Happiness is an Inside Job: The Natural High of Meditating

This week on The Natural High Life Podcast, we’re exploring the powerful practice of meditation and why true happiness really is an inside job.

In a world full of noise, distractions, dopamine hits and constant rushing, meditation invites us to slow down, reconnect and come home to ourselves. We chat about how creating even a few moments of stillness each day can help strip away the glitter from the cheap thrills and bring the focus back to what actually matters.

This week’s episode includes:
✨ Our Sober Hot Topic of the week: it's a spicy one
✨ A recap of last week’s Natural High: Gratitude
✨ How we each got on with our own gratitude practices during the week
✨ Introducing Natural High number 2: Meditation 
✨ Our honest thoughts and practical tips on meditation
✨ The science-backed benefits of slowing down
✨ An invitation for listeners to join us in this week’s Natural High 

This isn’t about being perfect, “switching off your mind,” or becoming a monk overnight. It’s about fostering self-awareness, compassion and creating a place within yourself that feels safe to return to every single day.

As always, we’ve got an amazing prize up for grabs. Anyone who joins us for this week’s meditation practice and shares their journey or updates with us will automatically be entered into the draw to win.

Join along, share and let us know how you do by messaging us via our Instagram: @the.natural.high.life, sending us a direct message or getting in touch via email. 

Take a breath. Slow down. Join us for the week ahead 🌿

This is an exclusive discount for our Natural High Lifer Listeners. Doctrine Skincare have offered this across season 1 - 15% discount across all full priced and full sized products. 

Transcript

Intros - a quick look back on our week

Speaker 0:07

Hi, I'm Aisling and I'm Clodagh. And we are two. Are we girls or are we women? Uh we're a bit of both. Ah yeah, we are. Okay, look, we're two gibbons. Or whirls. I like that. Who, having both kicks the booze out the back door, are always on the search for our own natural highs.

Speaker 2 0:26

The things that make us feel amazing, not just at the time, but long afterwards too. I, Aisling, am a mom and a movement and a meditation teacher. And I, Clodagh, I'm the founder of a tech company and well-being solution called CRAOI. I am a health and wellness coach and a yoga teacher too.

Speaker 0:43

And together we will trial and test many different natural highs and share with you the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Speaker 2 0:50

And we invite you, our natural high lifers, to come along for the ride.

Speaker 0:54

Expect honest, real, raw, rich conversation, many laughs, and many, many tangents.

Speaker 2 1:00

Because progress is never a straight line.

Speaker 1 1:04

Woohoo!

Speaker 2 1:12

So here we are again. Here we are. You say that as if you're not happy. Our paths have crossed again. Are you not happy to see me? Can you say that a bit happier? Here we are again. Hello. I'm delighted to be back here with you, my love. Of course. How are you? I am brilliant. Episode number two, delighted to get back into it. I must say, after recording episode one last week, I just was actually on a high after. Not to, you know, flah the words that we're using here, but I was on a high. And maybe, maybe a natural high we'll have to explore down the line is doing a podcast with your friend.

Speaker 1:55

Yeah. And just like really getting into it - i I hate chit-chat. I can't bear it. Like discussing the weather ad nauseum. I'd just rather like literally shoot myself in the head. So having those real, like having real conversation is genuinely so uplifting for me, in as much as having chit-chat fakey conversation drains my soul. I love the real stuff. I literally drove away from this house last week and I could have been Fred Flintstone. I could have propelled the car myself if there was a hole in the floor. I was just elated. So yeah, I just have an image of your little legs.

Speaker 2 2:31

Great image. Excellent. So how are you? How was your week in general?

Speaker 2:37

I am mixed. So my weekend was amazing. I was at and had the privilege of teaching at Wanderwild Festival in Killlarney. Killarney's such a magical town. And even though I am Cork till I take my last breath, I'll have to hand it to the Kerry people. Killlarney is unreal. Just the vibe of the festival was incredible. And what was fantastic for me is as a sober girly going to a festival that was so like oh, just the whole thing was so positive and so around feeling good, really like not not to be not to be overdoing the point, but it was really just based on natural highs, community, connection, movement. It was an amazing festival, and it was so so great to be part of it.

Speaker 2 3:23

And I saw some photos, and you had a full tent, it looked like an unreal energy, and you were teaching your Pilates class, and it just looked amazing.

Speaker 3:31

It was, and you know what? Having been to a million gazillion festivals back in the day, I didn't know until I experienced it that that vibe could be recreated without booze, honestly. So that was really nice. It felt so festival-y, it felt so vibey, and yet no, everyone was just there in their natural ways.

Speaker 2 3:52

So I'm thinking we probably need to do maybe a whole session or episode dedicated to festival life without booze, seen as we'll be in festival season soon, could be a good one to add.

Speaker 4:02

Absolutely. So the mixed part is because I'm saying that because I'm into week three of bronchitis. Oh wow. Like, I tell you what, and hashtag no days off in motherhood, you know, but not like in a cute like fitness in spo way, just like in a like there's no days off. There's no escape. At the start, I was being very inspiring, wasn't I? Um you were like, How are you? And I was like, I'm sick, but I'm brilliant, like I'm really keeping my chin up. So I'm gone, I'm sick but pissed off. Yeah, it's gone on too long. You know what? Fair enough. So , it has been going on for too long. It's ridiculous. Went to the festival, had a great time. So sick of blowing my nose.

Speaker 2 4:39

Yeah, did you did you watch the the video I sent you of that woman? If anyone has listened to this, this is an old school remix, which they're my favorite. They're auto tune remixes that came out back in the day before we had AI to do like full-blown choirs for us. The one about the woman who is reporting on some kind of American news and there's a fire starts in the building, and she's saying like that she has bronchitis and that ain't nobody got time for that. I think that's what it's called. Is it not a tune ? Have you seen it? Did you watch it? Is it not the best tune ever? Oh funny.

Speaker 5:14

Ain't nobondy got time for that! It does make me deeply grateful this bronchitis, though, that I stopped smoking when I did. Okay. Um, I just feel like, whoa, if this would be my lungs under pressure now, like I'm not enjoying the rasp . It was look, oh like it was a novel when it first came. I was like, will I start singing a couple of things? Well, you had a bit of a sexy voice, like Phoebe from friends. I had a jazz voice for two days, and look, I enjoyed it for a little bit, but it's getting it's getting old now.

Speaker 2 5:40

I know, sure. No, full sympathy and empathy for you. And you're a trooper, you still went and taught your class, you're still showing up here today. And if you didn't, I would disown you. So I'm really glad you did. This this love has rules. Okay, gotcha. Many, many rules.

Speaker 5:58

So, yes, mixed, delighted with the festival, so sick of blowing my nose. You. Um, I am great.

