HOW MINDFULNESS CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN 10 MINUTES A DAY

So, What Is Headspace?

Headspace is meditation, but not as you know it.

For a start, there’s no chanting, no sitting cross-legged, no incense and definitely no gurus. There’s no religious agenda and no mystical or cultural barriers—just simple, practical tools to help you find a bit more clarity and calm in your everyday life.

And although it’s simple to learn, the benefits you’ll experience are pretty amazing—from feeling less stressed, less tired and less tense, to just feeling generally happier and more fulfilled in your life.

This is meditation for you and everyone you know.

Our Vision

Our vision is to demystify meditation, to make it an indispensable tool for your everyday life and an integral part of your daily routine. We know that lots of people are put off trying meditation because of all the clichéd stereotypes (you know the ones), but it really doesn’t have to be that way.

Because stripped of all its cultural trappings (while losing none of the good stuff), meditation is simply a wonderful skill. Sure, like any new skill, it requires a little practice, but once you’ve got the hang of it you can apply it to pretty much anything in life that requires the use of your mind (and let’s face it, what doesn’t?).

Our Mission

Basically, we’re on a mission to get as many people in the world as possible to take 10 minutes out of their day to sit in the here and now. Why? Well, obviously it will make the world a nicer place to live in, but we believe that it will give you a whole new perspective on life. At the same time, it’s quite likely to improve the way you feel too—physically, mentally and emotionally.

That’s why we’ve created Take10, a simple and easy-to-learn meditation program. That’s just 10 minutes a day for 10 days. 10 minutes…that’s less than 1 percent of your day to take care of your most precious resource. Better still, it’s free to use and you can find out all you need to know in our very own book entitled Get Some Headspace!

It’s probably worth adding here that although the core ingredients of meditation have evolved over thousands of years, they are still totally compatible with modern-day living. In fact we’ve made sure of it, by providing all of our tools online—and even on your mobile phone.

Before You Get Started

Before you start Take10, it’s a good idea to take care of a few practicalities. For example, when are you going to do it each day? Where can you sit undisturbed? And how will you remember to do it?

Taking 10 minutes out of each day really shouldn’t be that difficult, but for many people it can be tricky at first. What with everything else going on in life, it’s easy to overlook it or to get caught up in other things. So the first step is prioritizing and committing to a regular, daily practice.

The best way to make that happen is to make it part of your schedule. So, create a space to sit at the same time each day, just like you shower at the same time each day. Mornings seem to work best for most people, but find a time that works for you (you may want to avoid right after lunch though, as you might just doze off).

Where you do it doesn’t really matter, just as long as there won’t be too many interruptions. A bit of background noise is no problem (as long as you just let the noises come and go), but you’re likely to find it much easier to begin if there’s not too much noise going on right next to you.

Finally, you can wear whatever you like to meditate, but you might want to loosen any tight clothing and slip off those high heels (if you’re wearing any, that is).

Three Parts of Meditation

It’s a good idea to approach meditation in the same way that you’d approach learning any other new skill—by understanding exactly what it is you’re trying to do and how you need to go about it, before you actually start to practice. I guess that’s why the in-depth understanding you’ll find in Get Some Headspace is so important.

Traditionally, there were always three components to meditation: “approach,” “practice” and “integration.” Now, although we’re not big on tradition for tradition’s sake, we’ve found that people get much more out of their meditation by sticking to this tried-and-tested formula.

So here are those three parts, broken down in the Headspace way….

Approach

It’s hard to overstate the importance of this first component. How you approach the technique and how you choose to relate to the contents of your mind will define your experience of meditation. Get it right and your meditation will fly; get it wrong and it could feel like a real struggle.

It’s difficult not to expect perfect results the first time around—that’s just how we seem to be programmed these days. But the reality is that meditation takes a little practice—again, like learning any other new kind of skill.

So, right from the start, try to get used to the idea that your mind isn’t going to stop whirring away just because you want it to—and that’s really not the objective of meditation anyway. The point is to discover a new way of relating to your thoughts and emotions, a way in which you can feel calmer, clearer and happier as a result.

