Dream Power Radio
Dream Power Radio
Ann Swanson - The Most Effective Meditation Techniques for Real Results
Meditation has been shown to have remarkable effects for relaxation and mental clarity. But many people shy away from considering a meditation practice because they believe it’s too hard or something they’ll never be able to master.
Best-selling author and meditation expert Ann Swanson shatters these myths in this compelling episode. Ann has written about the transformative power of meditation in her book Meditation for the Real World in which she details the many varieties of meditation available for consideration.
Here are some takeaways from our conversation:
· meditation is more than sitting down by yourself
· the unusual places meditation can be effective
· the benefits of earthing
· how meditation changes our physiological state
· the practical benefits of meditation
· guided vs solo meditation – which is better?
· how to use meditation for pain relief
· the way to use meditation to promote a good night’s sleep
· the simple way meditation can improve your memory
If you’re looking to be calmer and more focused, you won’t want to miss this insightful episode of Dream Power Radio.
Ann Swanson is the author of the internationally bestselling book SCIENCE OF YOGA, which has been translated into over 15 languages. Her new book, Meditation for the Real World, illuminates the fascinating science behind meditation with step-by-step practices. She worked alongside Harvard neuroscientist Dr. Sara Lazar and an illustrator for the New York Times to create this science-backed visual guide. It’s important to note that Ann wasn’t a naturally “chill person,” and meditation didn’t come easy to her. Overcoming her own chronic pain and anxiety led her to India to study yoga and meditation, to China to explore tai chi, and to earn a Master of Science graduate degree in Yoga Therapy. Now, Ann blends cutting-edge research with ancient wisdom, resulting in realistic techniques you won’t just learn – you’ll love to live by!
Website: https://www.annswansonwellness.com
And if you go to https://meditationfortherealworld.com/ Ann is offering a free five-day meditation challenge with science-backed practices that are less than ten minutes each.
I'd love to know what you think of this episode. Text me here.
Don't miss a single episode! By clicking the "Support the Show" link, you can subscribe to my podcast and get sneak previews of upcoming episodes, bonus material and special giveaways designed to uplift your dreaming life.
And if you want more ways to find joy in your life, check out my website thedreamcoach.net for information about my courses, blogs, books and ways to create a life you love.
Announcer (00:00:04) - This is Dream Power Radio, the place where your dreams turn into reality. Here is your host, Debbie Spector Weisman.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:00:13) - Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Dream Power Radio. I'm your host, Certified Dream-Life Coach Debbie Spector Weisman. This is the place where we talk about dreams, both daytime and nighttime dreams. And now you can use them to make the internal shift to a life you love and rediscover the truth of who you really are. For a while now, I've created a morning routine for myself. Some people might call it a ritual, but for reasons even I'm not sure about, I wouldn't go as far as to say that. But every morning, right after I wake up and make notes in my dream journal, I lie back in bed and meditate for 30 minutes or so. I allow myself to listen to a recorded voice and just be. I then get up feeling refreshed, reinvigorated, and ready to start my day. Meditation is such a powerful way to relieve stress and get deeper self-awareness.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:01:10) - And yet, I can't tell you how many people I speak to who tell me they just can't meditate. Mostly they say they can't sit still that long or get into a place where they can quiet their mind or simply don't believe it provides any benefits to them. But my guest today, bestselling author and yoga expert Ann Swanson urges skeptics like these to take another look at meditation as part of their healing journey. In her book "Meditation for the Real World", Ann explains that meditation can take place in many forms and doesn't have to be complicated or done in just one particular place, Ann also offers specific techniques to use when dealing with many different kinds of stressful situations, some of which could be quite surprising. And with that, welcome to Dream Power Radio Ann.
Ann Swanson (00:02:03) - I'm so glad to be here, Debbie.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:02:05) - Oh, it's my pleasure. So Ann let's get started with this. When most people think of meditation, they think about lying or sitting in place for a while with their eyes closed, letting their thoughts wander. But you maintain that that's just one of the many different ways to meditate.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:02:22) - So for those who say, I hate to meditate, let's talk about some of those other ways.
