I used to hate meditating. I hated the whole concept of just sitting in one place, not really moving, not really thinking about anything going on in my life.

However, time and time again, I have been put into situations where I am forced to try it out, and Im told, you were probably doing it wrong last time this time will be better!

Lies.

Every time, I tried my best to be loose, calm and relaxed, and every time I failed miserably to gain anything out of it besides frustration with myself for not being able to clear my mind.

I told myself I hated meditation because of how restrictive it was the fact that you arent really supposed to be thinking about your plans for the next couple of hours or what homework assignment is due soon stressed me out.

Every time I was put into a situation to try meditating, I resisted it because I thought it was causing me more stress.

Then, about a week ago, I heard something in my social psychology class that made me realize another reason I could be failing at meditation a reason that wasnt my fault.

We were talking about group influence and how the mere presence of others causes us to become aroused. As humans, we have varying levels of evaluation apprehension, meaning we naturally feel at least a little uneasy in the presence of others because we are concerned we are being evaluated by them.

This is when I realized that every single time that Ive been encouraged to try meditation, it has been in a group setting.

There was always at least one other person present every single time Ive tried to meditate.

Then I thought, what if I tried meditating alone? But then I realized I needed someone to guide me through the meditation (I wasnt just going to sit in silence with my eyes closed sitting crisscross applesauce) and gave up on the idea.

That is, until a Facebook advertisement popped up on my feed only hours later, advertising this app called Headspace a meditation app.

So I started using the app, and the 10-minute a day meditation sessions have actually been helping me de-stress to some extent.

The calm it brings me lasts for a few hours, but then I start getting back into my routine of overthinking everything and getting myself stressed out again, whether I consciously realize it or not.

I was on the phone with my brother the other night, telling him about how stressed Ive been lately. He believes that I am overextending myself, and so he challenged me to cut something out of my life in the next couple of weeks.

However, the thing is, theres nothing that Im spending time doing that I could ever cut out.

Everything Im doing Im doing with a purpose and a passion cutting any of it out of my life will surely make me feel less fulfilled, and so it wouldnt be worth it.

Then I got to thinking: what if my stress isnt coming from the number of activities Im doing, but just how Im going about my daily life? What if, instead of cutting things out of my life, I need to be adding in more stress-relieving activities, like meditating?

But meditating alone clearly isnt enough.

I was almost as busy as I am now when I was in high school, and I was stressed, but not to the point where it was affecting me as much as it is now. What was I doing differently?

-I read more paper books

-My time between classes was spent socializing, not staring at my phone screen

-I had study halls

- I took art classes

Ive always been good at adding new things to my plate and finding room in my schedule for new clubs, new classes and new friends.

I believe if I actively try to mix some of my old activities into my life, such as reading before bed instead of scrolling through Facebook, my stress levels will decrease.

According to a Telegraph article, a research study was conducted at Mindlab International at University of Sussex to see what activities generally believed to relieve stress actually worked.

The study, found that, out of reading, listening to music, drinking a cup of tea, taking a walk, or playing video games, reading relieves the most stress.

David Lewis, who conducted the test, said in the Telegraph article losing yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation.

So, I could think about meditation and reading as more time-consuming activities to add to my schedule, eat up my time and stress me out.

But, I could also see them as necessary breaks that allow me to take a step back from my hectic everyday life.

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How I went from medihater to meditator - The Daily Collegian Online

Can meditation be beneficial to you? Art of Connection host Baya Voce says that most people know that mediation could help them, even if they don't practice it.

"I've dabbled in meditation, but never got all that into it until my fiance ended our engagement and my life as I knew it seemed to shatter in front of my face into what felt like a zillion pieces and lil ole Type A, semi-control freak, thought I had it all figured out, me.. all of the sudden had nothing figured out," she explained.

Baya said that through this experience she has turned to meditation, and doing so has been a game changer. She wants to share her new knowledge with viewers, soon April 1st she is starting a free 30 day meditation challenge for anyone who wants to join.