Aside from unrealistic expectations, the biggest obstacle for most people is trying too hard. But remember, this is the one place in your life where you truly don’t have to strive. In fact, applying lots of effort can even be counterproductive. Imagine that…just sitting back and watching the mind without needing to do anything much at all—doesn’t that sound inviting?

Of course, it’s easy to be skeptical (“It will never work for me!”), but here at Headspace we know from experience that when it’s approached and practiced in the right way, meditation works for pretty much everyone. So, if you’re cynical that’s just fine, but do try it anyway—because wouldn’t be nice to be proved wrong on this one occasion?

Practice

The practice is the part that you probably already think of as meditation—the part where you sit down and concentrate on a particular technique. And at Headspace these are our practical, tried and tested techniques, which you’ll find in this e-book, in Get Some Headspace, at our events, on our website, and even on our mobile app.

In fact you’ll find a brief introduction to the first technique, a taste of what you can expect in the book, and a link to your very own guided meditation right after the explanation about integration.

Integration

This final component is where meditation starts to get really interesting—where you get the opportunity to integrate the calm and clarity you develop during your seated meditation with the rest of your life—which obviously includes your relationships too.

So, what does it mean to be present, or in the moment? And if you can do it sitting on a chair, then why not when eating your food, holding the baby, drinking a cup of tea, or even walking down the street?

Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean walking along with your eyes closed. It simply means being in the here and now, focused (in a very relaxed sort of way) on the physical act of walking.

So, rather than daydreaming about the vacation you’d love to go on, or the new health regime you’re about to start (always next Monday!), be present and aware, noticing the physical sensations, the sounds, the smells and the sights around you.

But it’s not just when you’re walking. Take any opportunity you can throughout the day to pause and check in with how you’re feeling—physically, emotionally and mentally. By filling your day with these short moments of awareness, life begins to feel a little easier, a little more balanced.

In the book itself, you’ll find integration techniques for eating, walking, sleeping, exercise and many more things besides.

Take10

Here’s a short introduction to our much loved, and much talked-about, Take10 program.

Step 1

Get settled…

Find a quiet space where you can relax.

Sit comfortably in a chair with your hands resting in your lap or on your knees. Try to keep your back straight, but without forcing it—sitting at the front of the chair might help. Your neck should be relaxed, with your chin just slightly tucked in.

Whether you’re using our timer or following one of the Headspace guided techniques, commit to practicing for the full time you’ve set aside—no matter whether the session feels easy or difficult.

Step 2

Breathe deeply…

Defocus your eyes, gazing softly into the middle distance.

Take five deep, audible breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. As you breathe in, focus on the chest expanding and your lungs filling with air. As you breathe out, focus on the body exhaling and letting go of any physical tension.

On the last exhalation, gently close your eyes and allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm, in and out of the nose.

Step 3

Check-in…

Take a few moments to settle into your body. Observe your posture, noticing the sensations where your body presses against the chair and where your feet meet the ground. You can also notice the weight of your arms and hands resting on your legs.

Acknowledge your other senses too—notice anything that you can smell, hear or taste, sensations of heat, cold or wind.

The more genuinely interested or curious you are about noticing these things, the more your meditation will benefit from this part of the process.

Step 4

Scan your body…

Slowly turn your mind inward and begin to scan your body from head to toe. Notice which areas feel uncomfortable or tense, and which areas feel relaxed and at ease. Take a good 30 seconds to do the scan, really taking time to build up an accurate picture of how the body is feeling.

If you can, avoid the temptation to try and change any unpleasant feelings by moving position—instead simply acknowledge the discomfort and continue the scan. Oh, and don’t forget to notice the smaller parts of the body, like the fingers and toes, and even your ears!

As you become more aware of the physical sensations you might also become more aware of your underlying mood—the emotional quality of the mind. As much as possible, try to be aware of this without judging it or getting into any kind of analysis. And if there’s nothing very obvious there, don’t worry, that’s fine too.

Step 5

Consider the “why”…

Pause for around 30 seconds to consider why you’re sitting to meditate. This might sound obvious, but it’s surprisingly easy to fall into old habits. For example, you might realize that you’re hoping to stop your thoughts or to get rid of an unpleasant emotion.

Simply recognizing these kinds of expectations will help you to let go of them, making the meditation far more effective.