Ann Swanson (00:02:28) - Yeah, well, of course you can even do meditation while moving. A walking meditation is a great alternative if you don't feel like sitting still or even lying still. I love the example you gave of lying down, because some people think you can only sit, so you can lie down. You can sit down in a chair. Doesn't have to be on the floor, but if you need to move, you can get outside and walk or walk down the halls back and forth. I like to go in my backyard and do it barefoot, because then you're getting the extra benefits that I talk about in meditation for the real world of what scientists call earthing. And that's when you're in physical contact with the ground. It sounds so simple, but it has been shown in research and really prestigious journals that it lowers inflammation, anxiety, depression to be in contact with the electrons of the Earth, the negative charge. And it's just so simple.
Ann Swanson (00:03:29) - So, you know, you can do your meditation while walking. Also on the cover of the book "Meditation for the Real World", we have somebody sitting on a subway or bus. She looks like the only one that's relaxed amongst all the other people, hunched over their phone or computer scrolling, I presume. And she has headphones on, so maybe she's listening to a guided meditation like you listen to. Or maybe she's listening to a song that relaxes her. You can have your eyes open and be in a public space. We all have that, like minute of waiting, you know, maybe at the doctor's office where you're just sitting there waiting rather than scrolling while you wait. Meditate. While you wait. It only takes one minute.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:04:17) - And that's something that is surprising, too, because people think, oh, you've got to sit there for a long time, 30 minutes, an hour, or even longer than that. But what benefits do you get for one minute?
Ann Swanson (00:04:27) - Well, we can practice one minute meditation in a moment if you'd like, so that your listeners can get the benefit.
Ann Swanson (00:04:34) - But you'll feel immediate effects. So immediately your blood pressure goes down, your heart rate slows, your brain wave and network activity changes to be from this place of listening right now and conversing like we are that focused sort of beta waves, we say to alpha brainwaves, which are that relaxed state. We can even go into deeper states of brainwaves that are typically only seen in sleep, like delta brainwaves when we meditate, or theta brainwaves, typically seen in like creative activities and in children. So your brainwaves change also in the brain activity, and you'll feel this sense of calm and clarity just from taking a few slow, deep breaths. It's a physiological effect that can happen immediately. Would you like to try?
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:05:33) - Let's try it. Absolutely. Yeah.
Ann Swanson (00:05:35) - Let's do a one-minute meditation. This is one of the the simplest practices that you can memorize. A lot of the one-minute meditations in the book. You read it, and then you can memorize it and do it in these moments in your life.
Ann Swanson (00:05:47) - So this is the five senses meditation. If you are at a screen looking, or you're inside and in a small space, I want you to try to look outside if you can, maybe out of a window. Maybe down a hall. Or expand your vision through not looking up close. Now, if you're driving, you're already doing that, so no worries. You don't have to close your eyes. Adapt to this to fit your circumstances.
Debbie Spector Weisman (00:06:17) - It's a little hard to close your eyes while you're driving.
Ann Swanson (00:06:19) - Be safe. You can totally do what we're going to do while doing whatever you're doing right now. If you're on a walk, you can still do this too and infuse mindfulness into that activity. So we'll start by noticing what you see. And if you can look and allow your vision to expand. Looking further out, our eyes and our brain like to have this expansive, relaxed vision rather than the narrow vision of a screen. So just pause and look.
Ann Swanson (00:06:49) - Notice colors, lights, and if it is safe to do so and you'd like to, it's just an option, you can close your eyes. You'll still notice colors, lights, shapes even with the eyes closed. Notice what you see. And then shift your attention to notice what you hear. Perhaps far away in the distant. To up close. My voice. And perhaps even hearing your own breath if you listen closely. Listen. And take a deeper breath in through the nose. Notice what you smell. Slowly exhale. Notice any tastes that are present. And then bring your awareness to your physical body. What do you feel? What do you feel under your skin? Perhaps you feel compelled to change your posture or move a little bit as you listen to your physical body. Observe. What do you feel? Maybe the pulsation of blood. Energy by upgrading. We listen and pay attention. There's wisdom there. Our bodies constantly speaking to us. And then notice all your senses at once. What do you feel? Smell. Taste here. Your eyes are closed. Gently flutter your eyelashes. Notice what you see. And can you take in all the senses simultaneously as you continue to listen to this conversation?
