Take 10: My 10-day meditation challenge

via giphy.com

“Meditation is surprisingly straightforward. It’s our expectations and preconceptions of it that make it complicated.” – Andy Puddicombe

I was recently chatting to a friend about wanting to get into meditation, but I was afraid that it was something I would never be any good at. He recommended I try Take 10 - an introductory series by Headspace that takes you through 10 minutes of meditation per day for 10 days. It sounded totally achievable, so I decided to give it a go and turn the challenge into my next blog topic.

Day One.

Well – here goes nothing. Mindfulness meditation 101.

I had a non-stop day (standard), I spent it running around in circles, all the while knowing I had this to come home to. 10 minutes set aside in the diary for an important meeting with myself. I changed into my comfies, whipped up a beautifully warming Turmeric latte (recipe here), took a quick pic for instagram and then I was on the couch and ready to roll.

The practice

I’m introduced to Andy – Headspace's resident meditation guru who'll be taking me through Take 10. As I’m brought through the practice, I’m instructed to become aware of my breath, the noises around me and the physical feelings of my body. It’s hard. Does my mind stay on track? Nope. A snapshot from day one's ten minutes looked a little something like this.

I can do this. What should I make for dinner? This couch is a bit creaky. We need a new couch. I wish my nose wasn’t still so blocked from last week’s cold. Breathe in – one; breathe out – two; breathe in – three; breathe out – four; turmeric latte. The Bachelorette’s on tonight. I wonder what time Tom will be home, I hope he doesn’t interrupt me – that’d be a fail of a first attempt; breathe in five, breathe out six – I feel fat sitting here – breathe in seven, breathe out eight – instagram, breathe in nine – turmeric latte again, breathe out eleven, breathe in twelve – I’ve lost count, I think I was supposed to start again when I got to ten... I’m terrible at this, hello attentional difficulties. I wonder when 10 minutes will be up – crap, breathe in one, breathe out two, breathe in three...

After 10 minutes, I’m brought back to awareness of my immediate environment. I feel floppy, floaty and definitely sleepy. But I feel good, comfortable, relaxed, my body feels gently supported by the couch. I’m not ready to get up and onto the next thing yet, so I just sit and enjoy the space.

Day two and three's practices are similar to day one. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to feel as though I’m ‘improving’, but in some way I guess I must be.

Day Four.

Today is Saturday, and I’ve let it get to 7.30pm having completely forgotten about today’s session. So I’m in the middle of making dinner and I think crap! Let’s go do it now. In my rush, I don’t think it through and plonk myself on the couch in the living room while Tom continues to potter around the kitchen putting our dinner together. It’s my first meditation in a noise-filled room.

I find myself distracted by this at first; onions being chopped, fridge door opening and closing, sizzling frying pans, but I try to pull myself back from the thoughts that lay any form of judgment about these noises being good or bad. My mind’s definitely jumpier tonight; plenty of trail offs, lots of thoughts rushing in about all sorts of different things, both routine and downright random.

I find the ‘body scan’ exercise hard. We’re instructed to pay attention to the physical sensations in the body, starting from the head and making your way all the way down to your toes. My head, neck and chest get scanned about seven different times, because each time I find myself trailing off and having to start all over again. But by now the 10-minute sessions are flying by.

Day Five – halfway!

Did I find greater balance today? Yes. Andy checks in with you at the end of each session, and today this was my overarching feeling. He talks about enjoying the feeling of pausing to catch your breath each day – and this analogy hits home for me.

Today when we’re told to let our mind go and allow it to do whatever it wants to do – mine goes blank. It doesn’t trail off into strange and bizarre somersaults as it has every other day; there are no thoughts whatsoever. This is something I would’ve thought impossible until now.

Days Six to Ten.

The second half of the challenge cruises along much the same as the first. Except it has now become part of my normal routine – I fit the sessions in around all my other commitments, and it’s surprisingly not difficult at all.

image via dadushin.com

Day Ten and beyond...

By the end of the 10 days I found that every day really is different. The thing I like most about the guided practice is that you learn there’s no such thing as being ‘good’ at meditation – some days I’m all over the place, and some days I get to the end of the 10 minutes and have no idea whether I’ve actually been awake the entire time. What I do know, is that every day is helpful, regardless of how those 10 minutes feel.

Will I continue? Hells yes. The predominant take away from Take 10 for me is that I can meditate. I was always under the impression that it was something I could never be good at, even if I tried. But surprise surprise, it’s actually easy, totally enjoyable, and definitely achievable. I’m excited to see what the next 10 days have in store for me.

Some tips, tricks and things I learned.

• Andy suggests meditating first thing in the morning, before you do anything with your day. For me, the timing worked best if I did it when I got home from work, and sometimes before bed. But morning meditation is something I’ll definitely be giving a go in the future.
• Meditating in the same place each day can help form the habit – for me, it was the couch or the bedroom, depending on where I felt would work best on a given day. But really, it could be anywhere; the bus, the office, a park bench, whatever works.
• Reflection is important – taking the time to think back over the session, and notice how you feel. This helps concretise the benefits of the practice, and contributes to forming the habit.
• Don’t judge – this was a huge one for me. There’s no such thing as being good or bad at meditation, it’s a practice, not something you can ever perfect. 

