How To Start Meditating

In this episode of the Soulfully You Podcast, Coach Chris Rodriguez discusses the importance and power of meditation, demystifying common misconceptions, and sharing practical steps to incorporate meditation into daily life.

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Transcript

Intro: 0:05

Hey friend. Welcome to the Soulfully You Podcast with Coach Chris Rodriguez. I'm a movement and mindset coach, and I believe in a deeper way of living, a more soulful way of being. Join me each week for conversations about how to put a little more soul. Into our work, our relationships in our everyday lives.

Coach Chris: 0:44

For all of my life, I grew up in church. My mother's a preacher. And one of the first lessons she taught me through telling me, through me watching her and through the places she would bring me is the importance and power of prayer. My mother, I remember her and still today people call her. With per requests, she always led prayer meetings and she would take me to these prayer meetings. Sometimes they were just in somebody's living room at their house. Sometimes they were these big conferences. But prayer was a big center and focus of our house and specifically her life. In prayer meetings is where I first was exposed to music and the language of how to flow with songs. Prayer is super important. It is the language of faith. It is the language of petition. Out of hope for what you see and what you wish to see. As important as prayers, it wasn't until later in my life till I understood or even knew that I had a need to develop a practice of meditation. Now, growing up in church, I saw a lot of people praying, praying, praying, praying. And again, I think it's good. I think it's beautiful. I think it's great. I saw some people just talk because they, want to use it as a way to feel good about themselves. I've seen people. Use it in self centered ways, manipulative ways. There is this, Comedian Dean Cole, he is opening the NAACP awards It's like the funniest thing I've seen, And he's just kinda saying something that you hear in black culture And black communities all the time, you know, we in this mess, we in, because we need to come back to prayer. And then he starts praying and he's a comedian. So he's joking. He's praying for Kanye that Kanye would go back to his old music and, get rid of the swastikas and he prays that Kanye's wife, that the Lord would cover her. Because she cold, uh, so good, but in all seriousness, prayer is one half of the coin in prayer. There is a lot that is said, but do you have a practice in your life of not saying anything and just being? With the circumstances that are going on with the things that you can't change. Do you have micro practices of coping with anxiety? I don't involve you speaking, but and a practice of growing an awareness of yourself of the present moment. And. Of getting the right perspective of life. And today's episode, I want to share some thoughts and some practices about how you can start meditating. Maybe you've never done it before. Maybe you do it off and on. Maybe you don't find yourself good at it. I'm going to share some thoughts of my own. But I'm also going to give you some wisdom from some other folks who got some good things to say about meditation./ Before I do that, I want to just break down some, misconceptions about meditation. One, to meditate means that you have to be some monk. Or you have to go on pilgrimage or some trip to Bali or some yoga retreat or you have to do it in a yoga class. No, you don't have to, shave your head and be a monk. You don't have to wear all white. You don't have to go to Bali or Costa Rica. you don't have to put on your Lululemon pants and You know, go to some fancy yoga studio. The beautiful thing about meditation is that you can do it anywhere. Another misconception, and this is for my church folks, and this is for all those people that just are like, Chris, you do this yoga stuff and we don't mess with you anymore. That it's like opening you up to some demons or something like that. Nope. That ain't it. Very wrong. Meditation is something that you do in your body. Another word for meditation is mindfulness. It is a way of calming