Speaker 2 6:03

I I honestly, how annoying. I feel sick. I'm great. Oh God, punch me in the face. But no, I I feel I feel really good. And obviously, we'll jump in in a in a few minutes about how we got on with our gratitude practices this week. Uh, and there's so many things at play whenever we do our natural highs, because of course you could have a really tough week. You could have a week where you're sick, you could have a week where you're feeling great, kind of regardless. Maybe your hormones have just all aligned, the stars have aligned, and you're having a fantastic week where you really love yourself. But I don't know if I can contribute it to the gratitude, and I'll talk about that more. But I I had a really lovely week out, took myself off to Spain for a weekend, and I just kind of immersed myself in nature. And the sunshine, the sunshine just makes us feel so good.

Speaker 6:47

Like we are craving it. This has been some type of psychological experiment the brain we've been having like for the last six months. Isn't it? I know they're testing us.

Speaker 2 6:55

Yeah, they're testing us to see if they'll break us. You will never break us.

Speaker 6:59

My children don't even know what a pair of shorts is. No, they're just like wetsuits, they've never seen bare legs. Yeah, they wear those onesie wetsuits at all times. Are we all having fun yet? Where they get blown asunder. I know.

Speaker 2 7:10

I mean, I love being Irish, but the weather really come on, bring us some sunshine now.

Speaker 7:14

We're in dire need.

Sober Hot Topic for the week

Speaker 2 7:15

So I actually also, this maybe is oversharing, but I'm gonna bring it all to the listeners' warts and all. Like, I found myself in recent times when I go um to the bathroom when I'm going for a wee, I'll often bring my phone with me. I know it's ridiculous. I think I have a phone addiction. There I said it, it's the next thing I need to kick the hand.

Speaker 7:32

We're all doing it. There's only just a hand of few saying it.

Speaker 2 7:34

Well, thank you for saying that because I don't know.

Speaker 7:36

Let's be real.

Speaker 2 7:36

So obviously, recently I was like, this is enough is enough. Like, stop bringing your phone with it.

Speaker 7:40

What's your screen time?

Speaker 2 7:41

Oh, I don't know. Actually, don't really monitor it. I probably don't want to.

Speaker 7:45

Actually, tremendous, I'd say. My screen time is like my bank balance. I don't be looking at those because I don't look at triggering figures, thank you.

Speaker 2 7:52

These are the reasons I won't sleep at night. Yeah. But I know it's not good. So I was like, how can I stop? I don't want to be bringing my phone to the loo. Like, that's so ridiculous. So I started buying magazines again recently as a treat, and I got a magazine and I left it up in the bathroom. Back in the day, I used to read Reader's Digest. I don't know if anyone remembers. Oh my gosh, the child that is an OAP. And I literally loved them. I don't think I ever really understood the jokes, but look, I still enjoyed them. So anyway, I came across this article in a magazine, and I was like, it was all about sobriety, so I obviously had to bring it to the pod. So you haven't seen it, you haven't read it. I'm gonna try and explain it in a short few moments because it gave me so much food for thought. I was like, I couldn't you like use a whole episode to talk about this. So it's called Sober and Shattered, The Dispiriting Rise of Sobriety Burnout. It's in Women's Health magazine. And basically, can I say in a nutshell, it's kind of I I guess it's a bit of clickbait bait, if that's what I can call it, because it's really kind of talking about like when you stop drinking, you nearly no longer have a day of couch rot. So you're kind of losing out on that day of doing nothing, and you're filling your calendars with so much wellness that you're being burnt out by that. So, I mean, biggest argument there bed rot, couch rot, that is not a day of relaxing. That is not a day that's good for you.

Speaker 9:15

And can we all say when we get really honest that you feel relaxed in those states? Your body might not be moving, sure. But do you feel relaxed on the inside? Absolutely not. No, like absolutely hung drawn and quarter by your own fear and anxiety. Just because your body still does not mean that your mind is still, doesn't mean that you're settled within yourself, you know?

Speaker 2 9:41

Absolutely, and I was thinking about that too, and I was like, oh my god, when we are hung over on the couch, we are normally dying a death, and we feel like someone has poisoned us because unfortunately we have poisoned ourselves. And so therefore, it is not our our let's talk nervous system, our nervous system is not activated, our parasympathetic nervous system is not kicked in, we are not in a rest and digest state. Yes, we are horizontal, potentially not able to move without maybe vomiting, but we're our bodies are going through a world of pain, a world of pain that if I was a little alien and I landed on the earth tomorrow and someone made me feel that way, I'd be like, call the ambulance right now. I'm dying. There's something severely wrong here.

Speaker 10:20

If you woke up with hangover and you weren't drinking the night before, you would immediately call an ambulance. You absolutely would. So, and do you know what though? I I think there's how would I say that I've had so many bizarre arguments to sobriety, which uh honestly, and without being cruel and no shade or shame, when people bring kind of defensive arguments to sobriety, which is so clearly better for your health, like you know, it's just it's just an it's just like you can't dispute it. For me, firstly, that says everything to do with the person who's giving the information and nothing about the person who's receiving it. So that's her relationship or the her or him. I don't know who wrote that piece. But it's it speaks a lot to maybe her relationship with the booster personally, to be kind of defensive about it. That's the first thing. And the second thing is of course, when we give up something that takes an awful lot of our time, of course it's going to be replaced. And yeah, is there a balance to be found in that? Of course there is. Sometimes do I find myself being a little bit up the walls of my own wellness and having to squeeze my running in and squeeze my meditation? Yes, of course. And do I need to recalibrate? Of course. But I would I still would rather seven days of the week, 365 days of the year, to have to recalibrate all the things that make me feel good, to fit to get that jigsaw working really well, than to be fitting in drinking, hangover, booze, regret, guilt, than to do that jigsaw. Absolutely.

Speaker 2 11:54

And to be fair to the article, and again, I I actually will give it to you to read, it does have that balanced view once you start to get into it. But of course, they're using the kind of you know startling titles, and there are some areas in it that I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, that is so toxic. So, like they do say things like since going sober, I felt an overwhelming urge to use my extra energy on bettering myself. So a little bit like what you said around being up the walls with our wellness. So it's a good thing to bring to light. Yeah, absolutely. Some of us feel like that. And it also says sobriety isn't the problem, it's how you approach that clearer diary. So, again, very much to kind of what you're saying, like we will have to recalibrate once we make huge, drastic changes, like the one of removing alcohol, but some bits that I really didn't like. It said, it may be a little coincidence that sobriety appears to be rising in tandem with female burnout, with mental health UK's burnout report 2025 revealing that 94% of women experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress in the past year. Do not say that burnout is rising because sobriety is rising. I think that's ludicrous. And the world of work I'm in with burnout, like I just think that that is a toxic view to have on it.

