Meditation Series: The "Love Hormone"

This is the first of many, short blogs focusing on easy-to-do meditations.  Often, meditation or mindfulness practice, seems only for the elite or seasoned yoga practitioner, when really anyone can do it.  Hopefully this series will support you in your meditation practice.

The Heart

Often we dwell in and focus on the mind.  The brain’s electromagnetic frequency is smaller than that of the heart.  The heart is contained within a fluid-filled sac called the pericardium, attached to the diaphragm.  The heart travels up and down as we exhale and inhale, riding the movement of the diaphragm.

The “Love Hormone”

Feelings of love, kindness, and connection come from the release of the hormone oxytocin.  This hormone is released during childbirth, breastfeeding and orgasm.  If none of those are accessible to you, then simply meditating on the emotions of love and connection can trigger the release of this hormone.

The Meditation 

Sit in a comfortable position, upright in a chair or cross-legged or kneeling on the floor.

Place the hands, palms on the chest, one on top of the other.  Place the hands anywhere on the chest, wherever makes sense to you.

Close the eyes.  Imagine the movement of the heart moving up and down on the waves of the diaphragm as you exhale and inhale.

Mentally repeat words of kindness, love, and joy as you imagine the heart inhaling and exhaling.  Whatever that means to you, imagine the heart can breathe, inhale and exhale. 

Do this for 1-3 minutes to increase feelings of love, kindness, and compassion.  If a person or a situation comes up as you are doing this mediation, include them in your meditation.

Yoga in the World

Studies show that Oxytocin is also released in response to positive social cues and so, to get more love, give more!  Offer a hug to your friends, offer encouragement to those around you, give a random thank you card, smile at a stranger!  All of these promote feelings of connectedness.

Strengthfinder 2013: Building on Your Strengths

As I prepare to release another album of chants, I’ve reflected on the numerous roles necessary to make this project happen:  I’ve been the fundraiser, visionary, songwriter, art director, writer, marketer, and business manager.  On top of that, I teach yoga which also includes the role of “....mentor, priest, and healer” as Donna Farhi says in her book Teaching Yoga.  Some of these roles come naturally to me.  I feel most comfortable sitting in front of a class or a guitar.  I feel less comfortable in front of a spreadsheet, calculating expenses; or even worse -- Adobe Photoshop! 

As I was trying to do everything WELL, I remembered Strengthfinder 2.0.  Strengthfinder is the project of a psychology student who posited the following: Focus your attention on your strengths rather than your weaknesses; and surround yourself with people whose strengths are your weaknesses.  There is a book attached to this system and a series of online tests that help you identify your strengths if you are not aware of them already.

But what does that mean for a small business owner who has to do it all?  Well, it means easing up on yourself for not being good at some things.  It means embracing that you are strong at some things and weak in other areas, and that’s okay.  For me, I know that I love to teach and sing; but when it comes to social marketing, planning, and scheduling, my brain cringes!  And that’s okay because I recognize my resistance to do things that I’m not so good at and give myself more time to do them (because it really does take longer). 

Sometimes it’s hard to admit in our culture, in which certain attributes are coveted over others, that we are weak in some areas and stronger in others.  But the idea that we have strengths and weaknesses reveals that we each have our own unique experience of life and things that we are just good at.  That fact encourages us to build on the stuff we do well, instead of focusing on the deficiencies.  For a long time I thought that if a task wasn’t challenging, then it wouldn’t produce any worthwhile fruit.  But quite the opposite, if something is second nature to you, build on it, express it, and show the world your inherent strength!


Click here to explore the Strengthfinder website!