Keen to know more? Head on over to Headspace to be introduced to Andy, and to find out all things Take 10, mindfulness and meditation.

PMS and the brain: is it all in our heads?

Image via giphy.com

Ladies.  We all know it, we all dread it, and we’ve all 100% been in the grips of our loathed monthly funk, otherwise known as premenstrual syndrome (PMS). While most people (both women and men) live in fear of those three little letters, there’s a common belief that it’s actually all in our heads.

This debate resurfaced after a review was published concluding that there was no clear evidence of the existence of a “specific pre-menstrual negative mood syndrome” in the general population. Apparently, women are using their period as a biological license to be angry, moody and irrational for a number of days every month.

Now I’m happy to agree that PMS is all in our heads, but that doesn’t make it a myth or a made-up phenomenon. There is a whole lot of evidence out there demonstrating the powerful influence our reproductive hormones have on our brains. As we know, brain chemistry underpins our emotions, our thoughts, our mood, and our behaviour. In the days leading up to menstruation, our levels of oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone jump on a roller-coaster ride that can wreak all kinds of havoc in the brain, the mind and the body.

What is PMS?

PMS refers to the wide range of physical and emotional symptoms that women experience in the lead-up to their period. Most women suffer from one or two symptoms of PMS, but the number and intensity of these symptoms varies a great deal from one woman to the next, and also from one cycle to the next.

Some common symptoms of PMS include:

• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Lower coping ability
• Wanting to be alone
• Difficulty concentrating
• Mood swings
• Fluid retention
• Bloating around the abdomen
• Sore boobs
• Skin breakouts
• Headaches and/or migraines
• Tiredness, lethargy and insomnia
• Food cravings

Hormones and mood

Recently, a lot has been discovered about the widespread effects our reproductive hormones have on brain function, structure and circuitry. These hormones (oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone) are produced in response to signals and other precursor hormones that are triggered by the pituitary gland; an area of the brain that controls our growth, development and the functioning of the endocrine (hormone) system.

Oestrogen has actually been shown to be a ‘protective’ agent in the brain, through its impact on dopamine and serotonin; two brain chemicals that regulate our mood. This helps explain why some women report feeling mentally and emotionally worse in the low-oestrogen phase of their cycle, which you guessed it, is the few days leading up to your period.

A drop in levels of progesterone can also elicit lowered moods, as well as cravings for carbs and sugary foods, which many women experience. Women treated with bioidentical progesterone at this time of the month show reductions in food cravings, and more stable moods.

Image via zimbio.com

One study recruited women who consistently experienced steady moods and little to no symptoms of PMS to investigate their brain function in the lead-up to their periods. They found that these women actually experienced a boost in activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex; a part of the brain underpinning emotional control. It was thought that a boost in this area of the brain might help regulate emotions while hormones surge, while for others; this boost in emotional control might not be present.

PMS and cognitive function

Brain fog, difficulty concentrating, and distraction levels high? Poorer cognitive function is another symptom of PMS experienced by many women. This is also a symptom that often extends past the PMS phase, thanks to our old friend abdominal cramps.

A recent study demonstrated the negative effects of period pain on the ability to perform a range of complex tasks. Women suffering from period pain had greater difficulty with tasks requiring higher levels of attentional control, as well as slower completion times and lower accuracy.

One study compared women during different phases of their menstrual cycle, and found that those in the mid-luteal phase (the week leading up to your period) were more reactive to negative stimuli, compared to women in other phases of their cycle. It was suggested that increased negative reactivity might explain the lower stress tolerance that many women experience during PMS.

Image via gurl.com

It's only temporary! 

Different phases of the menstrual cycle affect a woman’s brain in a number of ways. Unfortunately, those few pesky days leading up to your period are where we do it the toughest; thanks to the widespread effects our hormones have on our brain circuitry, and therefore our mood, emotions, cognition and behaviour.

So if you find yourself in those dreaded few days where you’re crying over a jellybean, and realise that Aunt Flo’s visit is fast approaching, remember there’s a lot going in that brain of yours that is very much out of your control. Be kind to yourself, listen to your body, go for a walk, or eat the pretzel (but try not to kill anyone), because your brain’s doing the best it can to deal with the onslaught of hormonal fluctuation. 

And to the men out there (thanks for sticking with me here), just remember it’s only temporary. In a few days your wife/girlfriend/sister/mother/friend will be back to her normal self, and that brain of hers will be firing at its best again. In the meantime, try to avoid telling her it’s all in her head – you’ll probably live to regret it, regardless of how right you are.

For some women, PMS can bring on extreme mood disturbance called PMDD (Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder). Consult your doctor if you feel your symptoms are more serious.