind it, which I love. We also talk about how 31 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: someone can implement these practices in their lives right now, 32 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: and how to deal with the resistance that comes with 33 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: trying to implement a new healthy habit. I'm so excited 34 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: to share this episode with you all. Let's get into it, Hi, Alice, 35 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: thank you so much for joining me today. 36 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 2: My pleasure great to be here. 37 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: So exciting. Welcome to the Rise and Conquer podcast. Something 38 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: that I ask all my guests is what is something 39 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: big or small that you are rising up and conquering 40 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: this week? 41 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 2: Well, I would say getting prepared for launching the global 42 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 2: mind from my campaign that I run. That's where my 43 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 2: focus is at the moment, and also managing my three 44 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 2: year old who who has decided that sleep isn't so 45 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 2: cool anymore. 46 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: Oh gosh, yeah, no, two very big things. That's awesome. 47 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: And I hope I hope you are conquering them because 48 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:13,799 Speaker 1: they do sound like very important things. 49 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, And these things always happen at the same time, 50 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 2: don't they in life. 51 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: Oh, when you're when. 52 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 2: You're rising and conquering something, something else always comes out 53 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 2: of left field. So for me, it's it's my daughter. 54 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 2: But I love her and she's gorgeous, so it's all good. 55 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: Oh that's amazing, all right, So let's get straight into it. 56 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: I'm so excited to speak to you today all about 57 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: mindfulness and meditation, and yeah, we're going to get into it. 58 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: So before we sort of get into like the deeper 59 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: good stuff, let's just kind of start with what is mindfulness? 60 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 2: Mindfulness? The way I really love to share it with people, 61 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 2: which probably fits very much into what you're very passionate about, 62 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 2: is it's almost like the way we take ourselves to 63 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 2: the gym and train ourselves physically to attain high levels 64 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 2: of physical fitness and vitality. Mindfulness is a type of 65 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 2: mental training that helps us develop our most optimal mental fitness. 66 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 2: And really it's a training that's pretty simple on the surface, 67 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 2: but is actually quite challenging, and it really helps us 68 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 2: to train our mind because by the nature of our 69 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 2: own minds, our minds wander and they're distracted, and this 70 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 2: causes a whole lot of problems in our everyday life. 71 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 2: So mindfulness is about really harnessing the potential of the 72 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 2: mind through a specific regular practices in everyday life. 73 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: I love that. I love how you called it like 74 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 1: mental fitness because I feel like it's so you know, 75 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: everyone's addressing their workouts and what they're eating, but mental 76 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,840 Speaker 1: fitness isn't something that everyone talks about or is even 77 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 1: aware about. I guess. So, how can being mindful like 78 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: release stress and improve well being and transform your life? 79 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 2: Okay, well, let's just talk about let's talk about mental fitness, 80 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 2: and let's talk about you know, why I bother with 81 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 2: this and how it can impact your life. So I 82 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 2: think probably most of your listeners would agree that our 83 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,359 Speaker 2: mind is our greatest asset. If the mind is not okay, 84 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 2: the rest of our lives is not okay. You can 85 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 2: break your arm, or you can pull a hams doing 86 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,720 Speaker 2: it at the gym, and you can still manage and 87 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 2: be okay in life. But if you're highly anxious, or 88 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 2: you're viewing burnout or you're in a depression, that is 89 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 2: going to kind of consume your whole life. And the 90 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,479 Speaker 2: science is telling us clearly now that if we just 91 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 2: go about our lives and sort of have this brain 92 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 2: and mind that we were born with but don't invest 93 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 2: any time into it, we're really missing out on understanding 94 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 2: how we can harness its full potential. So I want 95 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 2: to just maybe talk firstly about the mind in its 96 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 2: natural default mode. Right. So, from an evolutionary perspective, our 97 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 2: mind's got this advantage where they could think into the 98 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 2: future because that was really how we survived as humans, 99 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,600 Speaker 2: that we would plan and you know know that, Okay, 100 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:16,919 Speaker 2: winter's coming, we need to store grains, et cetera. So 101 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 2: this ability to plan into the future was a real 102 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 2: evolutionary advantage for us. But what happened then is that 103 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 2: it kind of got a bit out of control. And 104 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 2: so the mind has this tendency to always be future 105 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 2: focused or thinking about the past. And you know, the 106 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 2: science says it actually fifty percent of the time the 107 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 2: mind is not present. And the thing that's interesting about that, 108 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 2: I mean, that might not surprise so many of your listeners, 109 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,599 Speaker 2: but the thing that's really interesting is that there's a 110 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 2: really strong correlation between our minds wandering and us feeling 111 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,840 Speaker 2: unhappy and stressed. And that's really fascinating. And that's when 112 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 2: you think about that, you could say, well, hang on 113 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 2: a sec Sometimes with my mind is wandering, I'm problem 114 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 2: solving or I'm daydreaming, and it feels really positive. But 115 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 2: the research shows that actually when we're not present to 116 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 2: what we're doing, when our minds are flicking off into 117 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 2: the future of the past, it's generally impacting us in 118 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 2: a negative way. So mindfulness comes in and it's a 119 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 2: type of training where really we're teaching the mind how 120 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 2: to be more present, and through that we know the 121 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 2: sciences show, which we can talk about later, like, there's 122 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 2: really profound changes that are happening in the architecture of 123 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 2: the brain and the entire body that support greater focus, 124 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 2: greater emotional balance, and greater well beeing. So and it's 125 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 2: really interesting because this is a practice that we're doing 126 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 2: with our mind. It's kind of a little bit you know, 127 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 2: it's intangible. It's not like lifting a weight, a sort 128 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 2: of very tangible act. We're stopping, we're you know, closing 129 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 2: our eyes, we're focusing on something. So we need a 130 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 2: focus to kind of give our attention somewhere to stay 131 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 2: because it's always flicking between the future of the past 132 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 2: so often that it's the breath. So we tune into 133 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 2: our breath and we use that as an anchor for 134 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 2: our attention. And actually what happens is you very quickly 135 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 2: discover that when you try and concentrate on one thing, 136 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 2: whether that's the breath or just the feelings of body sensations, 137 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 2: you notice that the mind is it's virtually impossible to 138 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 2: keep your mind in one place for more than a 139 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 2: few seconds. And this is where a lot of people 140 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 2: quit meditation because they think that they're terrible at it, 141 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 2: because their mind just won't stop thinking. But that's actually 142 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 