Ann Swanson (00:08:30) -
Speaker 00:08:47 (()) -
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:08:49 Oh, I feel so relaxed. It's like, okay, well, I didn't go to sleep. Interview over
Speaker Swanson (00:08:56) - It only takes a minute.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:08:57 Yeah, that was wonderful. But then let me ask you this. Do the effects grow exponentially the longer you do it?
Speaker Swanson (00:09:06) - Well, you know, the more often you do it, you're going to be practicing going into that state quickly, which could be really critical. If you're in that stress state, you know, for example, you open a stressful email and you're feeling really stressed. You write a response. Before sending that response, turn your desk chair around, look out the window. Do this five senses meditation. And I guarantee you when you get back, you'll have more clarity of what to say and whether it's right to send it.
Speaker Swanson (00:09:32) - So if you can fit these little brief resets to your nervous system throughout your day, then you're going to have that immediate effect physiologically, but you're also going to see it cascade into your life where you're having better relationships, better connection. So I would say the more often you do those short practices, they build up. And then I do encourage doing a longer practice of 5 to 10 minutes, so it doesn't have to be 20 minutes seated on a floor. You could do 5 to 10 minutes seated in a chair. And actually, for your listeners I have a gift. If they go to meditationfortherealworld.Com, they can find out about the book and get into a free five-day meditation challenge with science backed meditations that are less than ten minutes each. So that is something that you can build and and fit into your day, and you want to fit it into a time in your day that is next to a habit you already have ingrained. I love your example, right? When you wake up, you write in your dream journal and then you meditate.
Speaker Swanson (00:10:32) - So if you have something like that, you journal. Maybe you have your first cup of coffee or tea. If you run, do your meditation practice right before taking your first steps. So fit it with something you already have a habit of, and you're going to be more likely to stick with it.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:10:46 Yeah, what I love about what you just said is the practical part of meditation, because so many people think, oh, meditation, meditation is so woo woo, or it's out there and it doesn't really have any real benefits, but the real practical one is relaxing yourself so you don't screw up your business or relationships by getting angry at somebody when you really want to relax. I mean, that's great.
Speaker Swanson (00:11:13) - Even a one breath meditation when you're about to yell at your kids. It could make a difference. Because when we do slow, deep breathing, we have this physiological effect that's immediate, right? So you can do even shorter than a minute. But I like that minute time frame because when people say I don't have the time, you have a minute, you're scrolling while you wait, you're checking your email, you have one minute, and you can feel that effect in about a minute.
Speaker Swanson (00:11:40) - So it's a perfect way to integrate it into your life if you feel like you don't have the time.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:11:46 Very much so. Is a guided meditation more effective than meditating by yourself, for example?
Speaker Swanson (00:11:54) - I think for beginners, if you're going to go to a ten-minute meditation, it's going to be helpful to have a guide. Now, if you're just doing these one-minute meditations as an absolute beginner, you can guide yourself through this five senses meditation or I have several other one-minute meditations scattered throughout the book. But usually for beginners, you need that guide in the beginning, but once you get more and more used to it, you can guide yourself.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:12:22 And when you're dealing with a meditation, is it good to have your mind wander, or is in a guided meditation to just be focused on what the person is saying? Or how does that work?
Speaker Swanson (00:12:35) - I'm glad you're addressing this, because most people feel like I can't meditate because my mind wanders too much.