"I'll make sure you have all of the resources you need so it doesn't matter whether you're a beginner or a pro. You'll be introduced to an incredible community who also wants to better their lives, and you and I will get to talk once a week because I'll be hosting calls where I'll be teaching lessons, taking questions and we'll be swapping stories and miracles," Bayasaid.

Head to bayavoce.com to sign up.

If you found this episode helpful, please pass it on and make sure to head to bayavoce.com to sign up for the email list where you'll get The Art of Connection episodes in your inbox every week to support you in living the most fulfilled life you could possibly imagine.

Also visit http://www.Good4Utah.com/connection for a new weekly episode every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

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How this free 30 day day meditation challenge can help you - Good4Utah

The common people heard Him gladly, Mark 12:37.

It the context of this verse, Jesus was teaching in the temple. The scribes and the Pharisees were present, and they were questioning the deity of Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees had an outward appearance of being religious, but inwardly they were very proud and thought themselves to be better than others.

Common people are down-to-earth people who know that there is no difference between them and other people. Common people may be rich, poor or in between with regard to wealth.

To be common is to identify yourself with everyone else and to know that you are no better than any other person.

The common people heard Him gladly because they knew that they had sinned against God and that putting on religion was not the answer to their sin problem. They knew that they needed the Savior; for Jesus had said, I am not come to call the righteous (Jesus was speaking to the self-righteous Pharisees) but sinners to repentance, Matthew 9:13.

Common people, whether rich, poor or in between, know that they need to repent of their sins and accept God salvation.

You fill find Him in John 3:16.

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GUEST MEDITATION - Common people - The Daily Progress

Is meditation the future of detention? Well, it is a possibility.

"I watched a video about an inner-city school that tried meditation with their primary grade students instead of implementing the usual detention, and I was really interested in the concept," said Skylar Brinkman, intern at Feed Arts and Cultural Center in Kankakee.

Meditation is known to promote mindfulness, which leads to a host of other positive behaviors. The video inspired Brinkman to propose meditation workshops specifically targeted to children and adolescents. This past Sunday, she hosted two separate workshops, one for children through the age of 12, and the other for adolescents 13 through 18 at Feed.

The video that Brinkman saw was published on Upworthy.com. It also was mentioned in a recent article in Forbes by Alice G. Walton, who reported on the benefits of meditation for young people in a high-risk school district in California. After a period of half-hour meditation sessions, the students showed better attendance and grades, fewer suspensions and happier and less aggressive behavior.

"Meditation has many benefits for kids, and one of the benefits is that it teaches impulse control," said Lia Schillinger, of Kankakee, who brought her 5-year-old daughter, Madelyn Schillinger-Hogan, to the Feed workshop.

How did Brinkman get 5- to 11-year-old kids to focus on meditating? As a former dance student, she also incorporated dance into the workshop.

Her song of choice? Taylor Swift's "Shake it Up." This activity allowed the little attendees to exert themselves enough to feel their heartbeat. Finding and focusing on the heartbeat would be a recurring theme throughout the workshop. "If they can't find anything else to focus on, they can always find their heartbeat," Brinkman said.

Then Brinkman had each attendee blow through a straw and move a piece of cotton along a line of masking tape attached to the floor. She varied the activity a few times before moving into the next portion of the workshop.

Brinkman asked the attendees to do what she called a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 exercise. She asked the group to look around the room and find five things they could see, four things they could hear, three things they could feel, two things they could smell and one thing they could taste. She added that this exercise could be used in school or anytime they found themselves losing concentration or focus.

Then she got to the guided meditation. Brinkman had the kids lie on their backs and imagine themselves as hard spaghetti noodles. She used the analogy of inserting the stiff spaghetti noodles into warm water. She then went through a sequence in which she asked them to relax each part of the body from the toes to the top of the head. Brinkman said they could use this activity any time they were feeling stressed or concerned about a school project or assignment or even when they got into bed at night to help them to fall asleep.

Then Brinkman had the attendees color a geometric design using crayons or pieces of multicolored tissue paper. She told them that they could use this picture as a focusing point from now on. "The act of coloring itself is also a calming and focusing activity," she said.

As for future classes, Brinkman is eager to try meditation classes again, although no definite dates have been set.