2: not the point. What we then do is the whole 143 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 2: purpose of the mindfulness is that when we recognize that 144 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 2: the mind has slipped away or been pulled off into 145 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 2: stories or to do lists, we bring the attention back 146 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 2: to our focus. And that's what I call a mental 147 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 2: dumbbell lift. So that's actually where the training is happening, 148 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,679 Speaker 2: or the retraining where we're actually retraining our minds and 149 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 2: our brains to stay more focused. And in that move, 150 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 2: we know that we're growing parts of the brain called 151 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 2: the prefrontal cortex, which is the highest functioning part of 152 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 2: the brain, and it's also the part of the brain 153 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 2: that is related to emotional balance. So, in a nutshell, 154 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 2: this thing that we're doing with our minds, when we 155 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 2: do it regularly over and over, it's actually transforming the 156 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 2: architecture of our brain in ways that help our brain 157 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 2: get better. It's staying focused and also managing our emotions, 158 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,559 Speaker 2: which is why mindfulness is often referred to as a 159 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 2: vehicle to greater emotional intelligence. 160 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: Amazing. I just felt like there was just so much 161 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 1: good information in there. I kept taking so many notes 162 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:38,719 Speaker 1: to go back to it. 163 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 2: You know, I think a lot of people have different 164 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 2: ideas about what meditation and mindfulness is, and I think 165 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 2: it's really what I love to highlight is that each 166 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,440 Speaker 2: year there's about a thousand different studies coming out which 167 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 2: looks at the impact of meditation and mindfulness on all 168 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 2: different aspects of our lives. So it's really a very 169 00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 2: rigorous area of research at the moment, and there's lots 170 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 2: of science, which really hardcore science, which is supporting the 171 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 2: transformative benefits of this in our life. 172 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: That's amazing and I'm definitely I'm not gonna lie. Only 173 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 1: recently I've put in meditation. Before that, I did a 174 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:22,960 Speaker 1: lot of like I would spend ten minutes going of 175 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: my goals and that sort of thing, which I think 176 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: is being very mindful. But recently I have like made 177 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: myself do meditation, and I definitely notice on the days 178 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 1: where I feel like I don't have enough time or 179 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:38,560 Speaker 1: I forget, and then at the end of the day, 180 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: I kind of look back and I go, wow, my 181 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: mind was just like everywhere. It was just like, you know, 182 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 1: one of those days where not necessarily everything goes wrong, 183 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: but you just kind of feel very scattered. Yeah, compared 184 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: to the days where I do meditate and I just 185 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 1: feel like I've just got it together that little bit more. 186 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And the more you do it, the 187 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 2: more the mind and the brain change. And you know, 188 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,959 Speaker 2: I think there's so many elements to it. There's the focus, 189 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,079 Speaker 2: which I find personally. You know, at the beginning of 190 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:13,520 Speaker 2: the day, I work a lot by myself, so I 191 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:16,240 Speaker 2: have to be really sort of self disciplined, and if 192 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 2: I get to my computer, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, 193 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,120 Speaker 2: you know. I just I do ten minutes of practice 194 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,199 Speaker 2: and I meet the chaos of my mind. But then 195 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:26,720 Speaker 2: by the end of that ten minutes, things have settled 196 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 2: and I'm so much clearer. I'm so much more able 197 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:33,319 Speaker 2: to set my priorities clearly for the day, rather than 198 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 2: if I'd just left into work and my mind was 199 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 2: chaos and I would be just working in a chaotic way. 200 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 2: So yeah, I think for people like I, suspect, like 201 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 2: yourself and like me, who are you know, real doers 202 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 2: in the world like I do not fit the typical 203 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 2: what people would imagine is someone that teaches meditation very 204 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 2: sort of zen and peaceful. I'm a really active, high 205 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 2: energy person, and that's really why i came to meditation 206 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 2: to kind of almost give me a balance. But I've 207 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 2: found that, you know, rather than kind of making me 208 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,560 Speaker 2: more passive or anything like that, it just helps me 209 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:15,360 Speaker 2: keep my mind more ordered, helps me prioritize, and also, 210 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:19,400 Speaker 2: you know, it's just really helpful in maintaining greater balance 211 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 2: in life. When you ask someone who is so kind 212 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:24,600 Speaker 2: of energetic and always on the go. 213 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: Yes, one hundred percent. And that leads me into my 214 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: next question, in like a little bit of a snapshot, 215 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 1: can you sort of tell us how you've come to 216 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:39,679 Speaker 1: be a mindful meditation teacher and how sort of that 217 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 1: has changed your life? I realized I should have asked 218 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: this at the start. 219 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 2: No, that's okay, So yeah, So look, I was always 220 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 2: really fascinated by the brain, and I always had this 221 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 2: desire to be doing something with my life that was 222 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:55,960 Speaker 2: really meaningful and that where I would be contributing to 223 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,600 Speaker 2: other people in some way reducing the suffering in the world. 224 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:03,360 Speaker 2: Basic that was my drive. So I ended up training 225 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 2: in medicine. I specialized in psychiatry, so I spent a 226 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 2: hell of a lot of time literally holding brains, looking 227 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:15,040 Speaker 2: at brains, studying brains, both you know, in an anatomy 228 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 2: room and also with my patients. And what I discovered 229 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:21,439 Speaker 2: along that road of psychiatry was that I was learning 230 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:25,360 Speaker 2: a lot about what happens to brains and minds when 231 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:27,679 Speaker 2: they're really at their worst. And I really wanted to 232 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:32,280 Speaker 2: understand what a super healthy mind looks like and how 233 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:35,320 Speaker 2: we get to that point. And so cut along story short, 234 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,679 Speaker 2: it kind of led me to meditation, and because I 235 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 2: am someone who loves the science, I started discovering all 236 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:46,680 Speaker 2: the different research and really got quite intrigued by meditation 237 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 2: as a tool to develop the mind and really make 238 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 2: it function at its absolute best. And so I started 239 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 2: going on long silent meditation retreats. I found a teacher 240 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:03,640 Speaker 2: overseas and was regularly kind of studying with him, and 241 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 2: then basically this idea came to me to create a 242 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 2: global meditation online program. At the time, this is already 243 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,080 Speaker 2: like six years ago, so there wasn't as much out there. 244 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 2: Now there's a lot of different offerings, but I just 245 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 2: felt that the practice was so it had been so 246 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 2: transformative in my own life. I can go into a 247 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 2: couple of the points there. But also I'd been teaching 248 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,520 Speaker 2: it to some of my patients, you know, who were 249 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 2: suffering pretty significant mental health issues like very severe depression, addiction, 250 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 2: you know, anxiety, lots of different problems, and I was 251 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 2: really impressed by what I was seeing. And in fact, 252 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 2: some of the research in the field of mental health 253 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 2: shows that, for example, a two month mindfulness program can 254 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 2: be as effective as antidepressants in helping people not fall 255 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 2: back into depression. And it's not about all or nothing. 