It has completely changed me
It started almost 9 years ago now when my first born was just a baby. I was always on my way somewhere, having been an elite swimmer, getting my Bachelor and Masters while studying abroad in the US, and then focusing on my career as CEO of a small Swedish tech company. You could safely say that stillness wasn’t really a part of my life.
I’ve always been going somewhere, swimming dominated the first part of my life, it was my identity. You swim before school, you swim after school and everything else was crammed in between. Not until I stopped swimming and my first born came along did I have the time to reflect.
In Sweden we are lucky to get 480 days of maternity leave, but for me it was an endless amount of time where I felt busy but without the type of fulfillment I was used to. But then something changed, after 6 months I started to like the slower lane and I craved more mental space for myself. I got the advice to set my alarm for 10 minutes before bedtime to just sit with myself in silence. These minutes felt like hours in the beginning but eventually it turned into my favorite part of the day.
That is when I stumbled into my first experience of meditation by just observing my breath. I have since then had my ups and downs with it but have recently meditated daily for 189 consecutive weeks. It has completely changed me. I'm a calmer mum, a more creative human, a more loving partner, and over all more grounded in myself. I’ve always been going somewhere but now it feels more like I’m moving towards something on my own terms.
Meditation isn't hard.
Essentially, it consists of six parts: place your awareness on a single point (your breath or an object), let your awareness slip away if it wants to (this will happen), drift in the gap of peace even if only for a millisecond, notice your thoughts, bring your attention back to your point of awareness (your breath or an object), and repeat.
Funnily, only a few things can happen when you meditate: You can have thoughts. You can fall asleep. You can experience stillness. And believe me when I say that they will all happen at some point.
There are many things I truly believe would not have existed in my life if it wasn't for meditation. The Nash Collective being one of them. Somehow I discovered that stillness & creativity marry well. So, it is with grace and joy I’m proud to announce that I'm now a certified Unplug meditation teacher. To celebrate I'm sharing one of my first ever recorded meditations with you. I hope it brings you just what you need and feel free to share it with anyone that might enjoy it.
Words by: Alexandra