Know that just because you're closing your eyes
and you're going to do something called meditation,
that doesn't mean that the mind's gonna stop thinking.
I have to be honest with you.
I've always been a person...
I get up at four o'clock in the morning.
I work until I drop.
I was raised by people that work a hundred hours a week
in a huge Italian family.
Everything is loud.
I married another loud Italian.
Everything is volatile, volatile, and you know, as
in the Spinal Tap movie.
You know, it's turned up to 11,
all the time.
Can we just talk
about what you're trying to get people to do?
For sure.
And then essentially, all we're talking about really,
in the same way that we think about looking after the body,
we're talking about looking after the mind
and taking time to ensure
that we are happy and healthy on the inside
as well as on the outside.
And in a world where we are constantly distracted,
bombarded by information.
And especially after last year
and everything that everyone's going through right now,
I think, understandably, many people feel overwhelmed.
So having a skill that you can actually learn,
a very easy skill,
I'll take you through in just a minute
where you can actually feel a little more calm,
a little more clear
and a little more sensitive is really, really helpful.
And it's worth saying, Rachel, as well,
you don't have to change.
You know, you were describing your upbringing there
and your lifestyle, you don't have to change anything.
I think lots of people think they have to
become a different kind of person
and the meditation is about having a life
that's kind of like this
and it's a little bit dull and nothing much happens.
It's really not.
It's actually experiencing the emotions even more
but not getting overwhelmed by them.
And you don't have to sit
in a dark room or have a special mantra.
This is literally for everyone.
It really is.
You know,
and, in fact, on Headspace...
We've been doing Headspace now for about 10, 12 years,
we actually don't use mantras,
not because they don't work.
I grew up using one as a kid,
with my mom,
but we don't even use them because sometimes those phrases
and those words sound a bit mystical
and perhaps can provide yet another barrier to entry
for people who can learn the same thing simply
by following the, be in and out of the breath.
I mean, I know we just have a limited amount of time here
but are there a few things that you can walk us
through to kind of get us on the road
and then people can follow up by going to the Netflix.
Absolutely.
So a couple of misconceptions, if you like
and preconceptions.
So, the biggest one I think, it's about sort
of turning off thoughts and clearing the mind.
If we could do that, then we would have already done that
and we wouldn't have to meditate, right?
So, know that just because you're closing your eyes
and you're going to do something called meditation,
that doesn't mean that the mind is going to stop thinking.
Thoughts will keep coming.
Our job is to sit back and get comfortable
with the thoughts coming and going rather than reacting
or judging or getting kind of swept away by them.
So that's number one, that's a really important one.
That's a real big one.
It's the biggest reason people don't start meditating
and it's the biggest reason people give
up meditating, thinking they're no good at it.
So be kind to yourself.
Know that it's natural for thoughts to arise.
That's number one.
Number two, most people think
that you have to sit cross-legged on the floor,
like some kind of guru, you know, Yogi or something.
You really don't.
You can sit in whatever position is comfortable.
I recommend sort of an upright chair
but if you're more comfortable sitting in an armchair,
on the sofa, a lot of people have back pain as well.
So even lying down on the floor is absolutely fine.
It's perfectly possible.
Just know that the more horizontal you are,
the more likely you are to fall asleep.
And look, just one more, Rachel,
before we kind of move on and maybe have a go
if you'd like to.
Sure.
I think there's this idea that we're just
gonna sit down, close our eyes and everything is...
we're going to be blissed out.
We're gonna immediately experience peace of mind.
Maybe, some people will.
That's not been my experience
of learning any new skill in any area of life.
Like typically we kind of have to show up a few times
and get familiar with it, get comfortable with it.
And for me, the biggest surprise in learning meditation
was realizing that I became more aware of my thoughts.
I became more aware of my emotions,
but in becoming more aware of them,
I was able to let go of them.
So sometimes I sat down and I smiled.
Sometimes I sat down and I cried and that's okay.
It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong.
It means you're letting go.
We love that
because I think that's how we feel
after you lose it, when you lose control and you shout,
you feel like, well, at least I got it out of me
and this is a quiet way to do that.
So you don't have to go to that place.
Absolutely. Better for the folks around us as well, right?