and centering your mind because Your mind has good thoughts, beautiful thoughts, productive thoughts. Your mind has ideas and processes of solving problems. Your mind also holds anxiety. Your mind May go back and forth trying to solve problems and might need clarity. we talk about meditation, We're talking about calming the mind and we're also talking about calming our central nervous system. this is where we experience our fear responses. So when we're anxious, we're experiencing that through the central nervous system. It's happening from the stem of the brain all the way down to the spine, touching all of your major organs and major muscle groups and that central nervous system ends in the guts. So when we talk about meditating to center and calm our mind. And using it as a way to center and calm our central nervous system. We're also saying that meditation and mindfulness helps us calm our bodies. Maybe yoga might not be the thing for you, that's fine. but having some kind of practice, usually involving the breath, usually involving stillness of the body. but not always stillness of the body to center rest and just be with what's going on. Now there's different types of meditation. I think one that we see and that we get the misconception about all the time I don't necessarily think it's accessible to a lot of folks. Transcendental meditation. And the reason why I say it's not accessible for a lot of folks is because usually it costs a lot of money. You have to get a specific teacher. And what transcendental meditation is essentially is it's you are working with this teacher and you find a word or some kind of fixation point that you focus on. and you know what it is. Maybe your teacher knows what it is, but it is a deep, deep, deep meditation. Again, it usually Cost a lot of money and usually it's with a specific teacher. For example, I was with, one of my students back when I was, running a wellness program at a major tech company. And he is. High powered VP, Indian man, and he left the company and came back. he was one of my regular students in yoga and I just started talking to him. I'm like, Hey, where you at? He said, well, you know, I'm, I'm just trying to get back. I left the company because I was stressed. I also was going through a divorce. So what I did during that time is I like just Took my time. I traveled to India, found a meditation teacher, found a school, you know, just really sat with a teacher and got certified in yoga and breath and got refreshed and then came back. And now I'm back at the company and I'm trying to just get regular in my practice. And I think that's beautiful. I think that's great. If you can do that after divorce and just burn out at work. Yeah, I can't do that. I am not this high powered, VP at a major tech company and a lot of people can't do that. I can't just get up and leave my son and my wife and go to India and, sit on a mountain and meditate. I can't do that. It costs a lot, takes a lot of time. It's not something that I can do everywhere. meditation practices that are more accessible are going to be a standard breathing meditation. And I'll break that down a little bit more. and this is one you're just sitting, you're focusing on just concentrating on your breath. There's different kind of techniques for different kind of results. Another one is a movement meditation. This is something that you see in practices like, yes, yoga, but like I would say more like a Tai Chi practice or, When Bruce Lee talks about, be water, my friend, and for him, he didn't really sit and meditate. He was moving. He was practicing his sequences. And that was a meditative practice. Uh, walking meditation is a good one. trying to be mindful as you're walking around your block, walking through a forest, walking in your neighborhood, even walking on a treadmill. That all being said, I want you to hear from some folks that got some good things to say. So here's something from rapper J Cole. He is in a rare interview. He doesn't interview with a lot of people, but interviewing with radio. Personality. Angie Martinez, and he's talking about his rituals before a show and just kind of the place for meditation in his life. Go ahead and check this out./