Next, take a moment to spread the love, by considering the wider effects of meditating today. Sure, feeling calmer and less stressed will help you to feel better, but that has a strong effect on the people around you too—from family and friends, to your colleagues at work, and who knows, maybe even the bus driver. I guess you could call it the “ripple effect.”

Step 6

One last reminder…

Before you start to focus on the breath, always remind yourself that there is no “thing” for you to “do” during meditation. Okay, so we’re going to ask you to watch the breath, but the body takes care of the breathing, which means all you need to do is watch it. So, your only job is to step back and allow the body and mind to unwind—in their own way, and in their own time.

Step 7

Observe the breath…

Bring your attention to the breath. Don’t make any effort to change the breath, just observe the rising and falling sensation that it creates in the body. Notice where these sensations occur—be it in the belly, chest, shoulders or anywhere else in the body, for that matter.

And while you’re watching this movement, start to notice the quality of each breath—whether it’s deep or shallow, long or short, fast or slow, regular or irregular. Again, there’s no need to try and change it, instead just be aware of the sensation.

After you’ve gotten a feel for this, begin silently counting each time you inhale or exhale—this will make it easier to maintain your focus. So, count 1 as you follow the inhalation, 2 as you follow the exhalation, then 3 on the next inhalation, and so on up to a count of 10. Then start again at 1.

It’s completely normal for thoughts to bubble up while you’re doing this, so don’t worry if the mind wanders off every now and again. But as soon as you realize you’ve gotten caught up in thought, gently guide your attention back to the breath. If you can remember the number you’d counted up to, pick it up from there, or you can just start again at 1.

Continue watching the breath in this way until the timer sounds.

Step 8

Allow your mind to be free…

Now let go of any focus—you don’t even need to focus on the breath anymore. You might find yourself inundated with thoughts and plans, or feel totally calm and relaxed. At this particular stage it really doesn’t matter too much, and we’re only talking about 20 or 30 seconds anyway.

In fact, whatever happens right now is absolutely fine. So, with no idea of effort or control, simply enjoy the rare opportunity to let your mind be exactly as it is.

Step 9

Prepare to finish…

Become aware once more of the other physical sensations—of the body on the chair, your feet on the floor, and of the weight of the arms and hands resting in your lap. You might also like to notice any sounds, smells, tastes or other sensations that will help to bring you back into your immediate surroundings.

When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes, finishing as you began—sitting upright in the chair, eyes open but with a soft focus. Maintain that position for 10 seconds or so, appreciating the moment. You can then sit back and have a stretch.

Step 10

Take it with you…

Before standing up, form a clear idea about what you’re going to do next. For example, are you going to the bathroom to brush your teeth, to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, or to pick up your keys before leaving the house.

It’s so easy to just jump up off the seat and lose the calm and spacious quality you’ve so carefully cultivated. So try to carry this awareness with you to the next activity.

And look for small moments throughout the day to remind yourself of what it feels like to have that clarity and focused attention. Maybe it’s when you first sit down at your desk at work, when you drink your morning coffee, or when you’re on the bus. You don’t need to do the whole exercise, but just take a couple of deep breaths and then notice how you feel—physically, mentally and emotionally.

Potential Obstacles

We’re going to be honest with you—everyone who learns to meditate encounters obstacles at some time or another. Isn’t it reassuring to know you’ve got company?! The good news is that every obstacle has an antidote. In fact, often simply recognizing and acknowledging the obstacle for what it really is can go some way to help.

Obviously, Get Some Headspace explains these in far more detail, but here are ten of the most common obstacles and a few tips on how best to deal with them.

1) Feeling restless

You’ll be relieved to know that pretty much everyone feels restless at first. Usually this is either because sitting still without any distraction feels a bit alien, or because there’s a bit too much effort expended in “trying to be still.” If you need to adjust your posture or have a scratch during the meditation, then please feel free, but try not to move around too often as it makes it much more difficult for the mind to settle.

2) Feeling sleepy

What with the speed and responsibilities of modern-day living, we all get tired now and again—for some people it might even become the default setting. With this in mind, it’s no wonder that it’s so easy to drift off to sleep when you sit and meditate. Don’t worry too much if this happens for the first few weeks, but make sure you’ve got your timer set to wake you up! If it continues to happen, though, try a different time of day, sit up a little straighter, or try splashing a little cold water on your face beforehand!

