How to be Zen

A few years ago after a trip to Ecuador (of course), I met a shaman on a trail in the Yasuni National Park. I remember being so comfortable with him telling him life stories and sharing good laughs, even though I met him the same day. He shared much of his wisdom about mental health and physical health through meditation, yoga and diet. I was never taught in school about mental health and I wish I was because it is so vital in our world. We live in a society of always rushing to get somewhere and tense environments because everything and everyone is competitive. All of this stress builds up and makes us become unhealthy! We get headaches, break out with acne, over eat or under eat, become depressed or procrastinate, etc. As a student, there are deadlines to be met, meetings to attend, homework to do, tests to pass and so on. But what about time for oneself? In a school day there is no class that teaches students techniques on how to destress and I believe students need that. Teachers don't always know what is going on at home, but see how they are in school and we can tell that sometimes things are not going well at home. The shaman showed me the best technique for when I'm stressed and it only consists of breathing in deeply for four seconds and exhaling for four seconds. I still use that when I'm in a stressful situation and I don't have the time or space to sit down and meditate. When I do have the time and space to meditate, I like to sit on the floor with my legs crossed, hands sitting softly on my knees, back straight and my chest out. I try counting to 10, without thinking about anything. The point is  to get to 10 seconds without being distracted by any thoughts. It's very difficult! Once I get distracted by a thought, I need to start at 1 second again. It took me about three months to fully get to 10 seconds. I recommend you try this the next time you are feeling stressed!




Vocabulary:

1. shaman: a person who acts as intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, control spiritual forces, etc.

2. Yasuni National Park - the most biologically diverse spot on Earth, located in the Amazons.

3. meditation - to engage in mental exercise to reach a heightened level of self awareness.

4.yoga - a system of exercises for attaining bodily or mental control and well-being

5. environment - the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.
6. unhealthy - not in a state of good or normal health


Activity: Free Write.
Write down ways you like to destress, whether it's dancing, listening to music, going for a jog and why. What are positive traits from doing these things to help you.


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