Rebecca Douglas | Contributors - Nourish plant-based living

Meditation for people who can’t sit still

14th April 2023

Words by Rebecca Douglas

Category: Mind | Guides

We know we’d benefit from it, but we just can’t do it! Here are five ways to find your flow state through a more active form of meditation.

This one’s for you if you just can’t sit still! Find your flow state with a more active form of meditation and reap the benefits.

We all know a meditation practice could benefit us greatly, but if you’re anything like me, clearing your mind while sitting perfectly still can be an impossible task. Instead, we’re planning what to cook for dinner, worrying about tomorrow’s team meeting, or reliving every faux pas we’ve ever made, among a buzzing assortment of other thoughts.

As a natural-born stress-head, I’m exactly the sort of person who would most benefit from meditation, but obeying commands to relax my body or still my mind from a soothing voice is a mammoth uphill battle I am yet to win. Our tendencies for distraction are undoubtedly magnified by the digital world we live in – checking our phones every few minutes, responding to the pings of messages or app notifications, craving the next opportunity to scroll our social media feeds. We’re increasingly uncomfortable simply sitting alone with our thoughts.

Fortunately, there are more active alternatives to meditation that suit fidgety types like me much better. Putting aside the standard suggestions of journalling and yoga, we can find mindfulness in other ways.

MAKE IT ACTIVE WITH MINDFULNESS

What we’re looking to achieve is not a meditative state as such but a mindfulness that allows those buzzy thoughts to fade away. The practice of mindfulness aims to redirect your mind, which might be swirling with future worries and past mistakes, to instead focus on the present moment. It grounds you in what you’re currently experiencing and teaches your mind to become still in a different way.

While many find this state sitting cross-legged in meditation on a yoga mat, it can also be found while doing everyday activities like washing the dishes or weeding the garden – whatever works best for you.

Research has shown the potential benefits of mindfulness include reducing stress, alleviating anxiety and depression, improving brain function, slowing cognitive decline, helping to manage pain, and generally fostering a sense of wellbeing. In a recent study, researchers examined the impact of active meditation on women, discovering that active meditation provided a significant improvement in mood compared with breath-focused silent meditation.

An active form of meditation is a great option for anyone who has struggled with practising the stationary forms. And the struggle is common, whether the stillness of it is uncomfortable for you physically or mentally. If finding time is the issue, you might bring mindfulness to an everyday activity such as showering, cleaning, or preparing food. If you find stillness or focusing your mind challenging, perhaps seeking out an activity that absorbs you entirely is the way to go.

Instead of a more formal meditation practice, the gentle flow of moving mindfulness can be a great place to start. Most of us restless types will need to try different forms of mindfulness to find one that resonates with us. Perhaps one of the following ideas could become an active meditation for you.

CHOOSE YOUR CHILL

Images depicting different types of moving mediations - Images, L to R: Deeana Arts, Rachel Claire, Jess Loiterto on Pexels

Images, L to R: Deeana Arts, Rachel Claire, Jess Loiterto on Pexels.

1. Stand-up paddling

Picture yourself atop a board gliding along a tree-flanked river or on still ocean waters, tracing the coastline. Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? Like something you’d do while holidaying at a five-star resort. But you needn’t be on holiday to indulge.

Stand-up paddling offers low-impact physical benefits of strengthening the stabiliser muscles in your core, legs, and back, together with the mental health boost that comes from spending time around a body of water. Aquatic environments can calm the nerves and improve your peace of mind, and the advantages appear to eclipse even those of green spaces, such as parks, forests, or bushland. Blue spaces have been proven to elevate our mood and reduce stress. Choose a sunny day to also enjoy the wellbeing effects of soaking up a little vitamin D.

2. Music practice

Is it time to bring the case down from the top cupboard shelf, dust it off, and give the old guitar a burl? Maybe you’d prefer to sing along to your favourite song? If you’re looking to meditate in an active way that can be undertaken in the comforts of home, a singalong or playing a musical instrument could be more your speed.

Creating music can bring fuzzy feelings of accomplishment, but it also offers some surprising health benefits. Musical therapy can help with symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as improve your memory. But what if you’re tone deaf? Fortunately, the evidence says you needn’t be a virtuoso to reap the benefits.

3. Art therapy

Getting arty with paints or pencils enables you to play with colours, express your emotions, or zone out while engaging in repetitive motions. It doesn’t have to result in something beautiful (although it might!), the goal is to find mindfulness in the activity and enjoy the process.

You might try an adult colouring book, painting from observation (or even by numbers), idly doodling, or sketching a creation in your mind’s eye. Art therapy promotes mindfulness by occupying your brain and redirecting you from ruminating on the same old worries. It can also bring you into that beautiful state of ‘flow’, where you’re completely immersed in what you’re doing, no longer noticing troubling thoughts or distractions.

4. Sensory play

Invite your inner child to engage with the world and be delighted by what you discover. Sensory play pastimes awaken your senses, gently encouraging you into exploration and following what feels good. Think bubble blowing, oozing slime between your fingers, swinging in an aerial hammock, or making a water xylophone.

It may feel like you’ve gone back to kindergarten, but these activities are given to children (as well as adults with dementia or disabilities) for good reason – they help with emotional regulation and self-soothing. They’re a way to curb and heal distracted, restless, anxious, or overwhelmed feelings.

5. Labyrinth walking

We’re not talking about being trapped in a maze here! Rather, labyrinth walking is a great way to get some gentle, mindful exercise in nature. It involves treading a single-path, circular maze, not one that overwhelms you with too many choices and frustrating dead ends.

