How meditation can help you with burnout

Tips and questions answered to have a successful meditation practice

We live in a “go-go-go” society that reinforces being busy by celebrating our busyness as a form of success. Yet, this fast paced life is not necessarily natural for humans and in fact, can do harm to our nervous systems due to the pace and overstimulation that is unnatural for most of us. This is where burnt out, irritability and overall fatigue often come in.

But there’s good news — you don’t have to keep feeling this way and you don’t have to give up your life.

Meditation and mindfulness can help and you don’t have to identify as being spiritual to do it.

Meditation is no longer a practice reserved only for those seeking spiritual enlightenment. It has now become a mainstream activity and is often recommended by healthcare professionals, provided in businesses to employees and taught in schools.

What is meditation and why is it helpful?

The purpose of meditation is to help support mental and emotional health and wellbeing. It is about observing the present moment, which significantly affects hormones and neurotransmitters such as decreasing cortisol and increasing serotonin, melatonin, and epinephrine - all the “good feeling” hormones.

It is estimated between 200-500 million people meditate worldwide, and this number will continue to grow. Since 2012, the number of people practicing meditation has tripled.

You might have questions about meditations or perhaps you’re even skeptical about the benefits of meditation. You might be wondering what’s all the hype and how meditation actually works? Wondering what the point of meditation really is? Wondering if meditation actually works or is it just a woo-woo thing and another trend in the wellness industry?

I get it. When I first started my journey with mental health, I actually did not think mediation was anything more than a hippie woo-woo exercise that made people seem more ‘enlightened’, whatever that actually means anyways. I never really bought into it if I’m being totally honest. It wasn’t until I actually started incorporating meditation and mindfulness practices into my own lifestyle, that I actually “got it.” Through my rituals and routines in my meditation practice, I started to notice a shift in my felt experience, which lead to a shift in my mindset that I had been seeking.

Here, I’m sharing why meditation is often recommended for mental and physical health and how meditation actually works.

Definition of Meditation

The practice of meditation means to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of being in the present in the moment. The purpose is to learn to observe when your mind wonders and gently bring it back to your focal point (e.g. breath, voice of a guide, mantra, counting, imagery, etc.) Some use their meditation practice for spiritual awareness and growth. But meditation does not explicitly mean spirituality is apart of the practice.

What is the purpose of meditation?

Meditation is often recommended by health care providers including therapists, counselors, physicians, coaches and others in the healthcare industry to promote a decrease in people’s stress responses and improvement in overall health. Meditation has been shown to significantly reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and even physical pain. It has shown to help to enhance peace, perception, self-concept, and well-being. Research is ongoing to better understand the effects of meditation on one’s physical health (psychological, neurological, and cardiovascular) and other areas, but it’s looking promising in these areas of our health as well.

Meditation is free, 'natural’ and accessible to everyone, anywhere and at all times. It is one of the most powerful mind body practices and tools because it meets you exactly where you are at. There is a meditation practice for everyone no matter your preference from guided, silent, focused, music, movement, imagery, art/expression, etc.

The thing about meditation is, you become more and more you.

- David Lynch

What does meditation do for the brain?

Meditation practices are known to improve a wide range of willpower skills, including attention, focus, stress management, impulse control and self-awareness. Meditation teaches you how to respond vs. react to your thoughts, feelings and impulses. It changes both the function and structure of the brain to support self-control. In fact, those that regularly meditate tend to have more gray matter in their prefrontal cortex, which means that they have an increase in self-control.

Frequent questions about meditation

How long do you have to meditate to get the benefits?

You don’t have to meditate for 30+ minutes to receive the benefits of meditation. In fact, you only need to engage in a meditation practice for about 2 minutes a day to feel the benefits of meditation; this includes mindful practices such as mindful movement, “single-tasking” (aka “mono-tasking”), feeling present and grounding in the moment, etc.

What’s the best time of day to meditate?

There’s not a best time of day to meditate. Take the pressure off of yourself that you must do it at a certain time to receive the benefits. Instead, find a time of day (or night) that feels best for you or fit it in when can (for those busy people out there!) The point is, just do it!

