5 STRESS RELIEVING, REFOCUSING MEDITATIONS PERFECT FOR PRE-TEACHING MOMENTS
Commuting anywhere can be rough. It isn’t unheard of to take the emotional and mental baggage of the journey you just completed into the room with you when arriving at your final destination. Maybe you were stuck in traffic for 45 minutes; spent your travels crammed into an overpacked subway car; or perhaps your commute from the kitchen table to wherever you have your online yoga class streaming set up place is actually a little too close for comfort (this is a stress in itself). This has happened to me too many times to count.
All the steps it takes to get from A to B, and the energy used to take them, can take a toll. Energetically, emotionally, physically, the stress is palpable. Scratch that, the stress is actually measurable! Just look at the impact of stress on your nervous system; daily travel can be intense.
Do you consider the mood or energy with which you arrive when you’re about to lead a yoga practice? Or do you charge straight out of the car or off your other-job work call and into class, no matter how you have turned up that day?
I’ve learned - the hard way - that the way I feel in the moments before I teach will translate directly to my words and energy in the room. So how do I make sure that I’m focused, calm, and collected before stepping on to the teaching mat? I think you know the answer to that. It is also in the title of this article, so I’m just going to get on with this now.
But what is the use of meditating before teaching a yoga practice?
Think about the stress our commute or simply just a long ass day of WFH can put on our nervous system? It will slowly begin to faaaaade away, with the use of a little meditation before class. It works. Science told me so.
Sometimes life can feel like one long run-on sentence. We all tend to jump from one thing to another, without registering the impact an individual moment has had or will have on our future endeavours. Meditation acts as the much needed punctuation, helping to press the pause button in our lives. Allowing us to become truly present to the moment at hand, which is extremely important for when we teach.
Meditation practices help us to bear witness to the sensations of the body, the thoughts of the mind, and the feeling of breath. If we are hoping for our students to be deeply connected to themselves as they move through our class, we must make sure that we as teachers turn up with this inner connection in place too.
Insight Timer
Insight Timer has been one of my most used apps since I downloaded it to my phone nearly 2 years ago. Insight Timer has it all. Accessibility (it’s free!), an incredible range of voices, styles, themes, and lengths of meditation and music tracks. It truly is the ‘all you can eat buffet’ of the medi app world.
One of my favourite functions of the app is the ‘Donate’ button, available on the profile for each and every teacher! All of the practitioners upload their work for free and rely on the user's generosity to make an income via the platform. What a great way to say thank you to that specific teacher for helping you get in the zone for your own class!
I’ve included my Insight Timer top 5 guided meditations for pre-class prep, ordered from longest to shortest. Taking the time to meditate and turn inwards, even if it’s just a few minutes of quiet before I teach, really helps me enter a space of focus, calm, and presence. This enables me to show up authentically for my students in the room AND helps me teach a kick-ass yoga class, all achieved in less than 10 minutes flat!! With that - the list!
Ps. This isn’t a paid advertisement or anything, I just love Insight Timer and want to use this platform to share the tools I actually use in my day to day life with you. However, if the peeps at Insight Timer happen to feel compelled to #spon me, they are ofc welcome to send some dollar bills my way. Just saying.
1. Cultivating Focus with Manoj Dias 9 mins 15 secs
“This practice leans on mindfulness and concentration to cultivate a much deeper sense of focus and attention. Calmly guided by Manoj Dias, this is for those looking to stabilise the mind by focusing on breath. This exercise features extended moments of silence.” - Insight Timer
Manoj Dias is a world-renowned meditation teacher, author, and co-founder of digital meditation studio Open. (I recommended this as a go-to platform for live guided meditations, in one of my weekly newsletters - sign up if you want in.) Manoj is also a global ambassador for lululemon, and was featured on the 20 Teachers Of Colour To Watch in 2020 list.
I was introduced to Manoj’s work whilst living in Melbourne and have been inspired by his wisdom regarding the balancing act of being a teacher. He speaks eloquently on navigating life as both a normal human being and also someone that people look to for guidance during the hardest times.