3) Feeling bored

Everyone gets bored meditating at some time or another, which is hardly surprising given our busy, adrenaline-filled lives. The important thing is to see boredom for what it is, because if you get too caught up in it, it’s easy to lose interest in meditation. If, on the other hand, you use your meditation to “explore” boredom, then things start to become interesting again. Because let’s face it, boredom is just an idea, a concept—so when you look a little closer it’s hard to find anything there. Really…take a closer look.

4) Feeling scared

The mind can be a dark and scary place sometimes, and so quite understandably sitting with all those difficult thoughts and feelings can be a bit overwhelming at times. But as long as all that stuff remains unacknowledged, it just kind of sits there in the background, leaving you feeling sad, angry or worried. So, although it may sound counterintuitive at first, by allowing these thoughts and feelings to come to the surface, you’re actually witnessing the process of letting go, and moving on in life.

5) Feeling unsure

“Is this technique working? Am I doing it right? Maybe I should just…” Sound familiar? Doubt inevitably shows up in meditation sometimes. What often happens, though, is that we “buy into” the doubt. We forget that no matter what the thoughts are, they are still just thoughts—that all we need to do (once we’ve realized we’ve been distracted) is to gently return our attention to the object of meditation. Thoughts of uncertainty are no different in nature from any other type of thought. Worth a thought.

6) Feeling sad

The idea of meditation is to settle into a deep, fundamental sense of “okayness,” no matter what thoughts are present or how you might feel. But if you’re not jumping out of your skin with glee every time you sit to meditate, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. Sadness is a natural human emotion and it’s not at all uncommon to shed a tear or two while meditating. In fact it can even bring about a sense of relief, of having acknowledged something painful and let go of it.

7) Feeling angry

Call it impatience, frustration, irritation or rage, it’s all pretty much the same thing really—just different levels of intensity. Anger isn’t a very attractive emotion, so unsurprisingly it often gets suppressed. The problem is, the more we push it down, the more insistently it springs back up. In fact, this is true of all emotions. So, as much as possible, just allow anger to be present (with restraint, of course), giving it the space and time it needs to arise, unravel and dissipate.

8) Feeling desire

Much like anger, desire comes in many different forms and at varying degrees of intensity. It can be anything from that quiet nagging voice in the back of your mind, to a screaming “I must have it now!” It can be desire for anything or anyone. Desire is often the mind attempting to flee the reality of the here and now. But as long as we’re on the run from that, we’ll never have any peace! So, let desire have its moment in the sun, and know that there’s no need to act on every passing thought.

9) Feeling lonely

The constant distraction of “stuff to do” often stops us from seeing how we really feel, so when you stop and meditate (even for just a short while), those feelings can come to the surface. A feeling of loneliness is a surprisingly common experience (and not just during meditation). So, when it makes an appearance be sure to give it plenty of room to breathe—and notice, where do you feel it…what’s the sensation…and is loneliness a series of thoughts, an idea, or even a physical feeling? Be curious and investigate.

10) Feeling out of control

Most of us live our lives under the curious illusion that we are somehow in control of everything that happens to us (which is quite funny if you think about it). Of course, we have some influence and can make some truly wonderful things happen, but ultimately life is so much bigger than that. So it’s no surprise that the issue of control might crop up in your meditation. Resistance is futile and will only make the obstacle stronger, whereas a healthy dose of acceptance will have you letting go in no time.

Research

As a final note, and just in case you’re still wondering what benefits meditation (the Headspace-way) can have for you, we thought you might like to see a few of the scientific highlights from Get Some Headspace.

Meditation has come a very long way, and not just geographically. Thanks to advances in technology and some very sophisticated brain-mapping software, scientists now have a much better understanding of what happens when we sit down to meditate.

In fact, it’s become such a popular area of research that over 2,000 scientific papers have been published on meditation, including many from respected institutions such as Harvard, Princeton, Oxford and Cambridge. In fact we’re now involved with our own research too, partnering with Yale Medical School.