256 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 2: I would hazard to you know, warm than listen is 257 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 2: not to kind of come off antidepressdants if you're on 258 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,160 Speaker 2: them and suddenly just start meditating. You have to be 259 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 2: wiser and more cautious than that. But I think it's 260 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 2: just such, you know, it's a really powerful resource and 261 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 2: skill that you can learn to support yourself in addition 262 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 2: to medication or instead of for some people with certain 263 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 2: levels of depression. But anyway, I'm digressing, coming back to 264 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 2: your question. So I started Mindful in May. It was 265 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 2: really a way to offer many people a really accessible, 266 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:33,160 Speaker 2: affordable online program which takes people by the hand. They 267 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:37,600 Speaker 2: get this incredible curated program that includes videos from some 268 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 2: of the world's best meditation teachers neuroscientists that I really 269 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,000 Speaker 2: aim to get people to communicate in ways that are 270 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:49,280 Speaker 2: super accessible. And then I offer people daily guided meditation. 271 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 2: So it's sort of like you just register and hook 272 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 2: in and then you get taken by the hand, and 273 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 2: if you follow the program, you'll have a habit of 274 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,160 Speaker 2: meditation and after a few months you will be changing 275 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 2: your brain. Yeah, So I started that and then basically 276 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,480 Speaker 2: that just gained a lot of momentum, and so I 277 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 2: jumped across and I left my career in psychiatry to 278 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 2: run the program full time. And that's and then that's 279 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 2: kind of become my life and my world. And so 280 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,840 Speaker 2: I teach online and offline and it's just I guess 281 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 2: because it is something that I have experienced to be 282 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 2: so powerful in my own life, and then seeing impacts 283 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 2: through the program for other people. Of really it's a 284 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 2: commitment of ten minutes of meditation a day through the program, 285 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 2: and it really blows my mind every year to hear 286 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 2: the feedback about how people what people have noticed just 287 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 2: from doing ten minutes a day for a month, and 288 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 2: I think, you know, we all know how hard it 289 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 2: is to create new habits. And so the thing that 290 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 2: my infor Mate offers is also this aspect of tapping 291 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 2: into a real time community that's from around the world 292 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 2: and also significantly doing this not dust for yourself, but 293 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 2: actually turning your attention to a really important global issue 294 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 2: around poverty and the world water crisis, and kind of 295 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:03,440 Speaker 2: almost it's like a fun run for your mind where 296 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,639 Speaker 2: you get to fundraise for the cause, so you get 297 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,720 Speaker 2: sort of held accountable to continue meditating through the whole month. 298 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 2: So it's got this kind of do something good for yourself, 299 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 2: do something good for the world aspect, which I find 300 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 2: that really motivates people. 301 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: I love that. And so you were talking about how 302 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:24,159 Speaker 1: you have really had some big, sort of I guess, 303 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 1: experiences in your life where mindfulness has really changed your life. 304 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: Can you tell us a little bit about any of those. 305 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,960 Speaker 2: Sure, I would start by saying that I honestly feel 306 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:39,120 Speaker 2: like it's touched every aspect of my life, so ranging 307 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 2: from career and purpose and finding greater clarity about what 308 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:46,639 Speaker 2: I'm supposed to be doing here on the planet. You 309 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 2: know that, from that to relationships to you know, having 310 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:58,360 Speaker 2: a child and labor and my work like public speaking 311 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:00,879 Speaker 2: I used to be really terrified of and now I 312 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:03,399 Speaker 2: love it, and I've got tools to manage that fear, 313 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:08,480 Speaker 2: to managing kind of conflict in my life, you know, 314 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 2: difficult people, whether that's in the workplace or you know 315 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:18,480 Speaker 2: in family, managing times of stress and uncertainty in life. 316 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 2: So whether that's around health issues or waiting to find 317 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 2: out different decisions that are really important to me, or 318 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:30,359 Speaker 2: just anything that causes stress, Like it really has given 319 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 2: me tools that I didn't have before. And I'm by nature, 320 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,399 Speaker 2: as I said, I'm not zen by nature, you know. 321 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,880 Speaker 2: So it really has helped me with sort of managing 322 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,840 Speaker 2: my own mind in a much more skillful way. And 323 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,159 Speaker 2: the learning is never ending, you know, you just go 324 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 2: deeper and deeper, and it really is never ending. So 325 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 2: I think the other thing that it's helped me with 326 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 2: a lot is I used to be a lot more 327 00:18:57,280 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 2: kind of I've mapped my whole life out. I wanted 328 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:01,920 Speaker 2: to send of control and I was a real planner. 329 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:04,639 Speaker 2: And I think it freed me up a lot to 330 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 2: really trust myself a lot more and actually be able 331 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 2: to flow with the way things are, which is that 332 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:16,120 Speaker 2: you know, there's this universal truth that everything is always changing. 333 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 2: So as Joseph Goldsen, who's one of the American meditation teachers, 334 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:23,040 Speaker 2: one of the world leaders in meditation. He was part 335 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:24,919 Speaker 2: of the Mindful and May program last year. He has 336 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:27,640 Speaker 2: this great quote that says, you know, you know, when 337 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:30,159 Speaker 2: you try and hang on to something that's always changing, 338 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:31,879 Speaker 2: you're going to get rope burn. He calls it like 339 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:33,919 Speaker 2: rope burn in life when you're trying to control and 340 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 2: you just can't you know, get in sync with the 341 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,960 Speaker 2: fact that life is always changing. There's loss, there's gain, 342 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,440 Speaker 2: and we're all trying to reduce our suffering and kind 343 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 2: of not lose things or be in the face of this. 344 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 2: But we just have to kind of come to terms 345 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,640 Speaker 2: with this as reality. So I think mindless meditation isn't 346 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:56,080 Speaker 2: simply about getting more present. It's actually developing greater wisdom 347 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:58,920 Speaker 2: in your life so that you can meet life much 348 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 2: more effectively and much more in alignment with how things 349 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 2: actually are. And this kind of reduces disappointment and makes 350 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,200 Speaker 2: you realize that when things are not going so well 351 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 2: in your life, it's not personal, like, this is just 352 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:12,359 Speaker 2: part of life. It has its ups and downs, and 353 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:16,159 Speaker 2: we just need to develop the tools to ride those 354 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 2: ups and downs. 