Speaker 13:05

Oh, but burnout is is rising with these kind of same languages. I need a drink, I need a drink to take the edge off. Those things are rising in tandem because if you're instead of saying I need a drink to take the edge off, why are you not asking why all the edges? Like what's happening upstream that you feel that way?

Speaker 1 13:22

Yeah.

Speaker 13:22

So the drinks that people drink in sobriety are sparkling water, and no one says at the end of the week, I need a fucking sparkling water. They're saying I need fucking wine. So don't try and couple us up with burnout. No, that's boo, that's booze in bed with them. Booze is in bed with burnout, not us.

Speaker 2 13:38

See, I was feeling very fiery when I saw that bitch. But that annoys me now as well. And then I also see there's a quote from someone else saying, drinking less is no longer about deprivation, but optimization to gain more energy, time, and mental clarity. Drinking less for me was not about depriving myself ever. Yeah. I didn't feel like it was a deprivation, but absolutely removing alcohol was to allow myself to just feel better in general. It wasn't about trying to become more productive, it wasn't about, you know, trying to like show up in way more ways across my life. It was just trying to become more myself. And feel better, yeah.

Speaker 14:15

But I do think, Chloe, that still a lot of people have the mindset that it is deprivation. And actually, if I could flip the script on one piece of sobriety, it would be to change that thought process that uh drinking is a privilege and abstaining is is a punishment. Because as long as you're in that mindset, you're in that white knuckle grip, and no one can live long term in that, it's not sustainable. Like for me, personally, I have the ick off drink, like I'd rather lick the bin. Like I am so delighted. You were licking the bin earlier. Well, I just do a lot of you know, Oscar, the growth, that kind of vibe. I love a bit of that look. Um, but you know what I mean? Like I and that's why sobriety, it's it's funny sometimes when someone's like, fair play to you, good on you. I'm like, thanks, but I don't deserve your your your congratulations or compliment because it is so easy for me to do to abstain from something you don't want is easy. I don't want to go out and eat that washing line, I simply don't want it. So do you know what I'm trying to do? You're writing all my things, do you get me like around like Oscar the Billy Gross group? Like, what are you like? But you get what I'm trying to say. Like abstaining from something you don't want is uh is obviously easy, but if you're going to consistently think of it like this is a massive punishment and I'm I'm craving a drink, that is just no place to live. No, so you have to flip that script in your head, or otherwise you're white knuckling through your sobriety, and and I couldn't imagine anything worse than doing that.

Speaker 2 15:48

Absolutely, and and and I guess like the one and I suppose the final thing I'll say on that, like they do mention a little bit about partly the the kind of fear of the giving up drink can be that, and I found this myself in the early stages, it can create a lot more space and there's a lot more quiet time initially as well, once you maybe are removing yourself from the social celebration celebrations to begin with, so you're not putting yourself in that scenario just to begin with, or you might not be invited to as many things that maybe your kind of boozy friends just might think you you may not like to go to. So the calendar can free up a little bit and the weekends can become a little bit more quiet, and that is really it's nothing to do with not drinking, it's about everything to do with the discomfort that in this very fast, busy modern world, a lot of us feel very uncomfortable in quiet stillness and rest.

Speaker 1 16:39

Totally.

Speaker 2 16:39

And so I think it's more of a case of how can we rewire ourselves to better understand the benefits of rest and recovery. The amazing option of the city.

Speaker 16:56

Yeah, totally.

Speaker 2 16:57

So that is definitely, I think rest and recovery is definitely going to be a natural high that we'll speak very passionate passionately about in this season. And I leave it there because I know we've got other ones that we want to go into.

Speaker 17:09

Yeah, but that is very interesting what you say though about the gaps in the calendar, and it's kind of like coming at sobriety, which is I think one of the beauty, one of the nice things about us having these conversations is I didn't feel that because I have two small kids. So there was there's no if anything, in motherhood, you're kind of craving those pockets of silence and a little bit of an emptier calendar. So it's funny how sobriety for me actually because I don't go on the girls' weekend away and I don't go out boozing, it means I'm I'm really like I'm at home a lot, you know what I mean? Because I I don't go out for Friday night drinks, I don't go to those boozy events, so I'm at home loads, meaning there's less pockets of stillness and silence because I'm at home and my home is never still and never quiet. It's so interesting. Sobriety can be such a different place for people depending on their their life and where they're at with you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 18:05

Yeah, it can be exactly, and I like that then as well. We're both coming from two different, very different experiences. And hopefully, people who are listening in are also coming from, you know, and no doubt very different experiences too. And I hope that you can all share that with us. Like we would love, love, love nothing more. And I know we spoke about this in episode number one. We want to create a community here where we can all support each other and learn from each other. Yeah, and so of course, we will have a WhatsApp community that you can join, and that will be linked in the show notes. You can just tap on the link, join the group. It won't be an overwhelm of information or chatter, but it'll be a space where if you're joining along with us on our weekly natural highs and you're practicing them too, and you've got any photos or feedback or questions, like fire them in there. And we're gonna have some really cool prizes. It's like a mystery lucky bag. Used to love a lucky bag back in the day. Oh, I love a lucky bag. Love a lucky bag. So haven't yet shared with you what the prizes are, but they're gonna be some amazing prizes, and we'll be choosing a winner whenever we get feedback in weekly, and that winner then will receive a gorgeous prize from us as well.

Speaker 19:12

Exactly. And the overriding message of the people in our community is come as you are. You don't have to be sober, you don't have to have it all figured out, you can be barely dipping your toe into sober curiosity, you don't have to have said it to anyone, just come as you are. Maybe you're not even sober curious, maybe someone in your life that you care deeply about is come as you are.

Speaker 2 19:35

Everyone is welcome. Absolutely. So, last episode

Natural High #1: Gratitude - and how we got on with our own practices this week

Speaker 2 19:40

we spoke about our first natural high, which was gratitude. And we spoke a little bit about the science behind gratitude, the benefits to gratitude. We shared a little bit about our own practices when it comes to gratitude, and then of course, our little homework for the week was to allow ourselves space and time to practice gratitude daily and encouraging anyone listening in to do it. So I don't know if anyone out there has joined us. I actually have heard from a few listeners around what has worked well for them. And we also had one person asking us, kind of off the point of gratitude, but asking us to cover the topic of the natural high of storytelling, which I loved because what she heard in the first episode prompted her to think, you know, when you're not drinking, sometimes you miss out on the stories that are told at the pub when you're sitting around in the circles or the house parties. And as Irish people in particular, storytelling is within our nature, it is embedded into our deeply into our core. 100%. So we absolutely are going to factor in an episode on the natural high of storytelling and sharing stories. So anytime we hear from anyone, we are listening and we will absolutely respond and take it on board. So if there's anyone who joined along with the gratitude practice, do let us know. And we're gonna share now really how we got on. So if anyone wants a recap, you can go back to episode one and you can kind of hear a little bit about the science. It's all in there, the last 20 minutes of episode one. Ashley, do you want to let me know how you got on for the week?

