Meditation

Meditation is what I found when I hit rock bottom. I had been living with severe anxiety, panic disorder, and insomnia for long enough to consider options I'd previously disregarded (ahem, meditation) because I had some kind of story I was telling myself about what it was and wasn't. It definitely felt woo-woo, and I definitely didn't believe this ADHDer could sit still or "get rid of my thoughts," which I later learned isn't even what meditation is, of course, but I had to find my own way there.

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It took ages to find someone who didn't just try to medicate me, and the day I left my new doctor's office with a book list, everything changed.

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Though he'd told me I could fold medication into my health care plan if that's what I wanted, my doctor also took the time to explain to me about identifying with thoughts and how harmful it could be. Intrigued but skeptical, I listened as he shared about some books I might want to read to learn more, and I walked out of his office that day with a bright green list of texts that all essentially shared the same wisdom and ideas around meditation.

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What did I have to lose?

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I read them, and within a few months, I'd started using guided meditations to see if they could help with my health problems, and within six months, I was sleeping better, felt a huge decrease in anxiety, and I never had another panic attack again.

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Fast forward, and I can't imagine my life now without mindfulness. You'll notice I didn't say "meditation" because my practice grew to include a lot more than just breathwork on a cushion. While I do have a daily sit practice, I often do walking meditation, writing practice, or mindful movement. I didn't realize just how much was out there that didn't match the stereotypes I'd been shown through movies and the media, which is part of why I decided to embark on a two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Program seven years later so that I could do my part to help people learn more about these practices, especially folks who, like me, have strong, gut reactions of "nope" to meditation based on misconceptions. Especially because groups who could benefit from them the most, such as neurodivergents like me, often don't realize just how flexible this particular tradition is.

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I've been in some kind of teaching role for over 12 years, and now I'm honored to be adding this offering to my repertoire, which I hope may bring more calm, peace, clarity, and awareness to others, just like it did for me.

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With gratitude,

Katie