355 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:25,760 Speaker 1: When you're talking about you previously, you basically described me. Now, 356 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:29,520 Speaker 1: I definitely love some issues with I love to be 357 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,600 Speaker 1: in control, and I'm very fast paced and all that 358 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: sort of stuff. So this is why I'm so interested 359 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:41,919 Speaker 1: in its of meditation. But that's honestly amazing. I'm like 360 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:44,639 Speaker 1: so happy for you, and I'm just I love this 361 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: idea and I'm so excited about this because you know, 362 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,040 Speaker 1: it's like I don't want to say it's simple, but 363 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: this is a free tool that you can use to 364 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,159 Speaker 1: literally transform your life. So yeah, know just gets me 365 00:20:58,280 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: very excited. 366 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 2: I think, you know there, I imagine there's well you 367 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 2: mentioned there's a lot of female listeners on your podcast, 368 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 2: also males, But I just wanted to speak to the 369 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 2: fact that I think, you know, for women, especially around 370 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:15,400 Speaker 2: the ages, you know, in your twenties and thirties, it's 371 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:19,159 Speaker 2: really challenging because there are so many big decisions that 372 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 2: are so formative that you need to make. You know, 373 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:25,719 Speaker 2: about your career, about you know, if you're in partnership, 374 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,119 Speaker 2: who you might want to spend your life with, whether 375 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 2: or not you want to have kids, and the whole 376 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 2: runoff of that. There's really really big decisions we made 377 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:35,719 Speaker 2: that are going to affect the rest of your life. 378 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 2: And I think in this day and age where so 379 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,679 Speaker 2: often we're turned outwards and we're always on social media, 380 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:46,080 Speaker 2: or we're just always tuning out, and I think meditation 381 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,160 Speaker 2: is a really powerful tool to help us tune in 382 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:52,399 Speaker 2: and really start to learn how to listen more deeply 383 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 2: to what's really important to us, and that can be 384 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 2: such a powerful guide in helping us realign if we're 385 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:01,680 Speaker 2: feeling a little bit off purpose in work or a 386 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:05,400 Speaker 2: bit stuck, starting to listen more deeply and hear those 387 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 2: clues that might lead us into a more meaningful, more 388 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:12,480 Speaker 2: purposeful life career, or again, if we're in relationship and 389 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 2: where you know, we might be stuck, not sure whether 390 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 2: to take the next step. These are really important things 391 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:19,719 Speaker 2: that we need to work out, and if we're not 392 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 2: connected to ourselves, then we can't make those decisions from 393 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 2: a place of wisdom and authenticity. So I really think 394 00:22:28,119 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 2: it's just it's not simply about, as I say, getting 395 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 2: more focused and being more effective and more productive. It's 396 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,359 Speaker 2: actually a lot deeper than that, and it really is 397 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 2: about sort of supporting your own wisdom and helping you 398 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:47,040 Speaker 2: to live your most authentic life really which leads to happiness. 399 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 1: I absolutely love that, and I couldn't agree more Definitely, 400 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:56,560 Speaker 1: Before sort of any big decisions, something that I do 401 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:01,360 Speaker 1: preach is just getting still and sort of looking within, 402 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:05,159 Speaker 1: getting quiet and getting still and really sort of I 403 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: guess it's like, yeah, I guess a form of meditation, 404 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:14,040 Speaker 1: because it's like we forget that we can trust ourselves. 405 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: We live in such a fast paced world, it often 406 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:20,120 Speaker 1: seems like we can't. So I love that you touched 407 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 1: on that, and I want to get more into the 408 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,439 Speaker 1: sort of I guess science behind it all. And I 409 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 1: know our brains are constantly responding and they're changing to 410 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,040 Speaker 1: everything we do in the day. So how does mindfulness 411 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: sort of restructure and change the brain? 412 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, great question, So I think you know what you're 413 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:44,480 Speaker 2: alluding to. There is this whole realm of neuroplasticity, which 414 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:48,639 Speaker 2: is now what we know as the brain's capacity to 415 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 2: adapt and change throughout the lifetime, which when I was 416 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,359 Speaker 2: training in medical school was not the case. That was 417 00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:58,040 Speaker 2: not what we were learning. So it's really not such. 418 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 2: It's sort of a more recent understand that we have 419 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 2: this capacity to take responsibility of our brains to some 420 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 2: extent and sculpt them in ways through behaviors and through 421 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,000 Speaker 2: repetitive things that we're doing in our day. And the 422 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 2: important point, really important point here is that if you're 423 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 2: not taking responsibility for this, then your mind is sculpting 424 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 2: itself in unconscious ways. So you know, if you're on 425 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:27,879 Speaker 2: social media all the time and you're checking Facebook at night, like, 426 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 2: there are neural pathways that are going to be forming 427 00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 2: that you're not conscious of that are actually working against 428 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,919 Speaker 2: you to create greater you know, distraction, a sort of 429 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,640 Speaker 2: greater addiction to these things. So now more than ever, 430 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:45,240 Speaker 2: it's really important that we actually take responsibility in a 431 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:48,680 Speaker 2: conscious way for the repetitive practices that we're doing, because 432 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 2: these are getting etched into our neural pathways. So coming 433 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:56,400 Speaker 2: to mindfulness in the brain, I spoke about the prefrontal cortex, 434 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,399 Speaker 2: and so the research shows that actually over two months 435 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,040 Speaker 2: have meditation, over two months of regular meditation, they've put 436 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,359 Speaker 2: people under brain scanners and they've seen that this part 437 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,439 Speaker 2: of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, which sits behind 438 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:13,119 Speaker 2: your forehead and is really the highest functioning part of 439 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:18,959 Speaker 2: the brain responsible for focus, emotional balance, decision making, this 440 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,680 Speaker 2: part of the brain thickens after two months of meditation 441 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 2: compared to people that were in the group that didn't 442 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 2: meditate for two months. And yeah, as I said, what 443 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:30,480 Speaker 2: we know about that is that when the architecture of 444 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 2: the brain changes, it suggests that there's enduring change and 445 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:37,720 Speaker 2: that the parts of the brain that are growing sort 446 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,480 Speaker 2: of get better at what they're doing. So this part 447 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:43,359 Speaker 2: of the brain that helps us stay focused and also 448 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,520 Speaker 2: helps us when we get triggered emotionally, so whether that's 449 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:51,680 Speaker 2: interfere or anger. You know how when you get emotionally triggered, 450 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:55,320 Speaker 2: there's this way that sometimes emotions can completely take over 451 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,520 Speaker 2: and you can kind of respond to someone in a 452 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:04,320 Speaker 2: very reactive, angry way and say things that really don't 453 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 2: help the situation, but you've actually lost control of yourself 454 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,280 Speaker 2: because the emotion has completely taken over you. So the 455 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 2: prefrontal cortex, the job that that has is to actually 456 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,120 Speaker 2: calm the emotion down. And it's like as we continue 457 00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:21,919 Speaker 2: to meditate, this prefrontal cortex actually gets more developed, and 458 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,520 Speaker 2: you'll notice that you become much better at managing those 459 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,159 Speaker 2: emotional triggers. So whether it's with family or life partner 460 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 2: or work colleagues, when you get triggered into anger or 461 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:38,040 Speaker 2: something like that, you're much more able to pause, recognize 