Meditation for Business Owners with Ebony Smith

Are you someone who constantly has what feels like a million things on the go at any given time? The benefits of meditation can seep into every aspect of your life, and particularly for us business owners, it can really help us find balance and structure in our lives. I sat down with Ebony Smith, a holistic healer, to learn about what meditation actually is, and how it can help.

All too often, we have preconceived ideas about meditation that often involve sitting cross-legged on the floor and humming away mindlessly. But in reality, there are many different forms of meditation out there and they can be different for everyone.

Mediation, however you chose to do it, is a great way to connect with yourself and get your creative juices flowing. If you ever hit a mental roadblock, meditating can be a great way to open your mind up and help get you back on track. Similarly, if you ever feel a little overwhelmed by your many (many) to-do lists, a quick meditation exercise can help you gain control and get a fresh start.

What’s important to recognize before starting outa new meditation practice(or getting back into it) is that it’s all about setting your intentions. Whether you want to focus on tackling a specific project, building confidence, or simply clearing your mind, meditation works by activating specific parts of your brain and taking the time to tune in to your own mental health.

Now, as we all know, with every great idea comes to a handful of myths. A lot of misconceptions around meditation stem from the idea that it has to be a spiritual practice–in today’s modernworld, meditation is backed by science and research, and it’s no longer this far-of abstract concept. Now we know, it’s essentially just about training your brain.

Another myth we often hear is that meditation has strict rules and that you have to give up some sense of control or go into a trance in order to feel it working. The truth is actually the opposite; meditating is all about gaining control over your own mind, and there are absolutely no rules on how to do it.

Similarly, people often (mistakenly) think that your mind needs to be completely blank. Quite the contrary–as Briony puts it so eloquently, meditation is simply “intentionally paying attention to something.”

Mindfulness is the heart of meditation, helping us focus on about becoming more alert and attentive. For instance, brushing your teeth can be a meditation practice–rather than tuning out and doing it mindlessly, focusing on the act of brushing each individual tooth teeth and being present in that moment is a form of meditating.

Another common form of meditation is breathwork, which is probably one of the easiest methods to start incorporating into your every day. For instance, the square breath is essentially breathing in, holding your breath, exhaling, and holding the breath again all for the same number of seconds. A lot of people start with four seconds, but you can tailor it to your own practice and help you recalibrate, in a sense.

It’s really important that when we get super busy and caught up in the whirlwind of running a business we still take the time to check in with ourselves. While meditation can certainly sound daunting to many of us, even something as simple as incorporating a few rounds of square breathing into your day can bring you a tremendous sense of control, calmness, and even organization.

Next time you’re feeling a little stuck or unsure, give yourself the space to take a few deep breaths and regain that sense of balance you know you need to move forward.