Speaker 21:09

I do. So, gratitude, a gratitude practice, as I mentioned in episode one, is a well-established practice for me. I do it with my morning coffee, but I never miss my coffee, and I never miss my gratitude. And I must say, this week um not just because we did the episode on it last week, but this week my gratitude practice felt more meaningful and I really leaned into it as a tool for my own mental health because I have been sick, Cloda, have I mentioned. Um because when you wake up feeling kind of gammy, and this is one thing that's a little bit uh challenging in sobriety is I feel excellent all of the time. So I do not take it well when I wake up feeling gammy because I don't have that natural ebb and flow now where I feel good Monday to Friday, I feel a little bit shitty on a Saturday and Sunday. Morning, that's not my life anymore. I feel excellent seven mornings a week. So then when I don't, I don't take it well. So this week it really was a very powerful tool for me, truthfully, just to change that lens. And like I said last week, it's not like this toxic positivity portion of like oh I feel terrible. My gratitude list is done, and now I'm just like the bees are buzzing in the tree. It's not like that. I woke up underslept, tired, sick, beautiful and demanding children. And that and I repeated that every single morning. And because I took the time, as I always do, to do my gratitude list, and it has to be honest. If you're conjuring this is one thing, and I did notice myself writing one or two things throughout the, you know, I've done it for a long time now throughout my practice where it's something I felt I should have been grateful for, and I almost scratched it out, you know, something that you you know that you felt God, I'll have to mention that. It was such a fantastic thing that happened yesterday. But if it's not the feeling around it, so the one thing that I did do this week is I took on the two extra things. I wrote not just what happened, but in one word, one phrase, how I felt about that. Because I think connecting to the feeling, as you said, was really powerful. That changed my practice a lot, actually. And I also wrote the letter at the end of the week. I won't say who the letter was for, but I will say this I got a text from the person who the letter is for, who I love deeply, and I found that text kind of annoying. But because I had written this letter, I was able to look at it from such a more like empathetic. And I was just in a real yeah, I was in a really loving frame of mind with this person. And if I could give myself and everyone I know one piece of advice, I don't have this nailed, by the way. It's don't take everything so personally. Sometimes texts that people write and things people say are really just about what they're going through in that any given moment. It I really it's an onward journey with me and something I'm learning all the time to not take things so personally. But because I had done that gratitude letter, I was in a very loving space with this person, and I was able just to look at that text from a way calmer place and really just respond from a really tender, compassionate uh place. And I just I didn't, I know if I was at a different time, maybe if I hadn't done that letter and I was in a little bit of a spicy mood myself, I could have taken it really badly. So it was just so interesting that it's not actually what happens, it's just our response, you know.

Speaker 2 24:41

So I know obviously one week of practicing something, it's not a huge amount of time at all, and we're very aware of that. But I think what's so cool to even just acknowledge there and what you've said is that even just one week of doing it and bringing awareness to it, you actually saw benefits totally, genuinely.

Speaker 25:00

Like I think, as well for these things, because they're not gonna move heaven and earth, they're small tools that can help us throughout our days, they're easily implemented, they're low cost, they're of low input. So no one's saying that this is gonna skyrocket your life in any direction. What we're saying is it can move the needle a little bit, and if we do many things that move the needle a little bit, they can all accumulate to something powerful.

Speaker 2 25:28

Absolutely. And what I do love about meditation, and I know again we shared this last week, is that it is shown with med, sorry, with gratitude in particular, it is shown that if we practice it for even, let's say, regularly for four weeks, that there's this long afterburner effect. They've done it on groups of people and research studies, that the effects and the benefits can last for even up to 12 weeks after the practice has ended. That's astounding. It is astounding, and that's why I love gratitude because I do think there's so much bang for your book. It's free, it doesn't take a huge amount of time, it actually does help you to feel really good in the moment. It then also gives you some tools, like you said, in how you approach other situations. So it has this knock-on effect not just in the moment, but maybe throughout your day, in little ways that you may not have been aware of before, and it also gives us this long-term benefit too. Yeah, so it really is one of those best natural highs that I've ever come across. And so simple and and cost nothing.

Speaker 26:28

Yes. How did you get on?

Speaker 2 26:30

So I had a really great week. Did I say that already? I did. So annoyed.

Speaker 26:35

I couldn't hear you now because I throw in my nose at the time, my ears are blocked. Sorry, I was just there. So go on, yeah.

Speaker 2 26:41

Now I don't know again, obviously, seven days um isn't a huge amount of time. And look, we're not here to be like we're not been putting our brains in through MRI scans. We don't have the tools to really identify if it's just the gratitude. There's a few things that was going on in my week that I feel like could contribute to my good mood. So I had my, I know I mentioned this before therapy session. I'm doing EMDR. It was a really, really hard session. However, I feel very light after it. I also took myself off to the sunshine, and the sun makes me so so happy, and being in nature makes me so, so happy. However, I really think it was the gratitude practice. So every day, and you said, Ashing last week, that you stick it on to your coffee. You always have your coffee and you add your little gratitude practice with your coffee. Habit stacking, we know James Clear talks about that a lot. Mr. Clear. Mr. Clear. So, as I mentioned before, I would often be quite grateful throughout my day. And I know this might sound a little bit weird, but like even things like if I go to the tap and I and I get running water and I fill up my cup, I'd have these flashes of like, God, I'm really grateful for like how comfortable life is or how lucky I am. Yeah, you know, for these smaller things, or if I was out walking in the morning and I saw some, you know, beautiful flowers or something, I do feel appreciation, but I hadn't been doing my daily gratitude practice pen to paper, as I mentioned.

Speaker 1 28:02

Yeah.

Speaker 2 28:02

So I stole from you when I made my coffee, I was gonna do my gratitude, and I did it every morning. And again, what I mentioned last week is I tied it to an emotion. So actually, what I did was I sat down, I took a few deep breaths, I kind of took in my surroundings, I grounded myself, and I said, What feeling do I really feel right now? Yeah. So every day I had a different feeling, and it came to me instantly, and I really felt it. So, for example, expansiveness is that an emotion, but that's how I was feeling one day. I just feel like there's so much goodness happening, and my world is getting bigger in really positive ways.

Speaker 1 28:34

Beautiful.