Obviously it’s impossible to list all of these papers, with new research coming out all the time, but here are ten of our favorites at the time of going to press:

1) Doctors love it—Mental Health Foundation

In a recent study by the Mental Health Foundation, 68% of physicians agreed that it would be helpful for their patients to learn mindfulness-based meditation techniques, even for those without any health problems. The only difficulty is that most of these doctors said that they didn’t know where to find the appropriate mindfulness resources—enter Headspace. In fact, we’re currently working hard to make meditation available to as many people as possible.

2) A focused mind is a happy mind—Harvard University

A revolutionary study conducted by psychologists at Harvard University collected data on people’s thoughts, emotions and actions as they went about their daily lives. They found that participants’ minds were wandering an astonishing 46.9% of the time. Interestingly, happiness levels were found to directly reflect this amount of mind wandering. The conclusion of the study was that unhappiness did not cause mind wandering, but rather that mind wandering causes unhappiness.

3) Say goodbye to the butterflies—University of Massachusetts Medical School

A few years back, the University of Massachusetts Medical School investigated the effects of mindfulness-based meditation on a group of people suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. An incredible 90% of the participants documented significant reductions in both anxiety and depression, after just eight weeks of practicing the technique. Even more surprising, in a recent follow-up conducted three years after the initial experiment, the researchers found that these improvements had been maintained.

4) Feel a little less blue—University of Toronto

In a large study conducted at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, a group of individuals suffering from depression were randomly assigned to test the efficacy of depression relapse prevention treatments. 54% of those who remained on antidepressants stayed free from relapse over the next eighteen months, whereas 62% of those who tapered off antidepressants and replaced them with mindfulness-based meditation remained free from relapse—an impressive study with significant results.

5) Increase the size of your brain—Harvard University

Most people are aware of the psychological benefits of meditation, but did you know that it can also physically change the structure of the brain? Neuroscientists have discovered that meditators have increased gray matter in the areas associated with learning, memory, emotional regulation, empathy and self-control. In one study, they found clear structural changes in the anterior cingulate cortex, an area of the brain related to self-control, after just eleven hours of total practice time.

6) A restful night’s sleep—University of Massachusetts Medical School and Stanford University

Researchers from UMASS developed a very effective approach to sleep that incorporated meditation as a key component. They found that 58% of diagnosed insomniacs reported significant improvements and 91% of those using medication either reduced their dose or stopped taking it completely. In a related study at Stanford University Medical Center, neuroscientists discovered that after just six weeks of meditation participants were able to fall asleep in half the usual time.

7) Boost your immune system—University of Wisconsin

n a study at the University of Wisconsin, mindfulness was taught to twenty-five employees of a U.S.-based biotech company, who led typical lives with stressful demands from their jobs and family. After just eight weeks of meditation the employees were (willingly) injected with a flu virus to test their immune response. Blood tests revealed that those practicing meditation generated significantly greater antibodies in response to the virus compared to a control group. They also reported increased overall well-being.

8) Improve your health and feel less stressed—Harvard University and MIT

It’s a well-known fact that stress has a significant impact on our health. In the past, doctors have found that the “stress response” increases the incidence of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, strokes and heart disease. It impacts the immune system too, and even reduces the chances of conception. In contrast, meditation has been shown to evoke the “relaxation response,” in which blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate and oxygen consumption all decrease, while the immune system is given a boost.

9) Getting old, staying young—University of California

Researchers from the University of California, including a renowned Nobel Laureate, investigated how intensive meditation practice over a three-month period could affect an enzyme called telemorase, which is strongly associated with aging. In a rigorous, random control study of 60 participants, they found the meditators had a 30% increase in telemorase activity. The conclusion was that the positive effects of meditation may well reduce the aging of cells and also increase cellular longevity.

10) It doesn’t have to hurt—Wake Forest University

According to a recent study at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, a person’s sensitivity to pain can be substantially reduced by doing as little as just twenty minutes of meditation a day, for four days. Researchers burnt the calves of fifteen willing volunteers by applying 120°F heat for five minutes, both before and after the four days of meditation. After the course, the meditators’ sensitivity to pain dropped by an average of 57%. The lead researcher said that it had proved “more effective than morphine.”

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