J cole: 8:37

Really, the only thing I consistently do is, like, I do my breathing. Like, I try to do, like, a meditation before I go on. Yeah. Are you good at meditating? Because I'm terrible at it. Am I good at it? Yes. It depends on, I don't know if I'm good. It works for me, you know what I mean? Like, I have a A thing. A style and a technique that, like, that I use for myself. Like, you make people get out, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Breathing. Yeah. But what I do in the room before a show is different than what I do at home. You know what I mean? It's just like, before the show it's like I just need five minutes. If I can get it. Yeah, I'll take 10 but I'll take three. I just got to do something to like, yeah, clear my head. Some people probably call that prayer because it's like a form of prayer. I do that separately. Really? Yeah. I mean, you could probably, yeah, I do them separately at the actually do it at the end. So wait, are you like, because I've heard you say this, but so you like meditation is like become a thing, like a regular part of your life. Like you do it all the time. No, this is, yeah. Um, I think people think that like, cause I've had somebody talk to me like, Oh man, they think that like, I'm a big, right? Like you meditated before this interview. Yeah, I actually did. Did you really? I did. I love that. Yeah. But even that is misleading. I do it when, uh, when I get a little anxiety, you know what I mean? Or a lot of anxiety when there's like a stressful situation. That's why I don't, that's what I don't like about myself is like. I want to become disciplined to where it is a part of my life every day when things are like good or things are like stressful. So like, I haven't done an interview in mad long. So like before I come up here, I'm feeling like I'm excited, but it's also like, Oh, it's a little nervous. Like it would feel like before I go on a big show or something. That's so surprising to me. Yeah. It's crazy. Cause I would be, I would feel the same way on my side of this. So I'm driving here. I didn't expect to do this interview. So I'm not all the way as prepared as maybe I would have been how we plan this. So me, I had the same thing. Mine, I translate it to prayer or whatever. Maybe I don't call it meditation, but it's the same thing. It's like, just make sure my intentions are good. Just make sure that I'm, somebody's walking with me, he's walking with me to whatever I'm doing. And then that's kind of like it, then you kind of got to let it go. So it's probably a similar thing. Well, to meditate, I do that. The, the, I should have did that before this too, because it's just like, I basically state my intentions and like, ask for like guidance. Like, yo, I know these words, these people pay hard earned money to come to this show. Let me nail everything. Let me try things I haven't done before. That's a prayer. Like, I'm asking for like guidance and like help in that area. The meditation for me is more like. being present. I'm not trying to think anything. I'm not praying about anything. I'm just still observing. So if my mind is racing and it might be nerves or it might be there's a bill do or it might be this is happening in the family. I'm noticing it and I'm trying to let it go, let it go, but also not fight it. Bring my attention back to like my breathing, something that's currently happening. The sound of that fan I just listen and try to like focus on that and what you'll notice is like your, my mind will start going to something else like, Oh, my mom said something on the phone. And I'll start thinking about that. And I might go on a 30 second trip on that thought. And then I catch it like, Oh, look what just happened. It's fine. Let me bring my attention back to that fan, something that's like present moment. And like, I want to become a person that does that every day. Not just when like I feel anxiety, I feel stress because I'm like, yo, I see what it does for me in those moments when like Things are like stressful or like I'm feeling anxious. It settles me, it brings me like back to the current moment. I can't imagine what it would do for me if you did it every day on a Tuesday in the crib. You know what I mean? Like, I can't imagine. Like, I feel like we got to get there. You got to get there. You inspire me. You just, I just learned something from you just now because I get anxiety about meditation because I do that. I travel. My brain starts and then I get frustrated with myself and I'm like, I can't do it. Oh, like I'm doing this wrong. I'm doing it wrong. And then I get aggravated and frustrated and then I don't want to do that again. And so I don't do it as much as I should. But giving yourself the like freedom to just kind of say, I got that. Okay. But let me, I'm gonna try it that way. Like it's supposed to be like when you start meditating, that's supposed to happen. All this showing you is that, and all it's showing me and showing all of us is that like, I, I'm not in control. I'm letting my mind like run the show, which is fine. Um, I don't want that to happen for myself. You know what I mean? I don't want to be like a slave to my thoughts. Yes. You know what I mean? Like, I don't want to, and, and I feel like that's how I've been living my life. Yeah. Being like a slave to like my thoughts and 98 percent of my thoughts ain't even my thoughts. It's something I've seen on Twitter, heard on TV, something my mom told me when I was younger, something somebody else said. So these thoughts are like fears and worries or like just ideas from other people. And it's like. That stuff is controlling me in a meditation and I, I'm talking about it as if I do this all the time. No, but it still doesn't matter. It's bad. Somebody like me who only does it once in a blue moon and wants to, you're more advanced than me. So you get that. You're already more advanced than me. So like, if you catch yourself doing it again, just enjoy the fact that you can even recognize that it's hard. Yeah. Like, Oh man, like this is hard for me. It's okay. Let me just bring it back.

Coach Chris: 13:27

All right. This next clip is from someone who you hear me talk about a lot. Tikhnahan. He's talking about. Meditation and its purpose for embracing the reality of now and being present. He's got some really good things to say. Check it out./