His wisdom seeps into the guided meditations he shares, with this particular ‘focus practice’ using a breathing count technique to cultivate an awareness of the beauty of stillness. The perfect meditation for settling into quiet post-commute, if you have a little more time to spare before teaching. Even if your commute at the moment is simply those few steps from the kitchen to living room.
2. Calm Your Busy Mind with Andy Hobson 8 mins 30 secs.
“This is a gentle mindfulness practice for when you have an overactive mind. When we sit in stillness, we can find a newfound sense of calm, clarity and presence. Allow Andy to guide you to let go of any tension or effort, as you simply sit back and notice your experience.” - Insight Timer
I am drawn to Andy’s meditations due to the simplicity of his teachings and the clarity of his guidance. A go-to teacher of mine on the app, if ever I’m running late and won’t have time to find a quiet spot to meditate before students start arriving (IRL or in my Zoom waiting room), I’ll pop this on through my earphones on my way. This practice never fails to quieten my busy mind, allowing me to forget the blur of my travels or whatever I’ve been up to the last few hours and helps me get in the zone for teaching the class ahead.
3. Learning to Surrender with Sarah Blondin 8 mins 5 secs
“This meditation helps us let go of our worries and fears. It reminds us that we are supported and that life is unfolding just as it should.” - Insight Timer
Would this have been a reliable (or accurate) top 5 Insight Timer list if Sarah Blondin didn’t make the cut?! If you have the app and are yet to come across her work, that includes the incredible Live Awake podcast (a self-guided meditation pod), then today is your lucky day. Get stuck in to her offerings, you have so much meditation-goodness in your future.
Sarah’s words constantly stop me in my tracks, and ‘Learning to Surrender’ is no different. Her deepfelt emotion and tenderness seep through every sentence, that is in itself, lyrical beauty. I find this meditation particularly useful to listen to before I teach any yin style yoga class. It gets me totally in the restorative mood and often helps to unlock hidden thematic treasures within my own mind, for the meditations or teachings I choose to share with my students during class.
4. Find your Focus: Box Breathing for Beginners with Tom Smith 4 mins 20 secs
“Join me for an introduction to box-breathing, an incredibly refreshing breathing technique used by mindfulness coaches and soldiers alike to find fast-focus and calm. I introduce box-breathing and guide you through a few rounds of breaths so you can use the technique in your own time, throughout the day. I hope you enjoy!” - Insight Timer
Simple, effective pranayama. Tom’s guided practice is ideal for masterful breath workers and beginners alike. Our breath is our most powerful tool for calming the nervous system in a tick. Especially if you are feeling flighty and out of your body from hours on the road or on a screen, this short track takes you back to yourself in no time. And maybe it’s just me, being a biased Brit and all, but I find his accent super soothing and comforting. British accents, man.
5. The Only Place You Need To Be Is Here with Dora Kamau 3 mins 30 secs
“A simple presence practice, allowing you to arrive in the present moment. Being here, fully aware and fully open to the vast spaciousness that resides each of our beings. Beginner friendly. A short and sweet way to stay connected to the liveliness of the present moment.” - Insight Timer
Short and sweet indeed, this practice is a special one. Last but certainly not least, this track has helped me in many a sticky moment following a stressful commute (or 10). It is a true testament to Dora’s skills that she can create a meditation of such solid quality within such a minute timeframe.
In just 3 minutes 30 seconds, I am able to find the space in my body to release any stress, anger, or overwhelm that has attached itself to my mind, body, and soul along my travels. I am always refreshed and focused after falling into this container of time and space that Dora is able to hold, with just a few simple words. And we all have 4 minutes to spare, to gather ourselves to teach our students.
!! Cheeky last-minute bonus rec !!
Perhaps you don’t even have three minutes to centre yourself, or maybe silence is all that you are craving to get yourself in the zone. Insight Timer also has a dope timer for you to time and track your own self-guided meditations, customising your practice to whatever your heart desires.