462 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,639 Speaker 2: what you're feeling in your body, take a breath, and 463 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:44,600 Speaker 2: actually have a new possibility, so a new way of responding, 464 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:47,200 Speaker 2: and this opens up so much freedom in our life. 465 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:51,000 Speaker 2: So that's one aspect of the brain. Another really interesting 466 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 2: study fascinating particularly for people that suffer from anxiety, which 467 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 2: is so common. If you take someone who suffers from 468 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,920 Speaker 2: reasonable anxiety and you put under a brain scanner, you'll 469 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:05,639 Speaker 2: see that they're amygdala, which is this often referred to 470 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 2: part of the brain that's related to fear. In its 471 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 2: simplest form, it's got other functions, but from a summarized perspective, 472 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:16,120 Speaker 2: this is the fear center of the brain. This part 473 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:19,480 Speaker 2: of the brain is actually larger in volume than other 474 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:23,360 Speaker 2: people who don't suffer from anxiety. So again we can 475 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 2: understand that because it's like people that are worrying a 476 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 2: lot get caught in cycles of worry and they're giving 477 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:33,480 Speaker 2: they're amigdala a gym workout, so they're repeating that practice 478 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,119 Speaker 2: of worrying, and it's growing the part of the brain 479 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,879 Speaker 2: that is responsible for worry. So what's happening. We're getting 480 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:41,240 Speaker 2: much better at worrying. So it's like this sort of 481 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 2: vicious cycle where you're doing the worry, it's growing the brain, 482 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:48,879 Speaker 2: and then you're getting more worried. Now, what's really interesting 483 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 2: about mindfulness is it's shown suggested that again over two months, 484 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:58,880 Speaker 2: the amygdala actually shrinks on brain scan. So what that 485 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:01,119 Speaker 2: means is, you know, that's a good thing because we 486 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 2: sort of want a less active amigdala, which is the 487 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,640 Speaker 2: fear center of the brain. So, you know, this is 488 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:11,159 Speaker 2: really profound because people often think, oh, I'm anxious. You know, 489 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,720 Speaker 2: I've got to take some tablets and control it like that. 490 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,120 Speaker 2: But there are actually things that you can also do 491 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 2: that don't involve tablets that change the biology of the 492 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 2: brain as well. So another region of the brain that 493 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:27,040 Speaker 2: we know is affected by mindfulness is called the insular 494 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:30,080 Speaker 2: and this is a part of the brain that really 495 00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 2: helps us to tune in and sense the physical sensations 496 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:36,159 Speaker 2: in our body. And it sounds a bit abstract, but 497 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 2: the reason it's really important is that when we have emotions, 498 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 2: which are really what govern our life and determine if 499 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 2: we're depressed or happy, emotions are actually a physical experience. 500 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,360 Speaker 2: They're not just something that we have in our head. 501 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 2: So if the listeners take a moment to think about 502 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 2: anger or even fear, but let's stick with anger because 503 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 2: it's the most obvious. And you ask yourself, when I'm angry, 504 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:03,000 Speaker 2: what do I sense in my body? And some people 505 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 2: might not be able to answer that, and they can 506 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 2: actually ask themselves that the next time they feel angry, 507 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 2: but if you pay attention, you'll notice that there are 508 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:15,840 Speaker 2: very clear physical sensations correlated with anger. So your heart races, 509 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,160 Speaker 2: you might feel hot in the chest, in the neck, 510 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 2: you might feel tension in your shoulders. There's lots of 511 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:25,160 Speaker 2: different things you feel. And so what we know with 512 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 2: mindfulness is that regular mindful's meditation has actually shown that 513 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 2: it's supported growth in this insular right. And so again, 514 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:38,200 Speaker 2: when the insular is thickening and growing, it's suggesting that 515 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 2: it's going to get just more able to do its job, 516 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,120 Speaker 2: which is to give us the data of what's going 517 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 2: on in our own body. And so the impact in 518 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 2: our lives here is that we get better at sensing 519 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 2: our emotional state. And for example, we catch anger when 520 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:55,640 Speaker 2: it just sparks a little bit before it becomes a 521 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 2: bonfire in our bodies, and it gives us a greater 522 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 2: opportunity to kind to catch it and respond effectively rather 523 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:07,040 Speaker 2: than respond really reactively and sort of say something that's 524 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 2: going to make the whole situation worse. 525 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 1: So being more like self aware. 526 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, being more so exactly, so, it's sort of self awareness. 527 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:18,480 Speaker 2: So when people talk about emotional intelligence, one of the 528 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:21,680 Speaker 2: aspects of that is self awareness, and what that really 529 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 2: means is do you know how you feel from moment 530 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:28,040 Speaker 2: to moment as you're feeling it, Because if you don't, 531 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:31,960 Speaker 2: then you've got no hope of managing your own emotions 532 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,959 Speaker 2: and being effective in relationships. So it's really about the 533 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,760 Speaker 2: insular helps us to kind of sense into the physical sensations, 534 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 2: and we just get much better at picking up our 535 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:48,560 Speaker 2: emotions and therefore responding to them with greater wisdom and therefore, 536 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,560 Speaker 2: you know, having more effective communication and relationships. 537 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:54,840 Speaker 1: That's amazing, that's so interesting. 538 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:58,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really really fascinating. And then I'm just thinking 539 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 2: of I mean, there's so many pieces of recons One 540 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:05,120 Speaker 2: that's not specific to the brain, but is really fascinating 541 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:09,120 Speaker 2: because it's related to our genetics, is that there was 542 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:12,320 Speaker 2: a research study that showed that one day of meditation 543 00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 2: was actually enough to change the expression of your genes, 544 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:23,160 Speaker 2: specifically in relation to how they express inflammation in the body. 545 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:26,040 Speaker 2: So what this means is, you know, we know that 546 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 2: some of the genes we have are inherited, and you know, 547 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:31,640 Speaker 2: you can't really change them, but there's a lot of 548 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:36,360 Speaker 2: genes that we have that will only activate certain proteins 549 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:38,440 Speaker 2: in the body. Like the impact that these genes have 550 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:42,400 Speaker 2: depend on the factors in our life, such as our 551 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 2: decision making, so the way we handle stress, the amount 552 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 2: of sleep we get, our nutrition. This is the field 553 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:52,320 Speaker 2: of epigenetics where we understand that it's not simply the 554 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,479 Speaker 2: genes we have, it's actually the environmental factors in our 555 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,720 Speaker 2: life that are either turning those genes up or down. 556 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:02,880 Speaker 2: And so one of the genes that codes for inflammation, 557 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:06,080 Speaker 2: which we know is really bad and which really is 558 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:08,920 Speaker 2: a contributor to a lot of chronic illness in the body, 559 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,400 Speaker 2: the particular set of genes, the volume on them actually 560 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,920 Speaker 2: gets turned down, and so inflammation is reduced in the 561 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,360 Speaker 2: body through just a date of meditation. I mean, if 562 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:21,520 Speaker 2: you extrapolate that, and I mean it's just sort of 563 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:26,479 Speaker 2: very recent research, but that's pretty incredible that such a 564 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:31,800 Speaker 2: deep kind of transformation can happen in not very much time. 565 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, that is that is really incredible. Thank you for 566 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: sharing that. I love little studies like that. I want 567 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 1: to get into basically the practices of mindfulness. Now, I 568 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,880 Speaker 1: know you have the whole program on it and everything 569 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:52,160 Speaker 1: like that, but give us a little taste of you know, 570 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:55,760 Speaker 1: maybe they're daily practices you do yourself, or how can 571 00:32:55,880 --> 00:33:00,280 Speaker 1: someone start if they've never done mindfulness or meditation or 572 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:01,240 Speaker 1: anything like that. 573 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,400 Speaker 2: I think that really meditation, if you've never done it before, 574 00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:08,520 Speaker 2: you really do need to use guided meditations to help 575 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 2: you just understand what you're actually supposed to be doing. 