Thich: 13:43

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Coach Chris: 15:26

With all this being said, how do you start a meditation practice? All right. The first thing is don't try to overhaul your life. Like any new practice, it needs to be reachable. And a lot of time we get fixated on, Oh, I got to hit this goal. Or like, I got to do it for this amount of time. what is the least amount of time that you can do it consistently? So can you meditate for five minutes? Can you meditate for two minutes? Where is a place that you can do it? Meditation can happen anywhere. I breathe when I'm sitting and waiting in the airport, I breathe right before bed or When I'm taking my son on a walk, I take a moment to breathe when he throws Something on the ground this food that I just prepared for him and he's like, no, I don't want it and he throws I breathe To manage my anxiety and my anger, One minute two minutes five minutes Can you do it consistently? After a while, that time can to like seven minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes. the next thing is you want to set yourself up, in something that's going to be pleasing. So I like to meditate to music, instrumental music or an ocean sound, or, a campfire sound, just kind of something in the background. that's pleasing to my ears. And then I count the breaths, sometimes I count, one on the inhale, two on the exhale. There's different ways, but I try to focus on my breath is by giving myself numbers. Another way to start a meditation practice is through a practice called visualization. Visualization is a powerful tool to help you and I'm not going to say tool, it's a powerful toy to help you embrace your imagination, your creativity, it's great for problem solving, it's great for seeing outcomes that you've never seen. I feel like visualization and imagination are the language of hope. what I'm going to do is I'm actually going to lead you through. a visualization and mindful breathing practice right now, it's going to take five minutes. And this is something that I love to do as a center in practice with my clients whenever I am leading. A group workshop. It helps people get unstuck. And it opens people up to learn any new information. I would invite you to do this before you go to work. Before you, try something difficult. Try this practice. This is what I call the warehouse meditation. And how it works is like this. I'm gonna lead you through prompts and I'm gonna Have you imagine you are walking into a warehouse and that warehouse represents the compartments of your mind. And in warehouses, there's different containers, right? And you're going to walk through and imagine these different containers. And I'm going to prompt you to find maybe the joy box, maybe the play box, maybe the fear box. And There are some prompts that are going to have you imagine reaching in those box. There are some prompts that are going to have you just noticing that box. It's a good exercise for the mind. So, wherever you are, try to sit or if you're walking, sometimes I like to listen to these episodes while I'm walking. Whoever you are, try to have your feet secure on the ground. Try to be grounded. Try to have soft knees. If you're on a seat, try to sit at the edge of your seat. if you're walking or moving, try to just relax your body. Try to relax the shoulders specifically. Drop them back and down. Try to open your mouth and relax your jaw. Try to take all the tension out and try to relax your fists. So open your hands and just kind of relax your hands. As we breathe, we want to breathe through the nose. If you have any restrictions, you're going to breathe through the nose and the mouth. Inhale through the nose. And what you're going to do with your belly is you're going to expand it like a big balloon as you breathe in. As you exhale, you're going to collapse that belly. Okay, still trying to relax the body. If you're listening to this while you're driving, keep your eyes open. Keep your eyes aware on what's going on, alright? And if you're in any situation where you're operating heavy machinery, make sure that you keep your awareness, you know, in your eyes and your head on a swivel. If not, I want to invite you to walking to if you're walking don't close your eyes. but if you're in a place where you can sit and be grounded, go ahead and either close your eyes or squint in a little soft gaze and go ahead and begin to breathe in through the nose, expanding the belly for one, two, three, four, and exhale for three, two, four, three, two, one. One. Keeping that 4 4 breath. Inhale. One. Two. Three. Four. And exhale. Four. Three. Two. One. Inhale. One. Two. Three. Four. Exhale. Four. Three. Two. Three. Two. One. One. Keeping that breath going. Inhale. One. Two. Three. Four. Exhale. Four. Three. Two. One. Keeping that breath going. I want to invite you to visualize with me. Imagine you're standing in front of a warehouse. Maybe it's not a warehouse. Maybe it's a barn. As you look at that warehouse or that barn. What do the doors in front look like? Are they big wooden barn doors? Or is it a metal gate that comes up? What do the doors to that warehouse look like? As you open those doors and walk inside, what do you see? How organized is the space? Are there boxes stacked on shelves? Is there clutter on the floor? How tall are the ceilings? What types of containers are in The space as you walk through the space, I want you to look at and notice a few different containers. I want you to imagine the container that holds your pleasure. What does it look like? How heavy is it? What's the color? What's the shape? What's the texture? As you move. Through this space, I want you to find the container that holds joy. Is it opened? Is it closed? Is it locked? Notice that container moving through this space, I want you to notice the container that holds. Maybe that container is not a box. Maybe it's a cage. I don't want you to look in it. I don't want you to engage with it. I just want you to notice it. Moving past that container. I want you to find the container. For rest and ease. Examine that container. Pick it up and feel how light and effortless it is to hold. Notice the texture. Feel how soft it is. Go ahead and visualize opening that container. What's inside? Now visualize reaching in that container. And pulling out a souvenir for you to take with you. Put it on your person, put it in your pocket. Close that container. And move back through the warehouse. Past the fear. Past the joy. Past the pleasure. And make your way outside. of the warehouse. Go ahead and take a few moments to bring yourself back into your space. Shrug your shoulders. Roll out your wrists. Maybe stretch your fingers. Maybe you're blinking your eyes open if they were closed. Taking any kind of twist or stretch that is soothing. And remember you have access to rest and ease. You don't have to take a trip. You don't have to go to a class. exists within you.

Speaker: 23:36

Thank you for listening to the Soulfully You Podcast with Coach Chris Rodriguez. If you like the show, help others find me by subscribing and leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to connect with me on Instagram at Coach underscore Chris Rodriguez. For more episodes along with all of my coaching programs, visit me@www.coach chris rodriguez.com. Special thanks to my team behind the scenes music by Dan Smith. And remember, whatever you do, wherever you find yourself today, make sure you put some soul in it.