breathing space
welcome to a:live - here to help us to reconnect with the things that really matter.
welcome to a:live - here to help us to reconnect with the things that really matter.
Enter: music producer and DJ Carly Wilford who recently launched a:live – a monthly series of dynamic guided meditation tracks aimed at reimagining the way we view meditation.
“I’m just the same as you,” Carly tells me after I explain my ongoing difficulties with meditation and how, by nature, I like being busy and on-the-go.
“I love anything adrenaline-fuelled. I’m a DJ, so pre-Covid, I used to spend my life flying all over the world, from one gig to the next,” she says. “I’ve been meditating for around 15 years. The thing is, people get so confused because of the way it’s portrayed – it’s not about emptying your mind and stopping thinking. It should be used as a way to reset – like how you would use ‘Alt Ctrl Delete’ on your computer.”
“Forget everything that you thought you knew about meditation. It doesn’t have to be restricted to sitting still – I meditate on the tube, in the gym, or sometimes when I walk the dog,” Carly explains. “There are no rules.”
Carly says she launched a:live after witnessing first-hand the mental difficulties of her fellow musicians – referencing both Avicii and Caroline Flack.
“I realised that we need to do more to help one another. I wanted people to be able to wake up on the days when things didn’t seem so easy, and be able to jump on a:live and either find someone to talk to, or find a meditation that might help them. Meditation can be a simple tool when you’re having a stressful day or it can take you a lot deeper into the stuff that you want help with. I think that’s why it’s so amazing and powerful.”
Her advice to me? “Don’t have any expectations. Don’t go into it thinking, ‘I’m not allowed to think about anything’ or ‘I’ve got to do it a certain way’. Turn your phone to silent and make sure you’re cosy – grab a hot water bottle, a blanket or a favourite pillow and lie on your bed, the sofa or even the floor. It doesn’t matter where it is. It’s really nice to meditate outside, in the park, on a walk, or even in the bath. But pick the right time to do it.”
Day Eight
I decided to follow Carly’s advice. That night, I ran a bath, lit my favourite Diptyque candle and floated to a ten-minute meditation called ‘A Space to Create’.
I’m not sure if it was the fact that Carly’s voice seemed so ‘normal’ – like I was listening to a mate rather than some non-relatable wellness guru promising me enlightenment – or that I was so relaxed while submerged in steaming hot water, but I actually closed my eyes and managed to connect with my own breath.
10 minutes flew by as Carly gently explained how so much of life is built on love and the feeling of being loved helps us to build the things that we are working towards. I was suprised to find that I ended the meditation feeling calm, content and loved – and actually enjoyed the experience.
Read the full feature here: https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/wellbeing/daily-meditation-10-minutes-every-day/492763
How meditation can improve your mental health
Like exercise, meditation also offers a whole host of health benefits, including lowered blood pressure, reduced stress, improved cognitive functioning, and mitigated depression. In fact, research shows that meditation is the UK’s favourite form of well-being therapy, with over a quarter (26 per cent) of UK adults saying they have meditated as a way to improve their mental wellbeing in the past five years.
Think of meditation as stretching, or exercise, but for your mind. A lot of the time our minds aimlessly wander – we worry, we daydream, we think about both the past and future – and meditation aims to bring us back to the present moment, to focus on the breath and offer up a toolkit for tackling stress.
Not sure where to start? Try apps such as Headspace or Calm, or try Fitbit’s mindfulness sessions on Premium within the app: you can try out guided meditations from the links of Deepak Chopra, as brief as one minute. Or you can go deeper, with guided sessions of up to 45 minutes.
If you don’t think meditation is for you, perhaps music producer and DJ Carly Wilford can change your mind. Wilford recently launched a:live – a monthly series of dynamic guided meditation tracks aimed at reimagining the way we view meditation.
“The reason I set up a:live was because I was feeling really down – I hit this wall and I was struggling to get myself out of this negative mindset,” she says. “I stopped everything that I was doing for two weeks and I made sure I did something every day for my mind, body and soul. I made sure I ate healthily, I trained every day, I started to learn the piano, and I meditated. Walking and being outside became my therapy.
“After those two weeks, I felt so much better, and I thought I needed to help other people to be able to get themselves out of that,” she continues. “At the moment, the world is very overwhelming for a lot of people – there’s so much negative news on your phone or on the TV, so we need quiet moments now more than ever.
“Meditation is really important for your mental health, whether that’s a walk with your headphones off and just appreciating what’s around you or sitting in a bath for 15 minutes. It doesn’t have to be sitting cross-legged and still.”
Read the full feature here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/know-your-body/healthy-habits/
Music as medicine
Amid everything else, 2020 was the year virtual sound baths went mainstream. Apps such as Spotify, Myndstream (from the founders of the entertainment group that made emotional music for shows including Game of Thrones and House of Cards) and a:live are focusing on creating music to specifically drive daily well-being goals, with tracks for focus, meditation and movement. If this all sounds a little too Goop for you, neuroscientists might change your tune. In the United States the National Institutes of Health is funding ongoing research to the tune of $20 million (£14.75m) combining neuroscience and music therapy to uncover how beats affect our brains and health. Hack your headphones for health with one of our favourite downloads, Soul Medicine, £20, a collection of music and meditation tracks composed around a 432MHz frequency, which has been shown to boost the parasympathetic nervous system, balance both sides of the brain and decrease heart rate and blood pressure — a soundtrack for your soul.
Read the full feature here: https://www.standard.co.uk/escapist/2021-wellness-trends-health-and-beauty-b855496.html