Fit Zen Femme: Meditation for the modern woman

When you hear the word meditation, what words pop into your head? For me, those words used to be hippie, useless, taboo, fake, just not worth my time. I would participate in meditation once in a while, maybe at the beginning and end of yoga class, but I'd never put very much thought or effort into it.

Let's rewind to about a month ago -- I was feeling down, unhappy in my relationship, not because of my partner, but with myself. I was laid off, fearful of the future, and had a pain in the pit of my stomach that had a voice, it screamed– "you're not good enough... you're not doing enough... what are you doing with your life?" These thoughts of insecurity, self-destruction, and fear soon turned into my norm. I woke up each morning not embracing the day but fearing that it would be another that I would remain stagnant in this fog of uncertainty.

One morning I was scrolling through my instagram feed when I saw Gabrielle Bernstein's post. It read: "Recognize the other person is you." Never have such few words made such a hard impact on me. As I clicked and searched through Gabrielle's instagram account and website (Gabrielle Bernstein is a yoga and meditation teacher), I realized what I had been missing was something so simple yet so important: meditation. Meditating is a place in your mind where you can let go of those inner thoughts, those words that you keep saying to yourself that hold no truth, or in other words: your ego. You let go of this ego; fear, and embrace your inner guide; love.

At first I was scared of meditating alone... "how would I do it?" I thought to myself, "what if I messed up?" Ha-ha I say to myself now. With meditation there is no right and wrong, there is no messing up, there is only learning and growth. It is somewhere where you can go to let go of your past, stop worrying about the future, and be fully present, aware, and at peace in the moment, now. I started with Gabrielle's guided meditations, listening to them in the morning when I woke up, or anytime I was feeling down or unsure. I listened to them in the car, or before I went on a date with my boyfriend. There was no time in my life that I didn't find these

calming, balancing, manifesting meditations helpful to me in some way.

I can now say that getting laid off was the best thing that could have happened to me. I was forced to start fresh (with a new resume in hand) professionally, but also emotionally and mentally. I was fed up with my ego telling me things filled with fear and doubt, and Gabrielle's words made me feel confident that there was another way. There was a way to live each day with my highest self – with my inner guide as my only guide. I found that through meditation and mindfulness I can be in control of my thoughts, my life, and my happiness because I can choose what I want to hold onto, and I can also choose what I want to let go of.

If you still believe that meditation sounds boring, uninteresting, hippie-like, etc. then ask yourself what are you doing to make sure that you are at your highest self today? How are you making sure that you are doing all things with love instead of fear?