Get More of What You Want: Good Sleep

By Ben Turshen. 

Lack of sleep is a big problem. 

A Gallup poll from a few years ago indicates that over 40% of Americans get less than the minimum recommended seven hours of sleep (I suspect this number has increased since this poll was published in December 2013). Insufficient sleep has been linked to the development of a number of chronic diseases and conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. Sleep impacts the quality of our lives every day--our energy, our focus and productivity and our mood.  

One of the more immediate benefits of Vedic Meditation is improved sleep. It is not uncommon for brand new Vedic meditators to report falling asleep easier, staying asleep longer and sleeping more soundly within a few days of learning and practicing the Vedic Meditation technique.  Click here to read a few stories from my students who started sleeping much better once they learned Vedic Meditation. 

This was my experience as well. I had been an insomniac my whole life. Even as a young boy I had trouble sleeping. In college, I began to self-medicate with alcohol, NyQuil or Benadryl. In law school, my sleep got even worse and I went to see a doctor who diagnosed me with anxiety-induced insomnia. I was prescribed Ambien (in addition to a number of other prescription medications I was taking for anxiety, depression and ADD). Through law school and during the beginning of my legal career, every single night I would either need to drink to fall asleep or take an Ambien (I was smart enough to never mix the two). Some nights, my anxiety was so intense that I would stay awake on Ambien and hallucinate, which was terrifying. Eventually I would fall asleep, but the quality of my sleep was awful and every morning I would wake up groggy and exhausted with a  hangover from either the alcohol or the Ambien. It would sometimes take me a hour to get out of bed. 

Within three days of learning Vedic Meditation, I feel asleep without drinking or taking a pill for the first time in years and slept through the night. I remember waking up the next morning without a hangover, actually feeling rested and clear. It was that moment that I knew that Vedic Meditation would help change my life for good. 

Spring Cleaning Your Mind

By Ben Turshen. 

It's that time of year. Spring cleaning. Time to donate that third and fourth pair of gray New Balance sneakers. Time to dispose of all the expired medications taking up room in the cabinet above your bathroom sink. Time to go through your closet, your dresser, the bins underneath your bed and get rid of all the "stuff" that is now irrelevant and redundant.

What if you could declutter your mind like you declutter your home? When you practice Vedic Meditation that is exactly what happens.

Without focus or concentration, your awareness settles down to experience a unique state of restful alertness, an inner wakefulness beyond thought. The state of going beyond thought, or transcendence, that is provided by the Vedic Meditation technique allows a direct experience of your most essential self, of the “you” that lies beyond all your thoughts and stress and struggles.

The result of having this experience is more clarity and less "stuff" pulling you away from what is happening, right here, right now. 

Meditation is Sexy

By Ben Turshen. 

The act of practicing Vedic Meditation is not very sexy at all. Even if you're very good looking to begin with, to the outside observer, it looks like you're just sitting there comfortably with your eyes closed for 20 minutes. It would be quite a boring thing to watch for that long no matter how aesthetically pleasing you are to the eye.   

But the effects of this meditation practice will make you better company--whether you're single or in a committed relationship. Why? Think about what kinds of people you like being around. If you're walking around stressed out, nervous and anxious, constantly worrying, depressed and miserable, exhausted because you don't sleep well, impatient, losing your temper, getting sick often, and complaining about it all then who wants to spend time with you voluntarily. 

Vedic Meditation allows you to feel, perform and relate at your very best. Calm and relaxed, rested and energized, attentive and present, kind and generous, patient and healthy. When you practice this meditation technique you become a better partner. That's pretty sexy. 

Spreading Peace

By Ben Turshen. 

It's been a long time since I first learned Vedic Meditation. Since then, this meditation practice has absolutely impacted the way I think, act, behave and interact with the world. But I certainly don't think, act, behave or interact in any which way whatsoever because I'm a "meditator" or even a "meditation teacher". 

One of the things I like the most about Vedic Meditation is there no mandated moral or ethical codes or belief systems, religion or lifestyle changes that are prescribed. You don't join an organization or receive a special name. But expect some changes to come about on their own. 