Speaker 2 28:35

And so I wrote about that, or I had a day where I felt extreme love for everyone that I was encountering that day, and the friendships I was seeing with my dad and his friends, and the conversations I was having. And by tapping into the emotion, I really felt that emotion. Yeah, and I feel like it felt it stayed with me for the day as well. And I really enjoyed it, and I really think it gave me a boost.

Speaker 29:00

I love I love that view. It's something I actually won't drop, it's a real long established habit, and my morning just wouldn't feel the same without it. Yeah, and as well, like I just can't emphasize enough like how it doesn't have to look perfect, it doesn't have to be perfect. So my kiddos work we woke really early this week, and I'd sent you a couple of uh photos throughout the week on our little um we keep each other accountable through that to our little uh WhatsApp and and you saw there was like Barbies and paint and da da da da like I didn't I didn't I think maybe I did one, two, maybe a solo this week this week, very few, but like it it can be messy, it doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't have to look like anything. It's just clinging on to those because those negative feelings and those worries, they'll drag you down those rabbit holes. Your nervous system was not made to make you feel gooey and nice, it was supposed to keep you alive, and that was gonna and and and by extension it keeps you a little bit paranoid because if you there's a rustle in the bushes, you don't want to be getting laxadaisical, right? Because the time you're like, ah, it's grand, next thing enter grizzly bear, it's all over curtains. So you your your nervous system never said I'm gonna make your experience all bubble bathy. It said, I promise to keep you alive, that's my job. So that's all it's gonna do. And so obviously it's gonna tend nervous, that's its job, but you can the beauty is you can overwrite that because we have conscious thought, which is great. So we don't just think our thoughts, we can think things about our thoughts. So put for me, someone who can wake a little bit dready and a little bit anxious y, I can just draw. It's literally like pulling the steering wheel back so that I'm going down the center of the road. It's feeling like a more balanced approach to everything rather than my nervous system pulling me into like all the potential worries of the day, you know? It's not that the worries aren't there, it's just re-establishing a better viewpoint, you know. Hear, here. Preach. Preach. Um, I love that feel. Did you do the letter? I did the letter. Cool. I haven't received it.

Speaker 2 31:01

Oh, you crack yourself up. I also didn't send it. Um, but I probably will give it to the person as someone who is extremely important to me in my life. I'm waiting. I'm doing it, I'm joking. But she is um, she's brilliant, and she is just my best friend, one of my best friends in the whole wide world, and she is family. So sometimes I think it's very obvious she's my sister. She just does a lot for me, and I love her dearly, and she I'm so so lucky to have her in my life. But the thing is, I think sometimes with family and with like sisters, and you might relate to that as well, that sometimes we not I don't take her for granted, and I hope she never ever feels that way. But sometimes like she's organizing my 40th at the moment. She's she's a dinger, and I really appreciate it. I'm single, I'm one of the only single people left in the world. There's actually one more in Cabin. Okay, there we are. I knew there was one other person in Cabin. Um I never went to Cabin. So she is organizing that for me, and like sometimes you can take these things for granted. Oh, yeah, it's my sister, she's organizing my birthday for me. No, no, no. It's a huge, gorgeous like support that she's offering me, especially when a lot of my friends, I guess their husbands or their boyfriends or their partners might do it for them.

Speaker 32:16

Yeah.

Speaker 2 32:16

Um, so it just makes me feel like I'm not alone in this world, even though I really am.

Speaker 32:22

That is so gorgeous, and I can relate so much from this perspective. So, as you know, Chloe, my mum has passed away, as is my dad. So, if anyone wants to adopt a 41-year-old woman, here I am, up for adoption. But when it comes to my sisterly and brother, so I've one brother and three sisters, and we're very close and I adore them. And when it comes to, as you say, I don't want her to ever think I'm that I'm taking her for granted. Actually, I do want my siblings to take my love for granted because it will be there for them forever. Take it for granted. Do you know what I mean? Take me for granted because I'm not going anywhere. And like for me, I can consistently whinge about the fact that my mom and dad are dead, which is so crap. I'm not ever going to tart that up. But my choice now is to consistently look down at the palm of my hand and be like, oh, I've been so short-changed, or I can get to work by continuing their work, and their work is to love them uncontrollably forever. That's my job. Do you know what I mean? So I hope they do take me for granted. Take me for granted, I'm not going anywhere. Do you know? And I'll never go anywhere. Nice way to look at it. Yeah. I don't want them to be on the edge of their seat of will I love them next year. I'll love them uncontrollably, inconsolably till I take my last breath.

Speaker 2 33:35

I'm gonna have to bring this to my therapist now because I know this is a people pleaser inside me that always feels like, Oh, I need to make sure the people that I love know that I love them. Of course they know I love them, and it is unconditional, and you're absolutely dead right. You know? Yeah, but nice to tell people sometimes.

Speaker 33:47

Ah, it is, absolutely, that you appreciate them or whatever. But you know, I hope that I can be that place for them and them for me that it goes without saying this. We're we're we're in this for the long haul. It could, you know, goes without saying for each, you know.

Speaker 2 34:02

So there we are. We I think we both got a lot from our gratitude practice. Yeah. Um, I'm gonna absolutely be keeping it up. And thank you for keeping me accountable.

Speaker 34:10

And you too. I I love that I love this for us because I think it's nice to have these ideas, but it's actually really good to chime, and that's the beauty of this community will make as well. It's lovely to have that that like chiming back in, and you know, you could have an idea, but that idea could just get lost in the abyss of life. So having each other to kind of pull each other back is is great. That's it.

Speaker 2 34:30

So we're gonna come to our next natural high, which is when we do the drum roll.

Introducing this weeks' Natural High: Meditation

Speaker 2 34:38

But we ever get good at it, no, clearly not.

