Suze Yalof Schwartz was stressed.
She worked with high fashion publications like VOGUE and Marie Claire. She felt as if she couldn’t be present in her day. She was running and checking off “to do” boxes. At the end of her day, she was exhausted and disconnected from her life.
“At the end of the day, I felt like I had eaten an entire bag of cookies, but didn’t remember taking one bite.”
Her mother-in-law suggested that she try a simple exercise to help her manage her stressful job. She didn’t call it meditation, but in essence, that is what she suggested. After a short period, Suze didn’t understand why everyone wasn’t doing some form of meditation.
There wasn’t a place to go for high-energy, busy executives to go to be able to practice fifteen minutes of peace. She wanted to create something that was interesting and not long and boring. She knew that she needed to avoid buzz words that turned off people too like mindfulness and “hippy-dippy” language.
According to Suze, we need to shift from being so plugged into breathing in calm. Large companies approached her like Bloomingdales, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and Chipotle have hired one of Unplug’s teachers, Nalatie Bell, to help these business’s employees to improve productivity.
My Fifteen Minutes of Peace – Unplug Meditation
With just fifteen minutes you can reduce stress, be proactive instead of reactive and increase empathy toward coworkers and customers. Almost without exception, I start my morning with fifteen minutes sitting in a comfortable chair. I set my timer for fifteen minutes. I breathe in. I breathe out. I allow all the thoughts and ideas in my head to flow through. I don’t hold on to them – instead, I try to let them go as ideas without any permanence or weight.
Some need a place to go like Unplug Meditation. But you don’t need to go somewhere to help you center yourself and balance your energy. The remarkable thing is you don’t have to go anywhere. There are apps like Headspace and Calm that can guide you through the exercise in the comfort of your own home. Or, take a few classes and then practice at home removing one more hurdle to healing and calm.
I find that just sitting still for fifteen minutes before I jump into my work day helps me keep a calm and peaceful outlook on life. Of course, I get stressed and worry. But during my morning ritual of fifteen minutes of quiet, I don’t have to be responsible for the family, friends or an employer.
I can just be.
How are you managing your stress and allowing yourself to be the presence in your moments?
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Stressed? Maybe I can help. Take a deep breathe and connect we me here.
Photo Credit: Screen Grab from Unplug Meditation. Story idea inspired from MSNBC story on Your Business