When you practice Vedic Meditation (a simple mental technique), your mind settles down to its least excited state beyond thought and your body experiences deep rest (exponentially deeper than the deepest rest that can be obtained in a night's sleep) without any focus or concentration or effort. It's easy and enjoyable. Having had that experience in meditation, you then enter the world rested and energized, calm and relaxed, with greater clarity, feeling peaceful and equanimous. Operating in that state influences the way we think, act, behave and interact with the world. You don't need to set an intention or visualize yourself in a particular situation or try to act compassionately or feel grateful. It all happens spontaneously. 

The world needs more meditators, now more than ever before. 

Finding the Time

By Ben Turshen. 

When it comes to Vedic Meditation, the meditation technique itself is easy and enjoyable. The mind and body settle down automatically and spontaneously without any effort, focus, or concentration. 

The hard work for most people is finding the time to meditate. Vedic Meditation is a daily practice and the general strategy is to meditate for 20 minutes in the morning and another 20 minutes in the afternoon/evening. For new meditators, this is may be challenging. It was for me.

As a meditation teacher, my role is to teach you how to be a self sufficient meditator. I get you to a place where you can practice this technique correctly and regularly. I work with each student to determine the best way to integrate the practice into their busy lives. Like the gym, you actually have to show up to receive the benefits, but ask anyone who's been practicing consistently and they'll tell you it feels like they've been doing it for years even if they only learned a few weeks ago.

Are You A Game Day Performer?

By Ben Turshen. 

Our ability to perform at our potential is proportional to our stress levels. Stress is not a given situation or demand, but rather our reaction to a given situation or demand. It's how we respond.

Growing up, I came to understand this all too well. Whether on the playing field or in the classroom, I found myself sabotaged by stress. As an athlete, you could label me a "practice player." I had the skills and the ability to perform, but when the game was on the line, my anxiety would get the best of me and I would "choke" under pressure. I would let my coaches and teammates down. This was apparent in my schoolwork as well. I would go into a test fully prepared, but get so nervous that I would not be able to recall the material I had memorized or apply the knowledge I had acquired. These experiences did a number on my self confidence and left me feeling miserable.

Through the practice of Vedic Meditation we can efficiently and effectively reduce our stress levels. The result is that our ability to perform at our potential is dramatically increased. This makes us feel really good about ourselves. It's a game changer. 

How Do You Manage Stress?

By Ben Turshen. 

With the Fall season arriving, we look for better ways to manage our stress. Before learning Vedic Meditation, I did a number of things to help manage my stress--some healthier than others. One of my healthier pursuits was exercise. I train in a grappling sport called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a martial art developed by the Gracie family for self-defense. On the mat, I experienced my mind and body at the same place at the same time. Off the mat, I continued to struggle. My anxiety, depression and insomnia were ever present.  

Although exercise might be a welcome diversion, a nice escape or distraction from the demands we face outside of the gym or yoga studio, a way to get out of our heads; the truth is that the legacy of stress we've accumulated in our physiology is still there. And depending on the type and intensity of exercise, we may be loading our bodies with even more stress through our sweaty endeavors. Vedic Meditation provides the mind and body with deep profound rest (exponentially deeper than the rest that can be obtained through sleep). By systematically exposing our mind and body to this deep rest, stress is naturally and efficiently released from our physiology.  

Last week, Well + Good published a story, "5 things you need to know about vedic meditation", featuring myself and two of my students, Courtney Kollmer and Lauren Plate. Like me, before learning Vedic Meditation, Courtney and Lauren used exercise as their way to relieve stress. The three of us still work out regularly, but no longer have the desperate need to escape from our stress-filled lives, we do it simply because we enjoy it. 

Spring Cleaning

By Ben Turshen. 

It seems that spring has finally arrived in New York. This particular change of seasons often inspires us to do some "spring cleaning". We go through our things and get rid of what we now find irrelevant and redundant. In the same way we accumulate stuff in our homes, we accumulate stress in our bodies. Vedic Meditation delivers our bodies into what the scientific literature describes as a wakeful hypometabolic state, a state of profound deep rest (exponentially deeper than what we can experience in sleep). The experience of this state removes accumulated stress from our physiology. Think of Vedic Meditation as "spring cleaning" for the mind and body, removing irrelevant and redundant structures (stress) at the cellular level. Maybe we go through our belongs once or twice a year in this fashion, maybe less than that. When you practice Vedic Meditation regularly you go through this process of purification every day.