Speaker 34:42

Um bear with me now. Meditation. It's a big one, it's a big one, and actually, you know what I was when I was reflecting on this, I was thinking, this is such a funny thing, because I trained as a meditation teacher last year um because I really wanted to offer um a short meditation in my classes after the movement piece, and I think that's really powerful when all the dust has settled and we've moved all that energy. Um, I for me that's a really lovely time to meditate. I was meditating myself as well, and I just really wanted a deeper knowledge and understanding of it. What I find so interesting about meditation is how wise we all are innately. Because if you mention meditation, nine times if of when I mention meditation at least, nine times out of ten the response is oh, I should be meditating. I know I know I I'm I I download the app, no, I'm you know, I'm terrible for sticking to bed. We all as humans have this like innate wisdom that we know that we need moments of stillness. We know it. And how we know it is if anyone else mentions a hobby they do, they don't get the same reaction. If someone says I'm going fishing, we don't go, fuck it, I have to go fishing. I need to go fishing, I really need to get out, I need to knuckle down to fishing. Like we I have no strong feelings on fishing either way, but my point being it's a funny reaction. And have you seen that as well from people? Always so we we in our deep wisdom know that throughout our busy lives, we need moments of stillness. And honestly, as someone who teaches it and practices it, if I could switch, if I could flip the script, I know I'm all up to flipping scripts today, but if I could with one thing with meditation, it's this our lives are so incredibly busy, and as long as people are thinking about a meditation practice as yet another thing that they have to bring into their already bursting at the seams life, it will always and forever remain a stressy thing to add to the to-do list. That's not what meditation is. Um, meditation is a two fingers up to the to-do list, it's a ripping up of the to-do list, it's sitting back and doing absolutely nothing. It's not something to add to your busyness. It's a it's a you're doing that T-shape with your hand and you're tapping that T-shape like an American coach. Time out, time out. It's it's it's it's tag when you're small and you know you're being chased. It's I'm I'm out, lads. I need a few minutes out. Tapping out. I'm tapping out, I need a couple of minutes out of this. That's what meditation is. It's not an acquiring of a new skill, it's appealing back of the layers to sit into yourself. You know what I mean? But for the longest time myself as well. And even when I had like a very established yoga plates practice, and I had a lot of time, like, you know, you can have a movement practice in yoga meditation without pockets of meditation, they'll just be added into classes. So I was doing it a lot throughout the in that space, but I always kind of thought, as far as cultivating a meditation practice at home myself, that was just another thing now I had to get to doing. It's it's the opposite of that. It's it's stop, I need a break.

Speaker 2 37:56

That's what meditation is. And the funny thing that you say about that, because I am a huge lover of meditation, I have felt the benefits and I couldn't advocate enough for a meditation practice in everyone's life, especially because how busy everyone is and how busy the world is. In the past, whenever I've really struggled to cultivate a meditation practice or a daily practice, it was at the times when I was the busiest. The times when we were at the busiest and we're thinking, oh, I can't fit that in, they are the times we need it the most. They are the times that's why we and maybe we feel a bit uncomfortable because we're kind of in this busy era and we feel comfortable being busy, and it's like, yeah, I need to do the meditation, but like I don't have time. We do have time to do it. You can meditate for three minutes or even five minutes. It really doesn't take this huge chunk of time out of your day unless you wanted to. We do have the time that cannot be the reason why we're not doing it. We're often not doing it because actually, meditation invites stillness, stillness invites a quieting of the mind, and sometimes you're left just with yourself, and some people just don't know how just to be.

Speaker 39:03

But it can be very uncomfortable, like sitting in stillness and leaving thoughts pop into your head. That can be really uncomfortable. Because if we're busy doing all the time, we don't have to sit with any feelings or any thoughts. The other thing that I think is uh so true to your point is it's it's not a case of you don't have time. And as as maybe this might sound a little bit harsh, but sometimes sometimes the truth is just the truth. It's not a case of you don't have time, but it's a it's a priority. Everything is just a set of priorities. You know, we all have exactly 24 hours in a day. So I feel like everyone definitely has three minutes, and again, to to I know I'm so obsessed with James Clear, but if it's something you're putting off to the end of the day, or I'll get to it, I'll get to it. Then it's just hanging over your kind of mats paper too. Make a set type, stack it on another habit, and start really small, two minutes, three minutes.

Speaker 2 40:04

Yeah. I think sometimes meditation is misunderstood as well. So you know you'd often hear like just close your eyes and stop thinking. Like that is not what meditation is. And a lot of people will think that they can't meditate, but if you can think, you can meditate, you know, the saying, I think, therefore I am. Yeah, meditation is allowing you just to be, and it can be a hard practice to start with because, as on on average, as humans, we have over 60,000 thoughts in our mind a day. I would say I have more. Oh, that's on the minute.

Speaker 40:34

No, yeah, exactly. But you're so right. How many times have people said, I can't, I can't, my mind's too busy, I can't meditate. I've heard that so many times. And I'm like, wonderful. So you've noticed that your mind is busy. So I think this is uh also a really important point about meditation. When people's minds have drifted, that can often that point where they've noticed their mind has drifted, that can be kind of a place of like, oh god, my mind's drifted again. No, that's a pat yourself in the back. Yeah, because the noticing is the start of the rearrival. We're back to day again. Do you get awareness?

Speaker 2 41:11

Awareness, bit of an A. Well, absolutely, it's not about stopping to think, it's about letting go of our attachment to our thoughts and the world around us. And when we do that, and as you say, we can say, Oh, wait a sec, my mind drifted again, let me get it back. You've noticed your thoughts, you've become the observer, and then that allows us to connect to the level of our being that is behind the thoughts.

Speaker 41:33

Yeah, it's it's and that's the observer, that's the witness, and that's if you can settle into that place, that's where all your kind of stillness like and all your all that soft, smooth, tender kind of that feeling of home in yourself that comes from your observer perspective, knowing that you're the blue sky and just everything else is just a passing cloud, you know. But it's really hard to access that place in the initial stages. I can go there now with ease because of practice. Um and so much so that like when I'm settling into my meditation, I'd be almost laughing at myself, being like, oh, there's another mad thought. There's another one, do you know? And like it's lovely because the more separate you get from those thoughts and the more obvious it becomes that they are not you, you are not them. They almost think themselves, I take no responsibility for my thoughts. They pop in, they they they're they're responsible for themselves, they feel totally you know, do you know what I mean? I'm not conjuring up these thoughts, they're popping in. I take no responsibility for them. I am the observer, and that's the beautiful thing. And if you need any proof, how this I had the most beautiful meditation teacher, Michael McCann, he was a really, really special person. And he talked a lot about sleeping and when you're dreaming, how you would often have uh a dreamless sleep. But who was there to say there were no dreams? That's you, that's the observer, that's the deep you that's always overlooking everything. So we can really start to believe our very convincing thoughts, but once you can recognize that who is there to witness these thoughts if it's not the deeper you?

Speaker 2 43:15

It's very much teaching on the term I will use, and I know I don't think there's any real like specific definition for this, but consciousness. Yes, the consciousness, how our bodies have this innate wisdom within us, our cells, our heart continues to beat without us thinking about it beating. There's so much going on within us. Yeah, what's driving that? We're not thinking about it, we're not telling our body to experience certain signals or you know, the way that it works. Absolutely. There's a consciousness that's going on beneath the level of our thoughts. And obviously, in yoga, meditation is a core part of the practice, and there's eight limbs of yoga, and meditation is the seventh limb. If anyone wants to look into that, because it's quite interesting, but it's kind of seen as the ultimate purpose of yoga.

Speaker 1 44:05

Yeah.

Speaker 2 44:06

So as we go through all the other limbs, including the asana, the movement piece, that's all helping us to build up to get to the space where we can experience the stillness, become the observer.

Speaker 1 44:17

Yes.