A form of walking meditation, this activity is based on ancient spiritual practices of various faiths. The idea was to empty your mind of other considerations and focus on a single question or prayer while walking the labyrinth. From start to finish, this might take five minutes or significantly longer, depending on the labyrinth and your preferred pace for this purpose. You’ll find there are plenty of labyrinths all around Australia if you’d like to try this form of active meditation.

Boost your happy hormones with these healthy habits

8th November 2022

Words by Rebecca Douglas

Category: Health | Features

Feeling stressed? Or a bit low? It turns out there are things we can do to boost the benefits of our brain’s natural happiness chemicals.

We could all do with a little help to keep us on or steer us back to a happier thought path now and then. We also have particular brain chemicals that affect our happiness, and there are simple things we can do to give these a boost when we are feeling less than amazing.

WHAT IS HAPPY?

When contemplating how to boost your happiness, it’s worth examining what the word means to you, as it’s not the same for everyone, says neuroscientist and author of The Women’s Brain Book Dr Sarah McKay. “You might have 20 or 30 or 40 different emotions that different people might use to explain ‘happy’,” she says. “Playful or content or peaceful, or you’re feeling courageous or valued or thankful or hopeful or cheeky or free or joyous.”

McKay says that in assessing your emotions and how you feel, your brain gathers a whole host of signals from your body, such as your heart rate, muscle soreness, hormone levels, gut sensations, and whether your bladder is full or empty. It then analyses this data based on several other factors. “We’re receiving this constant stream of data from our bodies and then we’re making meaning of that based on the context we’re in, the people we’re with, the time of day it is, the room we’re in, the entire context we’re absorbing from the outside,” she says. “Then we’re filtering that through our previous experiences and memories.”

While there is a lot else going on that can impact feelings of happiness, four of the main hormones that affect our happiness are dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. Let’s see how we can boost these when we need a little pick-me-up.

THE DOPAMINE REWARD

Dopamine is the reward chemical associated with the satisfaction we feel when we tick an item off our to-do list, says neurology professor Tissa Wijeratne from the University of Melbourne. It is associated with memory, learning, and motivation. “Completing a task is a good way to reward dopamine pathways,” he says. “Let’s say you wanted to mow the lawn – doing it, you wanted to tidy your wardrobe – doing that, you wanted to write a paper – completing it.”

After each success, remember to pat yourself on the back for your achievement, instead of grimly ploughing on to the next task. Wijeratne advocates for celebrating wins as much as possible, whether yours or someone else’s. Growing up in rural Sri Lanka, he remembers locals of course barracking for the nation’s cricket team, but they got into the spirit of the sport by idolising foreign players as well and celebrating after matches, no matter who won.

Dopamine’s positive powers can also be harnessed by listening to instrumental music, while the mood-boosting effect of music in general can lift your serotonin levels.

STABLISING SEROTONIN

Serotonin stabilises our moods when we feel off kilter. It keeps your sleep, digestion, appetite, memory, and ability to learn in check as well. Deep breaths of fresh air, time in nature, and focusing on healthy, calming self-care are the types of activities that will help regulate your serotonin levels.

“Meditation is a great way to increase serotonin,” says Wijeratne. “Running, a little sunshine, a walk in nature, birdwatching, green things. They are the easy ways to hack and regenerate serotonin in your body.”

Serotonin is synthesised through an amino acid called tryptophan. Low supplies of tryptophan are associated with mood disorders like and anxiety and depression. Research is ongoing, but it’s theorised that consuming foods high in tryptophan may help boost your serotonin stocks. Plant-based sources include dark leafy greens, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, soy products, quinoa, beans, and plenty more.

LOVED UP OXYTOCIN

Adding to the happy feels, oxytocin is our brain’s love potion. Dr McKay explains that our initial understanding of oxytocin was in relation to lactation, pregnancy, and childbirth, but is also involved in other bonding experiences with both people and animals. “When we connect with someone, whether that be with someone we love or cuddling our dog or seeing our kids coming home from school really happy and excited or hugging our mum if we haven’t seen her for a while – oxytocin is released at those times,” she says. “It is associated with those warm, prosocial feelings.”

Other activities that bring on the positive effects of oxytocin include simply spending time with someone you’re close to, sharing a meal, and giving compliments. Massage is a fantastic way to enjoy the benefits of all four happiness hormones, including oxytocin.

Woman with beloved rescue dog, loving each other

Image: Samson Katt on Pexels

FEEL GOOD ENDORPHINS

Endorphins are nature’s painkillers, which your body releases into your blood stream in response to stress or discomfort, but they also kick into gear when you engage in rewarding activities such as working out, eating, having sex, or laughing.

Exercise in the sunshine to give yourself a boost of endorphins and serotonin at the same time, and get some friends involved for added benefits. Although any amount of exercise brings health bonuses, aim for at least 30 minutes to bring about that mood-elevating endorphin surge. While listening to music helps elevate some of your other mood-boosting hormones, dancing and creating or performing music causes endorphins to be released.

***

While it’s useful to understand these four main happiness chemicals and increase your engagement in activities that activate them, don’t stress yourself out in pursuit of the perfect amount or balance of these behaviours. This would be counterproductive. Sometimes it’s best to keep things straightforward, says Wijeratne. “When bad things happen, try to keep laughing,” he says.

Lead image: Maria Orlova on Pexels