D<\/span>o you want to meditate but never seem to be able to find the time? Don\u2019t give up. Meditation\u2019s many benefits are worth pursuing, even if you have to use your time popcorn\u2014those small, random free moments, such as waiting in line, that pop up throughout the day and make us instinctively reach for a distraction.<\/p>\n There are so many reasons to meditate. The workplace has become a breeding ground for an epidemic of \u201cSADness\u201d (stress, anxiety, and depression)\u2014three afflictions meditation can ease. Smartphones have shrunk our attention spans to sub-goldfish levels, and meditation can help us focus at least as well as an amphibian. And meditation can make pain feel less painful, enable us to sleep better, control impulsive reactions, and improve our relationships. But most of all, meditation lets us live our lives as they\u2019re happening\u2014not as background music to thoughts of the past and imaginings of the future.<\/p>\n Here are five easy yet powerful meditative moments that anyone, no matter how busy, can fit into their day.<\/p>\n Do you ever feel the urge to reach for your phone at a stoplight to scan your email? Where I live, cellphone use is one of the toughest jurisdictions for distracted driving. Even touching your phone to turn off an alarm while your car is on the road can result in a fine of up to $1,000 for a first-time offense\u2014plus a three-day driving suspension and demerit points. Rather than reach for your phone, take a deep breath and scan your environment for something pleasing to look at, or double up on the meditative impact by combining it with the next meditative moment.<\/p>\n This next practice has resulted in countless cases of \u201cmy best day at work in years.\u201d Whenever you encounter someone, say to yourself, \u201cI want this person to be happy.\u201d Not only will you short-circuit a knee-jerk reaction to view others with a critical mind but, with each person you encounter, you\u2019ll also be cultivating an aura of kindness that, if they\u2019re attentive, they\u2019ll be able to sense. If you can wish happiness for everyone you see in a day, you will get the same mood-elevating benefits as a formal meditation session in compassion where you imagine a wider and wider circle of humanity and wish them all well. Compassion meditation always begins with yourself. So, while you\u2019re wishing happiness for others, be sure to take a moment to wish for your own happiness.<\/p>\n Do you remember tasting anything today? Or did you scarf down your food and drink while you were busy doing something else? Food is a pleasure that deserves to be savored. You\u2019re eating anyway, so why not take a moment to smell, taste, and feel the sensations your food gives you. Savoring your food counts as meditation.<\/p>\n \u201cHe lived at a little distance from his body,\u201d begins James Joyce\u2019s \u201cA Painful Case,\u201d the tragic short story of Mr. Duffy, a man who never pays attention to the world around and within him. Many of us are Mr. Duffy; we prefer to be all orderly minds without nuisance bodies that repeatedly impose their needs on us and interrupt our productivity. But when we cut ourselves off from our bodies, we cut ourselves off from what Joyce calls, \u201cLife\u2019s feast.\u201d So, reconnect with your body now and sporadically throughout the day. What\u2019s happening with your left hand? It\u2019s not an insignificant question. Inhabiting your body takes you out of inhabiting only your mind. If you can feel your left hand, you can also start inhabiting other parts of your body. Feel the aliveness in your left hand and, if you have time, travel up your arm and around your shoulders down to your right hand. You may discover that your body is a welcoming place of mental rest.<\/p>\n The simplest and most portable tip, \u201cjust breathe,\u201d is a meditation that you can do anywhere, anytime. Take a deep breath into your belly and let your attention follow your breath as feel your belly rise and fall as breathe out. It only takes a few breaths to signal your body to relax, recharge, and energize.<\/p>\n Try one of these meditative moments, notice how it makes you feel, and soon, you\u2019ll be seeking out opportunities for more meditative moments that, sown together over the course of a day, will have a positive effect on your well-being. And if you ever decide that you have five minutes or more to sit quietly and just breathe, your meditative moment will have become the bridge to building a meditative habit.<\/p>\n Try Meditative Moments: 5 easy yet powerful meditative moments to fit into your day<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113,115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2019","category-fall-2019-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9214"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9496,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9214\/revisions\/9496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Stoplight = Breathe + Delight<\/h3>\n
2. The Happiness Wish<\/h3>\n
3. Wake Up and Smell the Coffee<\/h3>\n
4. What\u2019s Happening in Your Left Hand?<\/h3>\n
5. Just Breathe<\/h3>\n
Lynne Everatt is a coauthor, with Addie Greco-Sanchez, of The 5-Minute Recharge: 31 Proven Strategies to Refresh, Reset, and Become the Boss of Your Day. Connect with Lynne on LinkedIn and Twitter. To learn more, please visit 5minrecharge.com.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"