Speaker 2 44:17

And the more we cultivate that practice, the more that we can then come to this deeper understanding of our true nature once we allow ourselves to just be. Yeah. And it's really magical. And what you said there as well is that you can kind of get into that space quite quickly now. It's a little bit easier because it I feel the same. And I also, and to ask your opinion on this, I think there's so many different types of meditation. Yeah. People often think meditation is sitting, closing your eyes, and you know, staying there, either guided or on your own for five, ten minutes, torturous minutes that you have to sit there.

Speaker 44:51

Yeah.

Speaker 2 44:51

Meditation can be done with your eyes open. I feel like I meditate when I'm out in nature, when I notice I for me, meditation is coming into the present moment.

Speaker 44:59

Yeah.

Speaker 2 44:59

And just becoming aware and not holding on to thoughts and not making any story around them.

Speaker 45:05

Yeah. And I think as well, we often think that to be, you know, living mindfully, we're really feeling the cup in our hands. That's only a vehicle for you to come home to yourself. Everything is just a vehicle for you to come home to yourself. It's not necessarily the experience, it's not the taste, it's not the sense, it's not the outer senses. It's just if they help you to come home into this moment and then into ultimately into your heart space, which is where the true you resides. The problem with a meditation is it just is more evidence of the fact that now it's so glaringly obvious to me that happiness is an inside job, which is quite upsetting because it's made all my old shopping habits and all those three cheap thrills, they are so fruitless for me now. Like not that I of course I like to get you know a new pair of leggings, whatever, but it's so I can really see the emptiness and I'm I'll feel good about that for like two seconds, you know. And once and same as sobriety, same as meditation, same everything, everything that I've learned along this path all resoundingly points to the one thing happiness is an inside job, you know? Yeah. Um so it's it's nice getting this meditation practice, but it's definitely taking the glitter off cheap thrills from the outside. Yes, you know. Do you get me? Do you get the same joy from like stuff now?

Speaker 2 46:34

No, but I don't really buy stuff. I was only thinking about this the other day. I saw a photo of myself all dressed up. I was like, look at me there. Because I'm the founder of a startup. I am very frugal. Yeah. So I actually don't go and spend. I used to spend a lot more on my past corporate job, and I would spend and treat myself to like nice outfits and stuff, but I don't travel for me and experiences that's what I spend money on. And I agree with you wholeheartedly, because you so eloquently put it last week when I was trying to explain my why behind this podcast, it is that it's an inside job. Happiness and and feeling good and well-being is an inside job.

Speaker 1 47:07

Yeah.

Speaker 47:08

And we were taught for the longest time that it's reaching for things, you know, and that and that suits all the powers that be because if we're like consistently reaching for booze, for new stuff, then you need the new shiny bag to be whole, you need the new power runners to be whole, you need big all these big pharma, you know. Like, how how dare they in the states advertise medication? That's bizarre, you either need it or you don't. What's the advertisement for? You know, but this consistent messaging of you're not complete and you need to reach for things outside of yourself to fill all your holes. Fill all of that as a terrible thing to fill all your gaps. You get what I'm saying? You know what I mean? Yeah, and like as long as that messaging is there that we're somehow broken, you're not broken, you're perfectly whole. It's not about adding stuff in, it's about peeling it all back.

Speaker 2 47:56

And I think meditation allows us to do that because when we come into those more like moments of stillness and coming into the present and just being and allowing our mind that kind of break from the constant chatter that's always going on, and we just allow ourselves just to be there. I really think that allows to strip away a lot of our perspective or views on the world, on the external expectations that society has put on us. And that's where I think my meditation practice in particular really helps me, not just with my nervous system and allowing myself to feel calm and less stressed and less anxious. It's actually more about help, it's helped me tap into my true potential. It's helped me to realize I actually my my goal of success actually isn't a really fancy car, it isn't a huge house. My goal of success is loving deep, meaningful relationships and connections with family and friends. It's deep self-love with myself. You know, it allows me to figure that out. Yes.

Speaker 48:57

Yeah. 100%.

Speaker 2 48:58

Sorry, I kind of went off somewhere there for a second.

Speaker 49:00

I felt like I left the room. No, I love it. You didn't. You you, as you very well put, came home to you didn't like it.

Speaker 2 49:06

I was meditating.

Speaker 49:07

Yeah. Do you get what I like? I I love that view because the more that you can build this relationship you have to yourself and your own truth, the less you will be like a rabbit in headlights with stuff. You know what I mean? You kind of know, you kind of you just really connect to that intuition, that got and that that just that deep down knowing, you know. And you know, for me, that's what quiet confidence is. It's not bravado, it's not, it's not all bells and whistles and look at me. It's just someone who's really solid in their primary relationship, the relationship you have with yourself. And like all relationships, if you don't spend time tending to it, it's not gonna grow, you know. So we can't be around people all the time, always doing things, always buying things, always putting, always drinking things, eating things, all outside of ourselves, and then build this relationship. Like every relationship, like your like the relationship you have with your sister, your mum, your friend, you need rich time, just you, just you guys.

Speaker 2 50:03

Do you know what I mean? It's a real act of self-love, finding the space and time within your day to practice meditation.

