Whose voice has eased the most minds since the start of the pandemic (a.k.a. the most super-stressful year)? If youâre one of the 65 millionâplus members of Headspace, itâs likely that of Eve Lewis Prieto, the director of meditation and one of the meditation teachers for the popular mindfulness app.
Yet Prieto, with her elegant and inspiring tones, didnât spring from an enlightened Buddhist ashram. Rather, she grew up working at the family hotel in the west Scottish countryside â and then pursued a career in advertising.
âI was living in London, on the verge of chronic anxiety and stress,â Prieto recalls. âIâd wake up feeling like someone was standing on my chest and my head was physically going to pop. Then a friend recommended meditation.
âI initially thought it was far too spiritual, mystical, not for me. But then I tried Headspace and felt almost instant relief.â
Fast forward a decade and a career change, and Prieto, now based in California, brings relief to others worldwide. âI grew up with all those U.K. ideas â keep a stiff upper lip, carry on as normal, never need help. But I came to understand that meditation is simply about giving the mind some of the same care and attention we give our bodies.â
Care and attention how, exactly? Consider Prietoâs go-to strategies.
Meditate as you are. âYou donât need to wear special clothes, sit cross-legged, or do anything that feels strange or different. There couldnât be anything more natural than pausing, stopping, and connecting mind and body. So many people are rushing around unaware of that mindâbody connection.â
Take meditation breaks. âI put block-breaks on my calendar â essentially fake meetings â so people canât book over them. If we can find ways to trick the system to manage our day-to-day, we can be happier and more present when we are available.â
Start small â and stick with it. You donât have to meditate for an hour. âStart with 10 breaths. Then, find two or three minutes. If you can do that every day, thatâs better than planning on 20 minutes and not doing it. Itâs like lifting weights or running: Doing a little builds up to let you do a little more.â
Create a dedicated space. âI have a specific spot in my living room where I meditate, so I donât have to think about where to go. I can see outside and settle into that calming, quiet feeling. Pedro, my wiener dog, often lies beside me. He knows not to disturb me â itâs this intuition he has.â
Set phone boundaries. âImagine waking up and having 10 people around your bed saying things to you â thatâs essentially what weâre doing when we open our phones. So, I have a rule that I donât look at any social media or emails until Iâm sitting down to start my workday. And I turn off notifications â that constant buzzing takes us away from what weâre doing in the moment.â
This article originally appeared as “Time to Meditate” in the March 2021 issue of Experience Life.
Peace During the Pandemic
Headspaceâs Eve Lewis Prieto offers tips on how to find calm during these uncertain times.
Get OK with not being OK.
âWe often have this very critical internal chitchat in the background â Iâm a terrible partner, a failure, no good at my job. Unchecked, these emotions can really build up.
âBut itâs OK to say to a family member or colleague, âIâm struggling, and I need help.â It can be hard, but right now, when weâre all experiencing a difficult situation, having freedom taken away, being at home. Sharing where youâre really at is a chance to say, âIâm not making a fuss, actually. This is hard.ââ
Watch for signs of digital exhaustion.
âA lot of people are discovering how exhausting and difficult it is to have your body one place and your mind somewhere else through Zoom meetings. We spend hours in front of our computers, and while we havenât physically moved, we emerge exhausted. Thatâs because our mind is racing miles â or months and years â away, and that work is really, truly tiring. Pay attention to that feeling. It is telling you something important.â
Get real about grief.
âI didnât have a particularly easy start coming to California. Both my husband and I lost our fathers in the first couple of years. If I hadnât had my practice, I would have moved home.
âGrief is hard to talk about because itâs painful. When we lose someone, thereâs a sense that life is no longer the way it was. This is true for all of us during this pandemic â the whole world is grieving because weâve lost a way of life. Meditation is what has helped me to say: This is part of my life and it has happened. I may not like it, but it happened.â
âWhen I found out about my dad, I had so many emotions â guilt, anger, an intense pain and sadness. It felt so utterly overwhelming. A big part of meditation mindfulness is considering impermanence. Unfortunately, weâre born, we live, and, at some point, we will die. So how we spend our time with those we love really matters because it wonât always be there.
âThe pain Iâve experienced, the pain youâve experienced, the transition through difficulties, it can all give you compassion for yourself and others. If we can use that for a sense of kindness to ourselves and others, it will hopefully make our lives a more engaging and fruitful experience.â
Look for the lessons.
âThe days during the pandemic can be so difficult, but one good thing to remember is that this isnât going to go on forever. Of course, we still really donât know the end point, but we do know that weâll come out of it knowing more about ourselves and having learned more about ourselves and the planet.â
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