How often should you meditate? Do I have to meditate everyday?

Like anything else, the more you do it the better the results. Think of the gym and your goal of getting stronger. If you only go once, you’ll leave tired and probably really sore the next day and not getting stronger. You might even resent the gym after doing it once because of the discomfort it left you with. However, if you make it part of your routine and you go several times a week, you’re going to feel stronger. Meditation is no different - the more you practice the better the results.

I like to do a daily meditation or mindfulness practice. Don’t let that discourage you or freak you out, though. My meditation or mindfulness practice looks different everyday: somedays it’s a 2 minute breathe exercise, or 2 minutes of silence, other days it’s 30 minutes of a guided meditations, a mindful walk or mindful movement before bed. It’s not a rigid practice - it meets me where I am and because of that, it’s easy to weave into my day.

Do I have to meditate with my eyes closed?

No, keeping your eyes opened or closed is a personal choice and preference in meditation. Closing your eyes can help decrease the stimulation and distraction around you, but it is not necessary in your meditation practice.

If you prefer to keep your eyes open during your meditation practice, try to keep your gaze soft and your eyelids heavy. Sometimes it can help to gaze downward and 2-3 feet in front of you; this eye position tends to feel more relaxed vs. staring directly in front of you.

You can also look around the space that you are meditating in and find something soothing or comforting to gaze at. Allow your eyes to rest on the object, again, with a sense of softness and ease.

Do I have to sit cross-legged to meditate?

No, sit down or lie down in a position that feels most supportive and comfortable in your own body. Don’t force a position on yourself; if your body feels tense and rigid, you’ll be distracted by this and it’ll pull you out of your practice instead of enhancing your practice.

I enjoy doing my meditation practice while lying down either on my bed, couch or the ground and I like to put a pillow under my knees and head so that the back of my body feels more supported.

Find a position that works for you vs. forcing yourself into a position that is not comfortable. Ask your body what position will be most supportive for your meditation practice. Remember, sitting cross legged does not make you more enlightened or have a more successful meditation practice.

Keys to a successful meditation practice

• Make your meditations work for you. Do not force a certain type of practice on yourself if it doesn’t resonate or if makes you feel more anxious and stressed out. If it’s forced, you won’t do it or if you do, it’ll feel like torture and eventually you’ll stop doing it. There are thousands of meditations out there from guided, experiential, movement, imagery, art, music, silent, focused, breath work, mantra, loving-kindness, yoga, yoga nidra and so much more.

• Be flexible with the ‘time’ you meditate. Do not force it if it’s not working for you at a specific time of day or a specific length of practice. For example, if you think you need to meditate first thing in the morning to be successful, but you’re not naturally a morning person, you might start to resent the practice and even become anxious and stressed starting the night before due to having to wake up early. If you have an expectation to meditate for 30 minutes, you’ve added even more stress to yourself forcing a morning practice. It’s not worth it. Do not put expectations on yourself that cause stress for your meditation practice - that’s actually the opposite of the intention and point of meditation.

• Be reasonable with your expectations about what meditation is supposed to do for you. If you think your mind will be silent or completely quiet and that means that you are a successful meditator, you are going to be very disappointed. You can learn techniques to help quiet your mind here, but your mind will produce thoughts and you will get distracted from time to time so it’s important to accept that. When we accept this human reaction, we learn how to respond vs. react to our internal world.

  Not all meditations are for everyone and there is a meditation for everyone.

I encourage you to try on different types of meditation and mindfulness practices and see what resonates with you. Then try to find time to practice as often as you can during your week.

If you want to try guided meditations to meet specific needs including Sleep Issues, Chronic Pain or Emotional Wounds & Inner-Child Healing, start by exploring my meditation offerings. You can also check out my Insight Timer page for additional meditations. For a variety of free meditations, You Tube always is a great place to explore and try on different styles.

*Edited on October 16, 2021 by Robyn Gray, LMFT