Speaker 50:10

Totally. One of my favorite quotes actually is Jack Gornfield, who says, If your meditation practice doesn't have self-compassion, it's missing. It's me, like I'm paraphrasing, but it's missing a key piece. Like meditation is rooted in self-compassion, and the the more your mind drifts and the busier your mind, the more you need it, and the more you should be so kind and gentle to yourself that your mind has gone so busy, that you've so much on your plate, you know. But I do, I had a little look at our science. Will I go into our science? Go for it. I love the science, get me. So the other thing I think is sometimes meditation gets taken over a little bit by maybe kind of think people thinking it's a bit woo-woo. But actually, because meditation is so low risk and low cost, they've done extensive studies on it, just like there's no studies on pregnant people because it's high risk, high cost. So that's the beauty of meditation. Loads and loads and loads of randomized control trials, and they're the kind of gold standard when it comes to um to like um clinical trials. You want to have that randomized control trials, but not alone this, because they're so low cost and so low risk, there's been so many, so they can actually accumulate them all into a meta-analysis, which is obviously even more robust still, and we can really vigorously check if meditation can indeed hold up across large groups of people. So, key key findings from the major meta-analysis 2023 to 2026, so really current research as well. So, research has consistently shown that meditation-based interventions, such as mindful-based stress reduction, have moderate to large effects across several areas. One, mental health. A 2025 systematic review of 42 randomized control trials confirmed robust evidence that meditation significantly reduces symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress. And we just know it, don't we? So much so that it's now frequently used as a supplementary treatment alongside traditional therapy. I found this one fascinating. Pain management. Multiple randomized control trials have been shown have been shown that meditation can change the way the brain processes pain signals. That's not to say that it removes the physical sensation, but it reduces the emotional distress and perceived intensity of chronic pain. In addition to that, it improves sleep quality by lowering our bedtime cortisol levels, and lastly, our physical health. There is huge evidence to support the fact that meditation can reduce blood pressure and improve glucose management. So it's really effective for diabetics because it reduces that flyer phyte. And as soon as we go into a flyer phyte, of course, are there a huge blood surge in glucose. What I actually found fascinating when I was more a glucose monitor, because I'm a just a body dork and I find this stuff so fascinating. I had a magnum ice cream, yeah, and my blood glucose raised half the amount of when I was stuck in traffic and thought I was going to be late for class. I was stuck in really bad traffic coming down the keys. I thought I was gonna be late to open the studio, and my and I can see it all, it's all there in beautiful data, and I was just fascinating to see. I know because I had a look after I ate an ice cream. And it raised doubly. That is scary. Yeah. So it just shows how the after-effects of living in that flight or fight is so chronic for our health, you know. But those little and the other thing, so oh yeah. So look, they're the benefits, but let's get real, let's get actionable. What can we do to actually put it into our lives? Yeah. My top tips as someone who practices meditation daily, stack it on a habit you already have, start really slow, three minutes, four minutes. Make it the exact same time every day. If it's hanging over your mats, paper two style, it's just going to be another thing looming that you have to get to the put make a dedicated time. Don't just have it willy-nilly. Yeah. And if it's only two or three minutes, that dedicated time is is easy. The other thing I would say is there's some really powerful, and I do use, I do think using our using some tools like some apps and stuff at the very beginning. I love a soundscape now where I'll just sit in my garden, listen to the birds, bring it back to the breath. But that's not where I was day one. Yeah. Tara Brack, the renowned meditation teacher, if you don't want to download an app and you don't want to take on the finance of another subscription, she has tons of free, um free. Well, they're not free if you're on Spotify, but most people are on Spotify. So if you've Spotify subscription paid, you automatically have access to these.

Speaker 2 54:58

I'm sure she's on Apple Podcasts as well.

Speaker 55:00

Yeah, and she's she's just she's just an excellent teacher. Henry Shookman, uh, um in conjunction with um Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, has 30 days of free meditation on his app called The Way. And on Insight Timer, you can download that app and you don't have to pay for it. There are some, there's not all, but some meditations are not locked on that app. So, you know, there's some really clever ways that you can do it who of of with no cost, you know.

Speaker 2 55:29

Obviously, I'm gonna throw in that Cree has meditations as well, and we have a meditation timer in our Cree app where you can set up how long you want to meditate for, and if you want to do it in silence or if you want to add a soundscape to it, because some people I think like I actually quite enjoy music or bird song in my meditation because it helps to bring me back to the present. Yeah, it helps me to become really aware of that versus my thoughts. So I do really enjoy that. So that's there as well, and also because both myself and Ashing teach meditation, we will link to some free meditations as well in the show notes that you can access from us if you would like to. Yeah, and that's a nice place to get started. Now I will say some of my tips on meditation too. One of them would include I think watching a candle can be quite nice. So again, eyes open, staring at a candle. But I would agree with you starting with like you don't blow it out and make a wish. You absolutely could at the end. That's a lovely idea. There's no cake though. Um, a three to five minute practice to start with, I think is is perfect. You don't want to overload yourself. But I think the best tip, just to go back to what you said at the start, look at it as an act of kind of not rebellion, but kind of saying, like, yeah, fingers up to the to-do list. Like, let me have yeah, it's not about adding, it's about taking something back that's rightfully yours, your time. There's nothing more valuable than your time. And when you reclaim some of your time, do you want to be using it, spending it sitting

An invitation to join us for the week ahead

Speaker 2 57:00

on the couch watching a Netflix? Yeah, sometimes. However, why don't you use five minutes of it to do something that will better you, that will help you in so many different ways.

Speaker 1 57:08

Absolutely.

Speaker 2 57:08

And obviously, myself and Ashing are committing to our own meditation, which we do. So this is a bit of a cop-out because we do a meditation practice every single day. Anyway, however, as we go into the week ahead, we'll be practicing our meditation, we'll be becoming really, really aware so we can come back and talk about it. And from that, we'll talk about, I suppose, some other types of meditation that people could trial, and we'll talk about the challenges and the hard things that can kind of face us on days that are extra busy and maybe how we can overcome that as well.

Speaker 57:39

Absolutely. That's such a good idea. And I think for an added challenge, what I will do with my own meditation is I will move, take away the apps. I'll take I often use Henry Shookman, I think he's an excellent teacher. I'm gonna strip it all back and just be in silence because sometimes I do find that a lot more uncomfortable than being guided by someone. You know, you feel very taken by the hand and they can do the hard, the heavy lifting. So I'll go with solo this week because I do find that more challenging and it'll bring in more of a kind of a beginner's mind.

Speaker 2 58:08

And my promise is I'm gonna up the ante. At the moment, I've been doing five-minute meditations on my Cree timer in the morning. I'm gonna do 10 and I'm gonna introduce sleep meditations because I have an awful guilty pleasure of watching reality TV or television shows right before bedtime, and I know it's not good for me. So in the nights that I'm tempted to do that, I'm actually gonna bring in a sleep meditation or yoga nidra, and I'm going to allow myself to fall asleep that way, and I'm gonna see how I feel, what the difference is after that.

Speaker 58:35

Wow, I'm actually gonna join you in this. You're not allowed. Okay, you're stuck at reality TV.

Speaker 2 58:41

So enjoy that now. Absolutely, join me on that journey. I think that yeah, just have a better nighttime routine because we do a lot of, I do a lot of my meditation in the morning. I'm gonna bring a little bit in at nighttime and have a better bedtime routine. Maybe, maybe light a bit of okay, don't light a candle before you go to sleep. Like me, I use my shaky mat, I put on the electric blanket, I fall asleep. I wake up, I'm like, I'm on a bit of a bit and I'm on fire. It's not a good thing for anyone to do. Maybe a little bit of lavender oil. Let's make a little routine out of it. Yeah, I love the bedtime window, sleep meditation. Let's see how it helps us.

Speaker 59:11

Oh my god, Bob's your uncle. Fantastic. I mean, you have the power of do anything.

Speaker 2 59:19

I believe that I will.

Speaker 59:20

I will literally do everything now.

Speaker 2 59:22

I like I hope next week that we can put this ghastly mess behind us. I hope so too. And you know what? At the end of my meditation, I'm gonna be sending positive vibes your way to help you.

Speaker 59:33

Okay, it's lovely man! Okay, thank you so much for listening.