576 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 2: When you close your eyes, and as I already kind 577 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 2: of spoke to it is quite simple. It's like we 578 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:18,440 Speaker 2: could do it now, you know. It's like listeners, close 579 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 2: your eyes, you know, and just bring your attention into 580 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:27,640 Speaker 2: your body and see where you feel the breath. So 581 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:30,240 Speaker 2: just notice in this moment where you feel your breath 582 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:34,480 Speaker 2: in the body. Is it in the chest or maybe 583 00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:40,000 Speaker 2: it's lower in the belly or the nostrils. And as 584 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:42,520 Speaker 2: you're doing this, you might notice that your mind is 585 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:44,400 Speaker 2: actually not even letting you do this because you've got 586 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:46,520 Speaker 2: so many things in your head. And that's okay, that's 587 00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:50,680 Speaker 2: kind of an untrained mind. But then you just rest 588 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:53,680 Speaker 2: your attention on the feeling of the breath in the body. 589 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:57,640 Speaker 2: And a way to start training the mind, you can 590 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:00,480 Speaker 2: try this little technique, which is actually seeing if you 591 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 2: can count five breaths, and you count the breath at 592 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,320 Speaker 2: the end of the outbreath. So you just you know, 593 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:09,080 Speaker 2: you breathe and let your breath just be normal. And 594 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:11,279 Speaker 2: at the end of the first out breath, you count one, 595 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,280 Speaker 2: and then you wait for the next breath out breath 596 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:16,840 Speaker 2: two and you count. Well, they say it's arbitrub. You 597 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:19,200 Speaker 2: can count to five or ten, and so you just 598 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,239 Speaker 2: sit in quiet and you see if you can do that, 599 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:24,320 Speaker 2: and you just notice what happens in the mind. Maybe 600 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:27,120 Speaker 2: the listeners can sort of set a stopwatch after and practices. 601 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:29,400 Speaker 2: We won't do it now, but this is the kind 602 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:32,080 Speaker 2: of thing that we do when we're practicing meditation. We 603 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:35,200 Speaker 2: choose an object to put our attention on, and then 604 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:37,840 Speaker 2: we continue to bring the mind back over and over again. 605 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:40,400 Speaker 2: And you know, if you try it out, you'll discover. 606 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:42,920 Speaker 2: As I said, it's very simple. The concept of it 607 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:46,280 Speaker 2: is super simple, but the actual practice is really difficult 608 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:49,399 Speaker 2: because all of us have minds that are all over 609 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:52,240 Speaker 2: the place, and so this is a training to practice 610 00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:56,280 Speaker 2: bringing the mind back. So I would say people need 611 00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:59,879 Speaker 2: to find a teacher or some kind of resource where 612 00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:03,759 Speaker 2: they get guided meditations. And I think that having a 613 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,200 Speaker 2: teacher or you know, there's lots of free apps around, 614 00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 2: which are great, but I think there's predictable obstacles that 615 00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:12,239 Speaker 2: come up along the way, and if you don't have 616 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,160 Speaker 2: a teacher or some sort of interaction where you can 617 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:17,719 Speaker 2: get your questions answered, it's very hard to progress. So 618 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:20,719 Speaker 2: I think having that interactivity is really good. And then 619 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:22,400 Speaker 2: the other thing to say is that a lot of 620 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:26,160 Speaker 2: people have this idea that you have to practice, you know, 621 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:28,360 Speaker 2: thirty forty minutes a day or it's not going to 622 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:31,080 Speaker 2: do anything. And I would just want to share that 623 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,799 Speaker 2: I did some research on the Mindfully May program, which 624 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:35,960 Speaker 2: as I said, is ten minutes a day, and we 625 00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:40,680 Speaker 2: found that there were definitely measurable benefits that people described 626 00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:43,560 Speaker 2: from just doing ten minutes a day over the month. 627 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:46,680 Speaker 2: So I think the message there is you don't have 628 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,880 Speaker 2: to start off with huge amounts of meditation, and I 629 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:52,160 Speaker 2: in fact suggest to people that it's better to start 630 00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:55,120 Speaker 2: smaller and create a habit and then build it up 631 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:58,480 Speaker 2: over time. And then there's like a whole lot of 632 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:01,800 Speaker 2: ways that you can practic just mindfulness in everyday life. 633 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:03,360 Speaker 2: And you know, I wrote a whole book on this 634 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:06,879 Speaker 2: called the Happiness Plan, which really takes people through one 635 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:09,440 Speaker 2: month where I give daily practices, they get sort of 636 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:13,200 Speaker 2: links to guidamentations, but then they have daily practices as well, 637 00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:15,640 Speaker 2: and these are the kind of things where it's not 638 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:19,160 Speaker 2: adding something into your day, it's actually just about bringing 639 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:22,920 Speaker 2: awareness to your attention and where it is throughout the day. 640 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:26,280 Speaker 2: So this can be like when you're having a conversation 641 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:29,440 Speaker 2: with someone, just becoming a bit more aware of paying 642 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:33,320 Speaker 2: attention on purpose and being present. So you're starting to notice, 643 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:36,759 Speaker 2: you know, when someone's talking, am I lost in my 644 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:39,200 Speaker 2: own thoughts? And if I am to bring my attention 645 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:41,560 Speaker 2: back to the person's voice and to what they're saying. 646 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:44,759 Speaker 2: So in that sense, it's almost like a meditation in 647 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:48,799 Speaker 2: real time where the focus of your attention is the 648 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:51,600 Speaker 2: person's voice instead of your breath. So it's again you're 649 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:55,719 Speaker 2: just finding a different focus, and again self awareness comes 650 00:36:55,760 --> 00:37:00,279 Speaker 2: through that because then you start to tune in and notice, oh, wow, well, 651 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:03,400 Speaker 2: since this urge that I have to interrupt all the time, 652 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,040 Speaker 2: you know, when you start to be able to hang 653 00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:07,279 Speaker 2: back a little bit and offer people more space, and 654 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:10,360 Speaker 2: this really has a profound impact on the quality of 655 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:13,719 Speaker 2: your communication and the quality of your relationships. So that's 656 00:37:13,719 --> 00:37:17,360 Speaker 2: sort of one example of informal mindfulness we call it 657 00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:21,440 Speaker 2: where it's not actually meditation per se, but you're still 658 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:24,120 Speaker 2: training the mind to be more present and becoming more 659 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:26,680 Speaker 2: aware of when the mind gets pulled away. 660 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:32,279 Speaker 1: Yes, I love that. And something I was wondering, because 661 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:34,520 Speaker 1: I'm not going to lie, is a bit confused. Is 662 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:38,000 Speaker 1: there a difference between mindfulness verse meditation. 