The *E-Volved Trainee Part 1- Internal Silence
The terms “prayer”, “meditation”, and “spirituality” freak out a lot of people. Recently I went to a lecture given by Dr. Mike Nichols, a specialist in longevity. He said the three keys to a long healthy life are: diet, movement, and spirituality. A lot of the folks in the audience scoffed at the idea of spirituality, and mostly asked questions about diet and movement. When Dr. Nichols asked why no one had questions about spirituality, a med student in the crowd said, ” because it is not scientific “. Dr. Nichols simply said, “Internal silence, meditation and spirituality, whatever you want to call it- IS scientific.”, and “if you do not practice a form of internal silence, you are missing a piece in your make up of a healthy lifestyle.” Our current environment is changing moment to moment, more stimulus goes into out brains than we can handle. This causes and low grade sympathetic overload reaction, in other words, excess stress. Managing stress is going to become more important as out ability to communicate and gather information increases. That is why, setting out time for “internal silence” is becoming more and more important. Still skeptical? Just GOOGLE “meditation and health” and you will find some legitimate material. It all comes down to managing stress and letting our minds heal from the risible amount of input we endure in our current environment.
Have you ever started a project, like cooking, or gardening, and felt an incredible sense of peace? That feeling of one pointed thinking and letting every thing else go feels great, right? Well, there is your start to internal silence. It can be listening to music, creating art, reading or walking. These are not the optimal forms of internal silence, but they are all a good start. As you get more serious about giving yourself some time in internal silence here are some leads that can help you become more serious. These are my favorites and I have listed them from the most basic, up to scientific:
- One Moment Meditation- You Tube
- Meditation: A Practical Guide- Eknath Easwaran
- Stress, mindful mediation and their impact on telomere length are the subject of this 2009 article co-authored by Nobel Prize-winner, Elizabeth Blackburn
- The Immortality Edge
Just remember, if you have issues with this being “spiritual” or “religious”, remember no matter what you call it it is stress management! My recommendation is that you start with a total of 60 minutes a week, that is 10 minutes 6 days a week or however you want to split it up. In the beginning, use your research on the subject as countable time towards your 60 minutes.
Internal Silence is a practice that can help us all with managing stress. Becoming an *E-Volved trainee should include work in the aspects of reducing stress, a healthy diet, and movement. Once you can practice mastering these three basic themes, you will be on your way to being Strong, Healthy, and Happy!
See you next week where we will discuss the next element of longevity, Movement.
–Eva T.
* The E (is for Eva) -Volved Trainer!
Other Studies to explore:
The Physiology of Meditiation-by Dr. Jooyoung Julia Shin, M.D.
NEN Workout:
Sprint 10 seconds, rest 1 minute. 8 – rounds. ~GO!
Please warm up accordingly!