What did the attendees take from the workshop? Maya Machev, a fourth-grader from Watseka, said, "It was fun; I really liked how creative our instructor was."

Likewise, Lily Walker-Dionne, a third-grader from Aroma Park, said, "I liked it, and I had fun."

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Is meditation the future of detention for school kids? - Kankakee Daily Journal

Nationwide there is an opioid epidemic. Urban communities are seeing a high increase in overdose deaths from opioids, but rural communities have seen a higher percentage of deaths in Colorado.

From 2002 - 2014 urban communities in Colorado have seen a 96% increase in overdoses, but rural communities have seen an increase of 140%.

Due to that concern, a wellness center in Montrose is going a different route to help people deal with pain.

The impact on rural communities is more significant because our resources tend to be thinner, said Nicolas Taylor, a Psychologist at the Solutions Wellness Center in Montrose.

One resource that the rural community of Montrose has is the Solutions Wellness Center which will soon be hosting classes to help people deal with pain without prescription medication.

There has been a big push to look for additional ways to treat it in addition to traditional medications and things like that, said Karen Dunn Pritchard, a Counselor at Solutions Wellness Center.

The class is called Living Well with Chronic Pain and Illness which Dunn Pritchard is hosting, and it is centered around Mindfulness therapy which uses things like meditation.

There is a huge body of research still being built that shows how effective it is at helping reduce peoples felt sense of pain, said Dunn Pritchard.

With using mindfulness and coping skills for pain management, Dunn Pritchard is optimistic.

Through those exercises people hopefully will experience and learn that they have greater amount of control over how their are experiencing their pain than they thought they did before, said Dunn Pritchard.

The classes start April 13th, and if youre interested in signing up, contact the Solutions Wellness Center at 970-249-4449.

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Using Meditation to Battle Opioid Use - WesternSlopeNow

Theres a lot of data out there showing Americans are overworked.

We work longer hours, take fewer vacations and retire later than workers in Europe. One study even concluded that Americans work 25 percent more than Europeans.

And thats not because Europeans are slackers. It has more to do with the very high value American society places on working hard, achievement and the accumulation of wealth.

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We spend as much time as we possibly can at work so we can have a better car, a bigger house and more stuff, and were told it will make us happy.

If this kind of vigorous workload is the norm in the US, its no wonder were all so stressed out.

Overall, stress levels for Americans have steadily increased, especially in light of the current political climate.

After the 2016 presidential election, Americans experienced their biggest stress spike in a decade. Even before the election, millennials in particular reported higher levels of stress than Gen-Xers or Boomers.

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Between higher stress and longer hours at work, many people are looking for new ways to de-stress.

Ive found it really helpful to step away from the office for 20 to 30 minutes each day to meditate.

As the weather begins to warm up, practicing walking meditation on your lunch break can be a fantastic way to de-stress while also being more active in the process.

Here are some basic steps to help you get started:

One of the benefits of working in Manhattan is, I can easily take a quick walk around the block without driving anywhere. Dont walk in any particular direction; just wander and see where it takes you.

Dont walk so slow that you draw attention to yourself, but certainly dont walk as fast as the normal, rushed New Yorker.

Go slow enough that you can be aware of each step youre taking.

Notice each breath in and each breath out.

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It may help to match your breathing with the steps you take. For example, count six steps as you breathe in and six steps as you breathe out.

Instead of focusing on the stream of thoughts, worries, plans and judgements that dance around in your head, notice the physical sensations around you.

During my walks, I listen to the birds chirping, the cars honking and the passersby speaking in a multitude of languages.

I feel the breeze. Once in a while, I catch some delicious aroma floating out of a restaurant.

Wherever my vision falls, I try to notice whatever it is Im looking at in that moment.

Each time you feel your mind wandering to the worries in your head, gently draw yourself back to the present moment.

Use your breath or the sounds around you as an anchor.

Dont be discouraged when thoughts creep back into your head. Instead, recognize them and let them drift away.

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This kind of mindful walking can be effective for letting go of your thoughts and dropping the to-do list for a few minutes.

