Why We Should All Be Meditating: Q&A With Meditation Coach Anne Mavis
Stress relief. Anxiety reduction. Improved sleep. Lifted mood. Improved focus and concentration. These are just some of the benefits of meditation, and there’s even research that suggests that mindfulness meditation can have a positive effect on the immune system, which is such a vital aspect of our physical health and well- being, especially as we face a global pandemic. Now more than ever, living with so much uncertainty, anxiety and social isolation, we could all benefit tremendously from taking a big, collective deep breath and freeing our minds, if only for a few minutes a day.
So, what’s it all about, and how can we get started? I spoke with Anne Mavis, a meditation teacher at Yoga Stream in Princeton, New Jersey, who shares her insights and thoughts and gives us a glimpse into her personal journey. Anne has also generously provided free access to some of her meditations, as well as links to free live classes, which appear at the end of this post. I urge you to give it a try- just the sound of Anne’s voice is incredibly soothing and transporting!
How did you get started as a meditation guru? What drew you to the practice?
I am smiling because I never considered myself a meditation guru, but what’s very interesting is that my guru, Sai Maa, says that she is not interested in followers or devotes, and asks that we step into our own mastery, so I will accept this title. I started practicing yoga in my early 20s, but the concept of meditation was extremely difficult for me, and I resisted it up until I was about to turn 40. I was beginning a new decade and this scared me, and a friend suggested I do a 40-day yoga, strength, sweat and spirituality workshop at 5:30 am every morning. I thought, this is what I need. My marriage was not great and my soon-to-be teenage children were out of control. I was perimenopausal and I needed to work on myself. Every morning my teacher Denise Bonnaig would have us start on two blocks on our knees and become aware of our breath. I struggled— I felt like my mind was spinning and all I wanted to do was run. But I didn’t. I sat there because I couldn’t leave, and when Denise would say “just welcome your thoughts, welcome everything inside,” I started to accept my thoughts and not push them away. It became easier and I started noticing positive shifts in my life. Six months later I did another 40-day program, and then a year later my mother brought me to Albany and I did my first workshop with Sai Maa. I started meditating daily. It was still difficult, but I kept trying. I would sit and become aware of my breath, the cold air going through the nostrils and the warm air leaving, and I incorporated a mantra— a vibrational sound that I repeated over and over in my mind. Even if my thoughts came in, it was okay— I’d start again. Fast-forward a few years and more workshops and courses with Sai Maa; I finally stepped out of fear and went to Costa Rica to begin my first 100-hours of yoga teacher training with my teacher Denise. A year later as we were doing our final teaching practicum, my fellow teachers told me that my voice would be perfect for yin yoga or for teaching meditation. Of course in my head I was like, no, I don’t want to do that, I struggle with it on my own! A month later there was an advertisement at a local yoga studio looking for a meditation teacher and I thought to myself, I can’t do this, I have too much fear. But I accepted my fear and I stepped into empowerment and realized this will keep me in my own practice and it will allow me to expand and guide others. Soon after I started teaching at Yoga Stream, I went into silence for 10 days at the Vipassana Meditation Center in Shelburne, Massachusetts. You are allowed no books, no journaling, no speaking. We meditated from 4:30am until 10pm. For the first three days I sang songs in my head and I wanted to run; I thought I was going to freak out. But the premise is to accept exactly where you are with no craving or aversion. To accept what is going on in the body and in the mind. So I tried and even though there was pain in my body and my thoughts raced, I accepted. My thoughts are still with me as I’m writing this, but I’m aware of them. That’s the practice. During this period of my life, my children stepped into teenage years and high school, and there were lots of problems and disruptions. But I learned that silence and trying to stay in the present moment when dealing with crisis allowed me to forge a new relationship with them and with my husband. Of course there are times when my mind takes me to dark places, even now, but I’m constantly doing the work of meditation and I know this has saved my marriage and my relationship with my children.
Why do think it’s important to incorporate meditation into our daily lives, and how can it help us to manage in these scary and uncertain times?
Incorporating meditation into our daily lives is so extremely important. Using awareness of the breath even when completing the most simple of tasks, like doing the dishes, laundry or making a bed can bring us back to center and into the present moment. We spend most of our lives worried about what has happened or what will happen instead of living in the moment. During these uncertain and scary times, by acknowledging, accepting and welcoming exactly where we are and using the breath, breathing into our heart and our abdomen, we can come into the present moment and find gratitude for what is existing right now in our lives. It’s constant work for me. I actually have to catch myself sometimes and take a moment and breathe. I used to think, I breathe every day- how is this different? But it’s very different when you take a conscious full breath in, sigh everything out, and visualize that you are breathing in love and releasing fear.
I think that some resist beginning a meditation practice because the idea of quieting the mind can seem daunting. What advice do you have for those who see this as an obstacle to getting started?
I never wanted to meditate because I thought there was no way I could ever stop my thoughts or quiet my mind. What I have come to realize is that our thoughts don’t stop and that it’s OK to have the thoughts. There are moments when my mind is so quiet and all I am doing is sweeping sensations, but when the thoughts do come in, I recognize them, I welcome them just like clouds and I move beyond them, saying silently to myself “I am blue sky” (one of Sai Maa’s meditations). And then another day I’ll come to sit and I am worried about something, my mind is racing and I can’t be still. What I teach and have been taught is to acknowledge, accept and welcome whatever is going on in our mind, and that our breath strengthens our mind. Each and every time I come to sit I become stronger in my mind and sometimes I can sit for an hour at a time; other times it’s just three minutes. And on the days that my mind is quiet, it does not mean that the meditation was better than the day when my thoughts were racing. Both meditations are positive experiences. My advice would be to just start and welcome each and every thought and try not to condemn having these thoughts or a racing mind. It’s okay.
