Building in a Pause
As a mask-wearing citizen, I am constantly reminded of the current state of affairs as I don my mask and walk out my front door. Whether you work in health care or not, as a human race, we currently experience heightened stress levels in one way or another. While many pharmaceutical drugs treat the devasting symptoms of COVID-19 (depending on how sick you get), all people have access to a highly beneficial practice that will serve their bodies well, whether or not you find yourself infected. Meditation offers a method of observing the tendencies of the mind and, by doing so, can be an effective treatment for one symptom we all currently share and one which is wildly contagious despite your mask, anxiety.
The power to observe and act mindfully is a superpower in an age of anxiety and stress. More often than not, our fear and anxiety drive unconscious action, which causes an unconscious reaction leading many to become quickly overwhelmed. On a physiological level, constant stress diminishes your body's ability to fight infection and will likely exacerbate any existing medical condition as the sympathetic drive kicks into high gear. Your brain works from the bottom up, starting with the more ancient reptilian region then progressing to the higher, more developed levels. In essence, you are more prone to act before you think. Now that humans sit on top of the food chain, we must build in a programmed pause.
There are various meditation techniques to choose from depending on your lifestyle, and the one I use is just the one that happens to work for me. It's called Anapanasati. Anapanasati is the practice of breath "watching" but without controlling. Simply count down exhales starting at 10, working your way to 0 over a given period of time and if you lose count, start over. As a health care provider, I find this technique exceptionally useful as it is one I use in various environments, such as a quick 10 minutes before starting a shift or en route to a call. This technique physiologically lowers my heart rate and slows my breathing as I walk into a room where someone is experiencing a crisis. This practice allows me to be calm and direct in my decisions and allows me to think through my action to its consequence and not "lose myself in crisis." This breath observation practice naturally enables the practitioner to become more observant in general.
As a citizen who managed to live through 2020, I, like many, bore witness to others' intolerance. By spending time practicing breath observance, you learn to be more observant of people, taking into account their context and hopefully leaving less room for your judgment. Regarding your health, the devastating effects of anxiety will likely exacerbate any existing medical condition to include COVID-19. By observing the breath's tendencies, we can monitor our bodies' preparation and intervene by taking a moment to ask ourselves, Is this necessary?". Your breath is the first thing that physiologically manifests itself in a crisis, and your body follows suit. Thus by "observing the breath" we can become more conscious of which thoughts lead to particular actions. This is mindfulness.
Meditation is simple, not to be confused with easy. In an age where stress is at an all-time high caused by many things far outside of our control, practicing a ritualistic, simple observation of self can collectively manifest a better and healthier future.