In some ways, it can be easier than a formal sitting meditation. There are so many things to hold in awareness: the sights, the sounds, the movement of other people.

There isnt as much empty space for distractions and stress to creep back in.

If you find yourself overwhelmed by the cascade of emails, meetings and action items at the office, try taking one of these walks on your next lunch break.

You might find that you come back refreshed, focused and ready to conquer the afternoon.

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5 Ways To Reset Your Entire Day After Having A Stressful Morning - Elite Daily

With the dust settling from one of the most heated local election seasons in years, the Beach Cities Health District wants to help residents move on and mellow out.

On April 6, the public health agency which serves Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach is putting on a free post-election community mindfulness workshop at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

The 6 p.m. event will bring together mental health experts to guide the audience through methods to help relieve stress and anxiety. It will be similar to one held after the contentious Hermosa Beach oil drilling Measure O campaign in 2015, which drew hundreds of participants.

Weeks after the March 7 election, division is still running deep in Redondo Beach, where contests for mayor, City Council and a ballot measure to derail a $400 million waterfront makeover were clouded by personal attacks, negative mailers, anonymous online posts and campaign finance complaints. While Manhattan Beach had a less controversial election for City Council, tensions have emerged over campaign mailers that targeted two ousted incumbents.

Next week, Eric McCullum of Insight LA, Tristan Coopersmith of Life Lab and Greg Flaxman and Shiori Lange of the Beach Cities Health District will go over a series of meditation techniques, including intention setting, loving-kindness, visualization and mindful breathing.

Beach Cities Health District CEO Tom Bakaly, who formerly served as city manager in Hermosa Beach, said the idea is to help individuals be present and calm.

One of the things we know from our data with Gallup polls over the last six years is in the South Bay, were very healthy and doing well in most categories, but one we struggle with is stress, Bakaly said. I think election season is maybe a contributor.

He said both sides of the Measure O battle turned out for the first workshop in Hermosa Beach, which took place weeks before the vote.

I think you build community one person at a time, Bakaly said. Our hope is if people are present or are in the moment, that they will be conscious of their actions and attitudes.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and pre-registration is required online at bchd.org/mindfulness. Child care will be offered at the nearby AdventurePlex kids play facility in Manhattan Beach. For more information, visit the Beach Cities Health District website or call Tiana Rideout at 310-374-3426, Ext. 139.

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Can meditation heal political wounds in the South Bay beach cities? - The Daily Breeze

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Ever notice that getting a manicure can be a little awkward? Yes,its a totally relaxing way to pamper yourself (and make sure your nail polishlooks fab)its just that youre sitting across froma (likely) stranger and surrendering your hands to them for half an hour, unable to really do anything.

Which means that it might bean ideal time tomeditate.

Its a concept that hasnt escaped Amyling Lin, founder new nail salon-slash-meditation studioSundays.I got this idea because I saw so many clients just closing their eyes during their manicures, she says. Its the perfect moment where you can get relaxed and just in your own zone. So many women feel like its the only time thats their own where no one is bothering them, so I realized its a great moment to meditate.

So many women feel like its the only time thats their own where no one is bothering them, so I realized its a great moment to meditate.

Sundays, situated in New York Citys Nomadneighborhood, offers headsets to customers so they can go through a guided meditationduring their treatment. That said, youre of course free to do it your way. (If you need somewhere to start, check out these pro tips.)

But most importantly, Lin notes that its not abouthow you meditate, just that you take the moment to recharge and rewind. Through practicing this mindfulness, it helps your mind feel relaxed, she says. Of course, thats a bonus on top of ahand massage. And coming to aftera meditation with totally chic nails? Thats a beauty treatment I can get behind.

Sundays, 51 East 25th St., New York, NY 10010, (646) 998-5711, dearsundays.com

While youre getting the healthiest treatmentever, here are 3 reasons why your manicureshould be waterless. Also important: No-chip gel manicures just got way better for you.

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The one place where you're not meditatingbut should - Well+Good

Mindful ASU aims to provide spaces for meditation and mindful activities on ASU campuses, beginning with Tempe

Students, staff and faculty participate in Mindful ASU's first event, an interfaith meditation at the Tempe campus on Thursday, March 23, 2017.