What about those who think they just don’t have enough time in the day to meditate? Can we benefit from short sessions?
We really don’t need a lot of time to meditate, and yes, we can benefit from extremely short sessions! I read in one of Wayne Dyer’s books about how we can even take a moment when we come to a red light. We can can close our eyes and draw in a few deep breaths and experience the peace of the moment. And not to worry, because there will always someone behind us who will give a honk and let us know when our meditative moment is over! Just the simple act of breathing a circular breath will help strengthen our minds to move more into the present moment. The truth is we will always make excuses that we don’t have the time, but when we are ready, we make the time.
There’s some pretty exciting research out there that shows that meditation can actually help to rewire the brain, producing benefits such as reduced anxiety and improved concentration, among other things. In your experience, how long does it take to start to reap the rewards of a meditation practice?
I believe it takes 40 days to develop a new habit, so I suggest trying to meditate for 40 days. We as human beings want immediate gratification, and when we start the practice we keep waiting for something to happen, not sure that anything is actually happening. We have to remind ourselves that the practice is working even when we think it’s not. You just have to have patience.
When we first discussed doing this piece, we were going to focus on using meditation for relief of perimenopause/menopause symptoms, but then the world turned upside down! But in keeping with the mission of Patina, can you tell us how meditation can help us manage symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, etc.?
I was 39 years old when I started perimenopause and I am post menopausal at 51. Meditation saved me from myself and from doing permanent damage to my family. It taught me how to accept my body and all the changes that were happening. The nights that I couldn’t sleep, I would say mantras over and over again in my mind, and meditation taught me to accept that I couldn’t sleep instead of fighting against the sleeplessness. It helped me control and become aware of my emotions, my fits of rage and restlessness. Meditation gave me the gift of journaling— a gratitude journal as well as a journal of what my soul is speaking. During this time I found my two of my favorite books- Petals of Grace: Essential Teachings for Self Mastery by Sai Maa, and Journey to the Heart: Daily Meditations On the Path to Freeing Your Soul by Melody Beattie. At times when I was having horrific hot flashes or couldn’t stop crying I found salvation, stillness and guidance in these books. To this day I open them randomly every morning and night, and I also use them when I teach.
Given current circumstances, I think we could all benefit tremendously from incorporating meditation into our daily routines. How can we get started while isolated at home?
Being in quarantine right now I believe it is very important to find a few moments to be still and just breathe. When we first wake in the morning we can take a couple of minutes to just draw in a breath, sigh everything out, and say silently in our minds what we are grateful for as we get ready to face the day. When we get in the shower and the water is running over us we can just become aware of the sensation of the water and draw in the breath. When we are making our coffee or cooking our meals we can become really aware of what we’re doing and take a few moments and just breathe and sigh everything out. As we are doing this we can say silently in the mind “I am peace, I am joy, I am healthy, I am abundance, I am love,” and visualize all of these qualities shining out of our own heart to all beings who are going through the same difficult times.
Is there any other advice you can offer to our readers who are trying to manage a “new normal” in such an uncertain time?
Keep reminding yourself that this will pass. Everything does change. We will be stronger and have more appreciation for the little things that we used to take for granted. I invite everyone to have gratitude for at least three things each day as we try to manage this “new normal.”
We are so grateful to Anne for so generously sharing her perspective and her journey, and for providing our readers with access to her beautiful meditations, which you will find below.
LINKS TO ANNE’S MEDITATIONS:
*Below link will take you to the LYT Yoga page, where you will find five free meditations with Anne, no sign-up required. I have listened to these, and they are AMAZING!
https://movementbylara.vhx.tv/meditation-with-anne
*Anne is also offering free live guided meditations from March 29th-April 9th. Reduce stress, improve concentration and enhance health and well-being during this uncertain time. Classes are as follows:
Sunday 11:30am
Monday 11:00am
Tuesday 7:30pm
Wednesday 12:00pm
Thursday 11:00am
HOW TO JOIN ANNE’S VIRTUAL CLASSES:
1. Visit YogaStream.net/schedule or MindBody and sign up for class as you normally would (you can set up account easily on MindBody).
2. Sign up for a FREE Zoom account on zoom.us
3. You will receive an email with the link for class 10 minutes before the class starts.
4. Click the link and join in on the FUN!
Anne Mavis has been meditating for 12 years. It has been a journey for her which she is still on. Anne has taken many workshops around meditating, mindfulness and bringing in the light. She is a Virpassana student and has her 200-hour yoga certification under Denise Bonnaig of Princeton Power Yoga. Anne is on the general council for Light Legacy Foundation, one of Her Holiness Sai Maa’s humanitarian organizations, bringing mindfulness and meditation programs to women coming out of domestic violence, incarceration, and homelessness.
Anne is part of an Awakened Life group that gathers monthly for teachings and meditation.
She currently teaches meditation at Yoga Stream 4 days a week in Princeton NJ.
You can follow her on Instagram @thatgotomeditation