Speaker Swanson (00:12:42) - But this is a misconception about meditation. People think that meditation means stopping your thoughts, and actually it doesn't. It's a process. It's a several step process. So first step is you're given something to focus on. So in this example we did each of our senses one by one. But your teacher might give you some words to repeat, a mantra to repeat. Or perhaps you'll have your breath as the focal point. So whatever the focal point is that the teacher tells you, you'll focus on it and then guess what? Second step of meditation. Mind wanders. Spontaneous thought comes up. Even for the most advanced of meditators. That's literally the second step of meditation. That's when we go into the brain activity called the default mode network. And that's where we are on default most of the time. So it makes sense that we're going to go there. And then the next step is really critical. The next step is you're going to notice your mind is wandering throughout the day. We don't actually even notice that we're mind wandering.
Speaker Swanson (00:13:47) - According to Harvard research, 47% of the day. So we start to believe those thoughts. A lot of times they're negative, you know, like, oh, I'm worried about the future. Why did I say this yesterday or what am I going to eat later kind of things. So we start to kind of get sucked into them. But right now during this practice we're going to notice them. We're not going to necessarily believe them. We're going to instead redirect back to the present moment if that thought isn't critical. So, for example, if you're thinking about what you're going to eat later, it's not important for this one-minute meditation or 5 minutes or 10 minutes, right? You can get to that later. If you're thinking about the smell of smoke in the room and that the house might be on fire, you're not going to continue on. You're going to go and get out of the house, right? So your salience network up, your brain picks up and determines, is this salient? Is this important for my safety right now? If it's not, you're going to come back to that focal point.
Speaker Swanson (00:14:46) - That's the process of meditation. When we're in that focal point, we're in this place a brain activity called the Central Executive Network. And it's when we are the most focused, compassionate, self-aware, connected. And so we want to practice getting into that state more often. So if your mind wanders a lot, it's more reason to meditate because it is boot camp for your focus. You're going to get better and better with time.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:15:16 Oh, that's a wonderful way to end this segment. We have to take a short break. Now we are speaking all about meditation with Ann Swanson and we'll be right back.
Speaker 00:15:58 (()) - Welcome back to Dream Power Radio with your host, Debbie Spector Weisman.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:16:05 Yes. Welcome back to Dream Power Radio. I'm your host, Debbie Spector Weisman, and we're talking about meditation with Ann Swanson. And as someone who's interested in dreams, I'm also interested in being able to get a good night's sleep so I can dream. Can meditation help promote good sleep?
Speaker Swanson (00:16:24) - Absolutely. That's one of the areas that it has research to support it for improving your sleep, quality of sleep, depth of sleep, helping you get to sleep, helping you get back to sleep when you wake up in the middle of the night. so I use it for all of those things. Many people like to practice their meditation before bed to help them wind down if they have a really busy mind. I even like to practice. If I wake up in the middle of the night and I can't get back to sleep, instead of grabbing the phone and pulling up a guided meditation, in that moment, I will guide myself through one of the meditations from the meditation for the Real World book. I can share that if you'd like, that.
Speaker Swanson (00:17:07) - That meditation of what to do when you wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:17:12 Oh, that is great because so many people have sleep issues and be wonderful to have that piece of advice to offer.
Speaker Swanson (00:17:20) - Yeah. So all you have to remember is down and you don't have to remember all of these, because it is just the down meditation. Whichever of these work for you right now, we're going to do it just to relax right now, obviously not fall asleep as we're listening, but we're going to do it to relax. Whichever one connected to you, try to remember that in the middle of the night. So this is when we're going to settle down right now. We'll, you know, sit down, get comfortable, feel the energy settling down at night. We'll get our position lying down. And then begin to bring your breath down. Allow your abdomen to move with your breath rather than your chest. Diaphragmatic breathing. Breathing in the belly. Bringing the breath down.