663 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:41,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a great question, which I also wondered a 664 00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:44,680 Speaker 2: lot when I was beginning. I think the simplest way 665 00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:49,200 Speaker 2: of understanding that is that meditation is a broad word. 666 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,080 Speaker 2: It's sort of almost like if you think in the 667 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:54,600 Speaker 2: physical realm, it's like sport, and you know, sport is 668 00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:57,040 Speaker 2: something that we do that's kind of a physical activity, 669 00:37:57,239 --> 00:38:00,840 Speaker 2: and there's lots of different types of sport. Meditation is 670 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:03,680 Speaker 2: a practice of the mind, and there's lots of different 671 00:38:03,719 --> 00:38:08,040 Speaker 2: schools of meditations. There's mindfulness, there's Vedic tantra, lots of 672 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:11,480 Speaker 2: different schools, all leading really to the same point and 673 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:14,719 Speaker 2: with the same purpose. And mindfulness is sort of one 674 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:18,160 Speaker 2: of those schools or one of those particular pathways of meditation. 675 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:22,960 Speaker 2: And it really originated from Buddhist context, So from two thousand, 676 00:38:23,040 --> 00:38:26,200 Speaker 2: five hundred years ago, there's a word In the ancient 677 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:30,560 Speaker 2: text in Pali, the word is sati. So that word, 678 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:33,719 Speaker 2: which is defined as mindfulness, is often translated as to 679 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:37,440 Speaker 2: remember or familiarize yourself with. So it's a practice of 680 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:42,000 Speaker 2: familiarizing yourself with the mind and remembering to come back 681 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:45,760 Speaker 2: to the present moment in service of greater sort of wisdom, 682 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:49,920 Speaker 2: understanding and a reduction of suffering in one's life. You know. 683 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:52,799 Speaker 2: And the words get thrown around very casually now, but 684 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:55,360 Speaker 2: that's the gist of what the difference is. It's really 685 00:38:55,360 --> 00:39:01,120 Speaker 2: like mindfulness is a specific school of meditation. Meditation is 686 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:04,040 Speaker 2: that more general term for something that you're doing to 687 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:04,840 Speaker 2: train the mind? 688 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:10,160 Speaker 1: Yes, okay, thanks for clarifying that. And you were talking 689 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:14,440 Speaker 1: about before how it's very easy when you kind of 690 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:18,920 Speaker 1: first start doing practices like this that you and I 691 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,640 Speaker 1: definitely felt this myself, like you feel a bit of 692 00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:26,080 Speaker 1: resistance towards it. Can you shed some light on why 693 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:27,120 Speaker 1: we feel that way? 694 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:31,560 Speaker 2: Absolutely really common, and I would say that you know, 695 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:34,440 Speaker 2: when you start to do meditation, it really is a practice. 696 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:36,680 Speaker 2: It's a training. So it's something that we're doing that 697 00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:41,120 Speaker 2: is not our usual way of being, and so there's 698 00:39:41,160 --> 00:39:45,360 Speaker 2: going to be resistance because our minds are, you know, 699 00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:49,560 Speaker 2: when we're not meditating, our minds are craving constant stimulation, 700 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:52,560 Speaker 2: particularly these days with social media, and it's like no 701 00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:56,920 Speaker 2: one can just be kind of unentertained. We're constantly going 702 00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:59,880 Speaker 2: to our phone. So the mind is has a bit 703 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,680 Speaker 2: s to needing stimulation all the time. And so when 704 00:40:03,719 --> 00:40:06,400 Speaker 2: you stop and you pause, the first thing that a 705 00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:09,560 Speaker 2: lot of people feel is agitation. And it's not actually 706 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:12,960 Speaker 2: the meditation that's causing agitation. It's actually the agitation that's 707 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:15,520 Speaker 2: already there that you just don't notice because you're covering 708 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:20,120 Speaker 2: it up with constant over stimulation. So in some ways 709 00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:23,520 Speaker 2: it's that meditation is like a detoxing for the mind. 710 00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:26,719 Speaker 2: And just as when you stop drinking coffee or you 711 00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:31,279 Speaker 2: stop smoking, that process is really hard. The same is 712 00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:34,040 Speaker 2: true for meditation or even you know, starting a solid 713 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:37,239 Speaker 2: exercise regime when you're unfit. It really doesn't feel good 714 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:39,719 Speaker 2: for that first few weeks. And so I would really 715 00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:43,040 Speaker 2: encourage the listeners who haven't done it yet and are 716 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:46,200 Speaker 2: interested to actually come to it with an expectation that 717 00:40:46,239 --> 00:40:48,680 Speaker 2: the first few weeks is going to be uncomfortable. And 718 00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:52,399 Speaker 2: that's actually part of the course, and when you learn 719 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:56,840 Speaker 2: about the science and you understand how transformative this practice 720 00:40:56,880 --> 00:40:58,840 Speaker 2: can be, then that kind of gives you your why 721 00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:01,960 Speaker 2: and your motivation to stick with it, just as you would, 722 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:04,799 Speaker 2: you know, drag yourself to the gym even though it's 723 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:06,440 Speaker 2: really the last thing you want to do and you 724 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:08,320 Speaker 2: just want to sit and watch TV and relax. 725 00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,440 Speaker 1: Yes, oh my god, I couldn't agree more. Like I 726 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,839 Speaker 1: was saying, I'm dabbling in a bit of meditation and 727 00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:20,120 Speaker 1: I'm just feeling such resistance toward it. And it's so 728 00:41:20,239 --> 00:41:22,520 Speaker 1: true though, because when I think back at the start 729 00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:25,680 Speaker 1: of my fitness journey, like you know, I wasn't it 730 00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:29,040 Speaker 1: wasn't a habit yet, and so I did struggle and 731 00:41:29,080 --> 00:41:31,799 Speaker 1: I did find it difficult. So it makes sense that 732 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,200 Speaker 1: this would be a similar sort of thing. So you know, 733 00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:37,200 Speaker 1: that does make a lot of sense. And that's why 734 00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:42,000 Speaker 1: I'm so excited to be participating in the Mindful in 735 00:41:42,239 --> 00:41:47,160 Speaker 1: May and just sort of really implement meditation and mindfulness 736 00:41:47,239 --> 00:41:50,520 Speaker 1: so like, long enough, so it becomes a habit and 737 00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:52,920 Speaker 1: it almost you know, it just becomes routine. 738 00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:56,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely, I'm really I'm really excited and I 739 00:41:56,960 --> 00:42:00,560 Speaker 2: really am curious to hear how it got for you 740 00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:03,520 Speaker 2: and what you discover. And what I say to people 741 00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:06,319 Speaker 2: with mindful may is I really put it forward as 742 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:10,040 Speaker 2: an experiment and I just say to people, give this 743 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:13,920 Speaker 2: a go. But the one rule is don't judge it 744 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:18,200 Speaker 2: before at least two weeks. Just make yourself do it, like, 745 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:22,319 Speaker 2: commit to it without judging it or deciding if this 746 00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:25,880 Speaker 2: is good or bad or useful or whatever, because just 747 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:28,480 Speaker 2: do it and give it a bit of time and 748 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:31,200 Speaker 2: then make your decision. Because then after you've done it 749 00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:33,480 Speaker 2: for a few weeks and if you really genuinely think 750 00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:36,240 Speaker 2: that it's not doing anything, then don't do it, because 751 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:38,160 Speaker 2: we've all got too much to do, you know. So 752 00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:41,799 Speaker 2: I would say, you know, come and experiment with it, 753 00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:44,560 Speaker 2: but turn your judgments off and give yourself a two 754 00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:47,400 Speaker 2: week commitment to something that has the power to literally 755 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:49,680 Speaker 2: transform your life. If only you can just kind of 756 00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:53,400 Speaker 2: turn the judgments off and then make an informed decision. Say, 757 00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:55,239 Speaker 2: you know what, I gave meditation a really good go, 758 00:42:55,560 --> 00:42:58,360 Speaker 2: and don't think it's for me. I'd be really surprised 759 00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:02,320 Speaker 2: because I think it really it does have benefits for everyone. 760 00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:04,640 Speaker 2: But as I say, don't do something that you don't 761 00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:08,719 Speaker 2: feel like is actually having some kind of impact on 762 00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:09,240 Speaker 2: your life. 763 00:43:10,360 --> 00:43:13,360 Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, to be honest, like I said, I've sort 764 00:43:13,360 --> 00:43:17,640 Speaker 1: of dabbled in and I have seen really amazing results. 