A new initiative isproviding meditation spaces and mindfulness resources for ASU students.

The initiative,Mindful ASU, isaimingto bring mindfulness, meditation and other contemplative resources to students on ASU campuses, beginning with Tempe. The initiative is a collaboration between the Council of Religious Advisors, ASU students and faculty members.

It kicked off with an interfaith meditation event at the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writingin Tempe on Thursday evening.

Mindful ASU has identified 14 spaces on the Tempe campus that could be used for meditation and other mindfulness exercises. Each space also has a specific theme associated with it. For example, theVirginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing house theme is Words. Other spaces include Old Main, with a theme of Tradition the downstairs courtyard at the ASUArt Museum, with a theme of Water; and the Rose Garden, with a theme of Grow.

Mindful ASUs goal is to launch first a website, and then an interactive app that can direct students to these spaces, as well as provide supplementary secular and faith based resources for students to use while they are there. Each space will also be given identifying signage to showcase the theme.

Chad Sundin, the Chaplain of the Episcopal Campus Ministries at ASU and Madeline Dolgin, an Innovation Specialist and Springboard Fellow at Hillel are two members of CORA helping to facilitate the initiative.

Sundin said Mindful ASU aims to provide students with resources they can use immediately, right where they are, rather than seeing mindfulness as another commitment.

They dont have to think I cant possibly think about de-stressing, Im too busy.' Well no, heres the place right here and we're going to help you, he said. Heres something you can do to find your breath, to find a sense of well-being. Even if you only have two minutes between classes.

Dr. Carol Sumner, senior associate dean of students, is working with CORA on their Mindful ASU initiativeand said their goal is to find ways to support students that doesnt require a connection to a particular religious group or organization.

Its a way to be able to say, You dont have to be affiliated for us to present other ways of being connected to the world around you,' she said. Thats what the mindfulness practice is really looking to do, is to get out of a particular modality of thinking that you have to practice mindfulness through a frame of religion or spirituality.

Sumner describes Mindful ASU as being one part of a much larger effort by the university to look at student wellness holistically, including holistic wellness and mindfulness resources being provided to students by Sun Devil Fitness.

While CORA might be doing things that have support and an anchor in faith based community work, its not necessarily looking at faith based practice, but mindfulness, Sumner said. The university has mindfulness work being supported and moved forward through our staff, so there are two separate facets of the work that are taking place under that umbrella.

Sundin said that meditation is the one true interfaith practice.

We can identify that we have differences, we dont have to believe the same thing, but we can both participate fully in this common practice without compromising anything that separates us in terms of beliefs and ideas, Sundin said. We can honor the differences while celebrating our commonality fully.

Dolgin hopes to use the interactive app once completed to connect students with all available mindfulnessresources right where they are.

They have yoga classes and meditation classes at the Sun Devil Fitness Complex, but imagine if those were taken out into the beautiful nature we have at this campus or offered for free at different times of the day that anyone could sort of join in on after walking out of the library, Dolgin said.

Sundin hopes these resources can help students feel less stressed, more at peace, and more connected to others around them.

You dont have to live as though everything depends upon your schedule, as though everything depends on the to-do list," he said."Theres a way of being that connects you to a larger and deeper and bigger reality, where youre connected better to other people, and to however you name whats beyond."

The Mindful ASU website will likely be finished by the end of the spring 2017 semester, according to Sundin, but students can find updates and information about upcoming events on the Mindful ASU Facebook page until then.

Reach the reporter atjspearin@asu.edu or follow@JasmineSpearing on Twitter.

LikeThe State Press on Facebook and follow@statepress on Twitter.

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New initiative promotes mindfulness, meditation among ASU students - The State Press

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Win a copy of the meditation guide 'The Mind Illuminated' News & Observer In The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness (Touchstone, $25.99), Culadasa (John Yates, PhD) combines threads of psychology, philosophy and cognitive neuroscience to ...

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Win a copy of the meditation guide 'The Mind Illuminated' - News & Observer