Speaker Swanson (00:18:10) - And slowing the breath down. Try to slow your breath down a few moments. And then we'll just simply scan down. Scanning down through the head. Shoulders. Torso. Notice your pelvis, thighs, lower legs and feet. Scanning down through your body. And we'll count down from 5 to 1 at night. I actually want you to count down from 100 to 1. So all you're going to do is you'll inhale and exhale five. And then in your head. The next breath is four. And you'll count down to one. In this circumstance, notice if you feel more relaxed from settling down. And there was a quicker version of it. You could take your time with those cues, but all you have to really remember is down. A lot of times our energy at night, it's really, really high, right? Like all in our heads. So bring it down. Feel your body release down with each and every exhale.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:19:31 Now that is great. And we're going to remember that the next time I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep.
Speaker Swanson (00:19:39) - Yes.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:19:40 Because that does happen. You know, we're all human. There's also a special kind of meditation called yoga nidra that sort of combines meditation with dreaming. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Speaker Swanson (00:19:52) - Absolutely. So you're going to address my favorite type of meditation. And you are lying down and you're basically tricking your body into thinking you're sleeping. They usually last 20 to 30 minutes, which sounds like a really long time, but it goes by like that, right? So you're guided through a lot of what we just did, scanning through your body, counting down. A lot of these similar techniques are used. And what happens is the brain goes from that beta wave activity to relaxation, alpha wave. It actually follows the path as if we're falling asleep. And then we go into delta wave activity. That deep sleep while you're still awake to observe it. So you know that moment when you're about to fall asleep, you can kind of twitch, you know, like catch yourself maybe if you're napping or something.
Speaker Swanson (00:20:49) - So you might even feel that happening because your body and even brain fall asleep, but you are awake to observe it. It's very interesting phenomenon. So you get the benefits of meditation. You may even get some of that spontaneous mind wandering that's similar to dreaming, the kind of processing that your brain is doing during that 20 to 30 minutes. It's a great thing to do to help you fall asleep. Obviously, many people will fall asleep for real during it, but I also do it in the afternoon when I feel like, oh, I need a nap. But I'm pretty like wound up. I need like a guide. So often they are guided. It is a little harder to guide yourself through that one, because you're going into that deep sleep but still awake to observe it. Pretty interesting. Pretty surreal.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:21:43 It is. And very effective. It's been a while since I've done it, but I've done it in the past, and I don't think I've ever felt more relaxed in the daytime doing that.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:21:58 It's very, very structured. In your book, you talk about a number of ways that we can use meditation to ease specific situations. People, especially people in my age group, are now struggling with memory issues. But you say that you can use meditation to actually improve our memory, so how would that work?
Speaker Swanson (00:22:21) - Yeah. So some of the most interesting research on meditation is in neuroscience. And I actually teamed with Harvard neuroscientist Dr. Sara Lazar on this book, Meditation for the Real World, to integrate that cutting edge research. And what she and many others have found in their research is we know that the brain degrades or atrophies with age. It's part of aging. That's critical. Areas having to do with focus and memory tend to get smaller. However, meditation rebuilds those exact same areas so you can preserve the brain tissue, or even if you've lost some of that connectivity and density of the gray matter in those areas having to do with memory and focus, you can rebuild it back from meditation. And even as short of a time as eight weeks, it has shown to improve the density of those areas, which shows improvements and memory focus, emotional regulation, ability to plan.
Speaker Swanson (00:23:27) - So it is, in essence, helping your brain be younger or act younger by meditating. So it's definitely very, very helpful for memory. I've found that myself, and part of the mechanism of that is also helping with stress management, because when our cortisol levels are high, that stress hormone makes memory very difficult. So if we can counter that and less in the chronic cortisol heighten, then we can then improve our memory and release endorphins. Those feel-good chemicals instead.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:24:04 Okay. Has there been any research tying this type of meditation to actually improving diseases of memory, like dementia or Alzheimer's?
Speaker Swanson (00:24:15) - Yes. There has. And there's a section in the book on that because I know that's of great interest and very interesting meditation technique that they do that is tactile. So it's a traditional yogic meditation that incorporates using your hands. And if you're if your hands are free right now as you're listening, you can touch your thumb to your first finger. And then to your second and then to your third on both hands and then to your pinky.