765 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:23,399 Speaker 1: I just have always given myself excuses and not made 766 00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:26,560 Speaker 1: that commitment. So that's why I'm really excited for me, 767 00:43:26,719 --> 00:43:30,080 Speaker 1: because I've already made my commitment. I'm telling the audience 768 00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:32,680 Speaker 1: now I'm telling you, and that's like a big thing 769 00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:35,399 Speaker 1: for me. So because I know, I know how much 770 00:43:35,400 --> 00:43:38,440 Speaker 1: better my mind is and my focus is, and generally 771 00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:41,279 Speaker 1: I just feel happier and I feel so much more 772 00:43:41,480 --> 00:43:44,719 Speaker 1: of a sense of purpose. I need to make that 773 00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:47,400 Speaker 1: commitment and need to make it routine because I was 774 00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:50,600 Speaker 1: the exact same, like I said, with my eating habits 775 00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:53,600 Speaker 1: and training habits. So I just need to make that 776 00:43:53,600 --> 00:43:56,840 Speaker 1: commitment and do it. I really want to talk to 777 00:43:56,960 --> 00:44:00,359 Speaker 1: the audience. I know you kind of went a bit 778 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:04,560 Speaker 1: into it previously, but tell them about the Mindful and 779 00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:08,360 Speaker 1: May and I will make sure I leave a link 780 00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:10,839 Speaker 1: in my show notes and all that sort of thing 781 00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:14,200 Speaker 1: so they can sign up. I believe it's only forty 782 00:44:14,280 --> 00:44:16,000 Speaker 1: nine dollars for the month. Is that correct? 783 00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:18,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct. It's sort of like you get a month, 784 00:44:18,800 --> 00:44:20,960 Speaker 2: it's like a month of training. It's like bootcamp for 785 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:23,560 Speaker 2: your mind for the month. So basically it's an annual 786 00:44:23,640 --> 00:44:29,000 Speaker 2: campaign and it really is about teaching people these powerful 787 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:33,359 Speaker 2: transformative skills that are going to really impact upon their 788 00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:35,760 Speaker 2: lives for the rest of their lives. But it's also 789 00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:39,520 Speaker 2: about getting on board this collective vision to have a fairer, 790 00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:44,240 Speaker 2: more compassionate world where people in the world have access 791 00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:46,840 Speaker 2: to clean water. So I just want to mention that 792 00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:49,719 Speaker 2: because this is an issue that a lot of people 793 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:53,960 Speaker 2: don't know about, that actually one in nine people on 794 00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:58,400 Speaker 2: the planet currently can't access clean, safe drinking water, which 795 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:00,719 Speaker 2: you know is the most basic thing we need as 796 00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:04,640 Speaker 2: human beings. And so through this campaign, when you participate 797 00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:07,560 Speaker 2: in it, you get invited. It's optional, but you get 798 00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:10,000 Speaker 2: invited to either create a fundraising page. And as we've 799 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:12,200 Speaker 2: talked about this, we know that when we sort of 800 00:45:12,239 --> 00:45:15,920 Speaker 2: publicly announce our goals and that helps us to stay accountable. 801 00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:17,920 Speaker 2: So the great thing is that even if you do 802 00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:20,239 Speaker 2: a month of meditation and at the end you decide, 803 00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:22,040 Speaker 2: you know what, it's not for me, which I would 804 00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:26,200 Speaker 2: really be surprised about. If you fundraise then you've actually 805 00:45:26,239 --> 00:45:28,560 Speaker 2: made a huge contribution to the lives of others. And 806 00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:32,960 Speaker 2: it's incredible to know that only fifty dollars fifty dollars 807 00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:36,359 Speaker 2: of fundraising or donations is enough to bring clean water 808 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:40,440 Speaker 2: to one person for life and literally transform their life forever. 809 00:45:41,160 --> 00:45:44,399 Speaker 2: So it's a hugely positive impact that you can make. 810 00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:46,919 Speaker 2: But you know what's in it for you is that 811 00:45:47,280 --> 00:45:51,080 Speaker 2: you get this incredible program that is curated, that you 812 00:45:51,200 --> 00:45:54,560 Speaker 2: get doorways into all of the best teachers in the world, 813 00:45:55,080 --> 00:45:57,880 Speaker 2: and you learn the science as we've talked about, a 814 00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:01,800 Speaker 2: really accessible way, and you get doable, time efficient practices, 815 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:05,400 Speaker 2: both the meditation practices and things that you can integrate 816 00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:08,560 Speaker 2: into your everyday life to help you become a mindful 817 00:46:08,600 --> 00:46:10,840 Speaker 2: and train your brain so that you know have this 818 00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:13,600 Speaker 2: brain that's working in its best And I think, given 819 00:46:13,640 --> 00:46:17,080 Speaker 2: that we're here in this planet just for one go, 820 00:46:17,719 --> 00:46:21,160 Speaker 2: and given that our brain can cause us so much stress, 821 00:46:21,200 --> 00:46:25,360 Speaker 2: so much unnecessary stress, the opportunity to actually learn tools 822 00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:28,560 Speaker 2: that are going to help you manage worry, manage that 823 00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:32,359 Speaker 2: in a critic, manage the mind chatter. It's such a 824 00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:35,200 Speaker 2: worthwhile investment because the effects of it are going to 825 00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:37,520 Speaker 2: ripple throughout the rest of your life, and you know, 826 00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:39,759 Speaker 2: to be honest, I'm teaching my three year old daughter 827 00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:41,480 Speaker 2: some of these things now, and I just look back 828 00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:45,120 Speaker 2: and I think, Wow, I wonder how much less suffering 829 00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:46,600 Speaker 2: I would have had to do as a human had 830 00:46:46,640 --> 00:46:49,800 Speaker 2: I learned these tools sooner. And that's certainly the message 831 00:46:49,840 --> 00:46:53,040 Speaker 2: that I hear from literally thousands of people that do 832 00:46:53,200 --> 00:46:56,120 Speaker 2: this program every year. The biggest regret they have is 833 00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:58,320 Speaker 2: that they didn't start to learn these tools sooner. 834 00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:02,200 Speaker 1: You know, I could not agree more. And I love 835 00:47:02,239 --> 00:47:04,359 Speaker 1: that you touch on all those points. And yeah, I'm 836 00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:07,520 Speaker 1: so excited for me. Like you said, I know it's 837 00:47:07,560 --> 00:47:09,520 Speaker 1: good for me. I've seen the results. I just I 838 00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:13,319 Speaker 1: need a bit of handholding and sort of support so 839 00:47:13,360 --> 00:47:16,480 Speaker 1: I can like get through break that barrier, make it routine. 840 00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:20,200 Speaker 1: So I'm so excited, and I am so thankful that 841 00:47:20,239 --> 00:47:23,000 Speaker 1: you came on the show and you're sharing this message. 842 00:47:23,160 --> 00:47:25,759 Speaker 1: I'll make sure I I will leave the link in 843 00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:28,600 Speaker 1: my show notes if you want to join me in 844 00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:33,160 Speaker 1: the Mindful in May program with Elise and sort of 845 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:38,600 Speaker 1: be handheld into this new mindfulness and meditation which is 846 00:47:38,719 --> 00:47:41,440 Speaker 1: just such a I just think if you are you know, 847 00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:45,160 Speaker 1: doing your workouts and you're eating healthy, you really need 848 00:47:45,200 --> 00:47:48,600 Speaker 1: to be also thinking about, you know, fitness for your brain. 849 00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:54,160 Speaker 1: As Alice was said, So Alise, where can we follow 850 00:47:54,360 --> 00:47:59,200 Speaker 1: and find you and get some more amazing resources and 851 00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:00,879 Speaker 1: stuff from you? Yeah? 852 00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:04,520 Speaker 2: Absolutely so it's Mindfulinmay dot org is where you can 853 00:48:04,560 --> 00:48:08,120 Speaker 2: register for mindfully May and find out all the details. 854 00:48:08,440 --> 00:48:10,759 Speaker 2: And also mention, I've got the book for those that 855 00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:13,280 Speaker 2: are interested, the Happiness Plan, which is sort of another 856 00:48:13,680 --> 00:48:17,279 Speaker 2: additional resource that people can access that really maps out 857 00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:21,680 Speaker 2: a one month plan as well. And yeah, that's it. 858 00:48:22,239 --> 00:48:23,560 Speaker 1: And what is your Instagram? 859 00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:26,239 Speaker 2: Oh, Instagram is mindfully May as well. 860 00:48:26,960 --> 00:48:30,600 Speaker 1: Perfect, Okay, awesome, Well, thank you so much for coming 861 00:48:30,600 --> 00:48:33,160 Speaker 1: on the show, Elise. Like I said, this has been amazing. 862 00:48:33,239 --> 00:48:36,080 Speaker 1: It's such an interesting topic and you are just doing 863 00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:38,359 Speaker 1: amazing work. So thank you so much. 864 00:48:38,920 --> 00:48:41,359 Speaker 2: Oh, thank you for having me on and I really 865 00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:43,319 Speaker 2: look forward to hearing how it goes for you. 866 00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:53,680 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening in. If you like 867 00:48:53,760 --> 00:48:56,200 Speaker 1: this episode, make sure you subscribe to the Rise and 868 00:48:56,239 --> 00:48:59,120 Speaker 1: Cocker podcast so you don't miss the next one. Also, 869 00:48:59,280 --> 00:49:01,680 Speaker 1: if you found this podcast valuable, it would mean the 870 00:49:01,760 --> 00:49:04,840 Speaker 1: absolute world to me. If you wrote the podcast a review. 871 00:49:05,200 --> 00:49:05,640 Speaker 2: Plus. 872 00:49:05,719 --> 00:49:08,080 Speaker 1: If you know someone who would benefit from listening to 873 00:49:08,120 --> 00:49:10,759 Speaker 1: this episode, make sure you share it with them. If 874 00:49:10,800 --> 00:49:13,040 Speaker 1: you want to go beyond this episode, check out our 875 00:49:13,080 --> 00:49:18,880 Speaker 1: official instagram at Risinconquer dot podcast or my personal Instagram 876 00:49:18,880 --> 00:49:21,759 Speaker 1: at Georgie Stevenson. I hope you have an amazing day 877 00:49:21,840 --> 00:49:24,840 Speaker 1: or night whenever you're listening in Bye for now, and 878 00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:25,839 Speaker 1: I'll talk to you soon