Want to start meditating? Here’s a few hints

Meditation is trendy, it has been used for more than 15 years now in the United States by the smartest and most innovative companies. In Italy we are starting, as evidenced by the recent article by Jaime D’Alessandro. There is much talk of mindfulness, a term that refers to a mental state in which emotions are transcended, but now often associated with a specific discipline – coming from Buddhist meditation techniques, created in the 60’s by Dr. Jon Kabat Zinn and now often promoted for corporate application.

But beyond communication and quick references in the press, what is meditation? And above all, how can we actually use it to be a more successful manager?

Here are a few hints with no claim of comprehensiveness:

Meditation is simple and natural and, like any simple thing, it is also one of the most powerful (and free) practices … a real shame not to take advantage. There’s nothing exotic with it: our tradition gave great value to contemplation, which is similar, though unfortunately limited to mystics.
The best approach to start meditating is … learn as little as possible about it! Meditation is practical and does not need theory.
The most effective tools are the repetition of sounds (mantras) or movements, or simply a focused attention on breathing or a candle or the tip of the nose …
Even a three-minute break for meditation can re-fresh, re-focus and re-generate you.
A meditating brain has simultaneously very slow waves (Alpha waves) and high frequency waves (Gamma waves). Which means that when we are meditating we are very relaxed and very alert at the same time, which does not happen in the normal waking state. Warning: great ideas can jump to mind!
Want to try a few practical meditation exercises? Here they are
Would love a real immersion in meditation practices? Join for a workshop two excellent American teachers who run their wonderful “Yoga Borgo” in Umbria.