Speaker Swanson (00:24:42) - So you're just alternating. You start over pointer middle ring pinky. And it's a mantra. You repeat where they start with the pointer and you say sa, and then middle ta, ring na, pinky ma. Sa ta na ma. This has been shown to be really helpful for people in those early stages of memory loss and Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, and it's a ten-minute practice that they do daily that I outline in the book from the research, actually talk to the researchers to get it just right. And it's really, really relaxing. but it's as simple as that. And repeating that that has these effects on quality of life and memory.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:25:37 It's amazing. It's something that actually is that simple, can have that powerful effect.
Speaker Swanson (00:25:43) - Yeah. It's so fascinating as you dive into the research, because we're using these super high-tech, cutting-edge technology, these fMRI scanners, and the top institutions in the world to measure things that are done. So low tech, no cost. You could do it at home.
Speaker Swanson (00:26:01) - They've been doing it for thousands of years. There's a reason that these practices have stood the test of time. They work. And now we're uncovering that with science. And that's what I really wanted to illuminate. And Meditation for the Real World is the science behind it to motivate us, but also practical step by step. Here's how you can improve these specific challenges we have in life.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:26:24 And very often so many people. If science doesn't prove it, it's not real. And it's been going on for thousands and thousands of years.
Speaker Swanson (00:26:34) - But yeah, it's definitely motivating. It also changes policy. So we're more likely to be able to bring it into schools, hospitals. The doctor is going to recommend it, so it helps it be more accessible and mainstream. So that's the benefit of the science in the West. But yes, it's uncovering what the ancient yogis and masters have known for ages.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:26:54 Exactly. We're getting close to the end. But I did want to touch on this. But before we end it, because one of the other areas that a lot of people have issues with is chronic pain. So how can meditation help that?
Speaker Spector (Weisman) -
Speaker Swanson (00:27:08) - Yeah, so I actually have had chronic pain since I was a teenager, and meditation has been the biggest thing to improve my chronic pain. And it has shown to be particularly helpful because when pain becomes chronic, it is a central nervous system dysregulation or even misinterpretation of the signals. So its central nervous system, your brain then meditation obviously is going to be a great antidote. The same chronic critical areas of the brain that tended to degrade with age actually tend to degrade even faster with chronic pain. So that's why we have that brain fog and difficulty focusing when we have pain that. So meditation physically is rebuilding in those areas. But also for me, it's really helped me to become more mindful of my triggers and those early signals that I'm about to have a pain flare so I can integrate self-care early rather than catastrophizing in my mind. Oh my gosh, this is going to ruin everything. I can take the bath, do the yoga, you know, do the things that only take 10 to 20 minutes but could prevent that pain flare.
Speaker Swanson (00:28:18) - And I can also start to notice what causes the pain. I noticed things like certain foods or how important my sleep was. So that cause and effect becomes clearer. and we're relaxing. And with chronic pain, we tend to be more cortisol, more adrenaline, more stress hormones. So we're helping to lower that as well as lower inflammation, significant lowering of inflammation with meditation too. So it has been a godsend for me. And in improving my chronic pain.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:28:48 Well, I tell you, we have just barely scratched the surface of your book. So how can people find out more about you and your book?
Speaker Swanson (00:28:56) - Definitely go to meditationforthe realworld.Com and you'll find out how to get the book, but also how to join the free meditation challenge, which is science backed meditations less than ten minutes a day for five days. So go to meditationfortherealWorld.com.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:29:14 Oh, that is wonderful. Ann, thank you so much for being on Dream Power Radio today.
Speaker Swanson (00:29:18) - Thank you.
Speaker Spector (Weisman) - 00:29:20 Okay, we've been speaking all about meditation with Ann Swanson. Hope you've enjoyed today's program. If so, please hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out on any future episodes. Until next time, this is Debbie Spector Weisman saying sweet dreams everybody.
Speaker 00:29:35 (()) - You've been listening to Dream Power Radio with your host, Debbie Spector Weisman. For more information on Debbie or to sign up for her newsletter, go to DreamPowerRadio.com. This has been Dream Power Radio.