MEDITATION AND COACHING GO TOGETHER LIKE MASKS AND HAND SANITIZER.

Na-mama-ste, all you luscious mothers.

Anna here, coming at you live from my yoga mat. This is the fourth week of my commitment to meditate a minimum of five minutes a day and, you know what? I’ve been showing up for myself. My wild spin cycle brain now craves the quiet. On several occasions over the past week I’ve been able to step out of potential worst case scenario thought avalanches by giving myself a time out to breathe, be in my body, shake out the loose spiky thoughts, and take back the car keys from my dominant and dramatic brain.

You may have noticed that there’s been a lot of meditation talk in our Luscious channels of late, which might have you asking why a bunch of coaches are touting the benefits of self-reflection and introspection. The answer, Luscious Ones, is simple. To paraphrase TV’s ultimate motivator, “Friday Night Lights’” Coach Taylor: 

Clear minds, full hearts, can’t lose! 

Coaching and meditation are like masks and hand sanitizer: technically, you can get through a pandemic without both of them, but… should you? Is it safe? We think not. So our Luscious founder, Sarah Olin, who also happens to be a trained meditation instructor with over twelve years of experience, has teed up our first Luscious webinar, Meditation for Moms.

On Sunday, September 20 at 3pm Eastern time, Sarah will lead two Luscious hours of discussion, demonstrations, and mindful practice of multiple kinds of meditation designed to be a centering and grounding exercise. It’ll be perfect for all the moms out there who are balancing the turmoil of empty-nesting or back-to-school (virtual or in-person, each with its own slate of challenges) or just regular life and work in COVID chaos. And in recognition of how much we believe this process can benefit you and your families, we’ve lowered the cost of this 2 hour session to just $30. Find out more on our programs page or give us your e-mail using this form and we’ll send you all you need to know.

My personal path to meditation was not exactly straight and narrow. When people used to recommend meditation to me, being still with myself seemed like a cruel and unusual act. My mind was like an unsteady washing machine with an unbalanced load and too much loose change rattling around inside it. “Do you know how hard I work to NOT be alone with my thoughts?” I’d say. “I’d rather chew thumbtacks.”

At the same time, I assumed that meditation had to look a certain way. Serene, still, on a cushion, beatific facial expression, a little incense maybe… I didn’t meet the visual qualifications of “one who meditates.” Therefore, I thought, I could not meditate. 

Both of these ideas were way way off base. There are a million ways to meditate, and not one single way is the right way. In fact, I had already been meditating without knowing it. 

When I cleaned the kitchen and let my thoughts float by as I mindlessly wiped down the counters and loaded the dishwasher, then somehow felt more clear and more balanced afterwards? Meditation. 

When I walked on the beach or in the woods and my ideas rolled in and out like the surf or breeze in the trees? Meditation. 

Now sometimes I sit on my mat and just listen to the noises of the outside world and feel the air on my body. Five minutes. Easy peasy. And when my chaotic thoughts creep in I imagine hitting them out of the park with a Louisville Slugger, with a loving “see ya later, sucker!” That too is meditation.

In short, meditation is access to clarity. A naked Etch-A-Sketch upon which to draw. A new, fertile place from which to create. And that is the ground where I meet my coach. When my mind is clear and my nervous system is grounded, I am able to be the creator Luscious goddess I want to be, and our partnership is at its most productive. Instead of putting out dumpster fires and walking back the Itty Bitty Shitty Committee—the sniping voices that want to keep me small and “protect me” from imagined harm—we move boldly into the future I want to be living. 

What does meditation look and feel like to you? How can we help you, Luscious creator goddess that you are, move boldly into your future? Shoot us a note and let us know!

Meet us on the mat, mamas, it’ll be Luscious!

Anna & Sarah