A New Style Of Meditation That Helps You To Stress Less & Accomplish More - The Emily Fletcher Podcast.

Oct 26, 2019

In this engaging conversation, Emily Fletcher, founder of Ziva Meditation and expert in Vedic meditation, shares her journey transforming lives through mindfulness. She discusses the shocking benefits of meditation for stress management, productivity, and even enhancing intimacy. Emily reveals how her unique Ziva technique blends meditation with mindfulness and manifesting, making it accessible and effective. She also dives into the neuroscience behind meditation’s impact on our brains, emotional well-being, and longevity, offering listeners practical tools for a more fulfilling life.

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INSIGHT

Meditation Shame Spiral

People are less skeptical of meditation itself, but rather their ability to do it due to a busy mind or lack of time.
This "meditation shame spiral" is driven by societal pressure and perceived lack of ROI from generic meditation apps.

ADVICE

Meditation as an Investment

View meditation as a daily 15-minute investment, not an expense.
The return on investment (ROI) is exponential, giving you more time, energy, and better sleep.

INSIGHT

Meditation vs. Sleep

Meditation offers a different kind of rest than sleep; the body rests deeply while the mind stays alert.
While not a sleep replacement, meditation improves sleep quality by de-exciting the nervous system.

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Stress Less, Accomplish More

Emily Fletcher

In this book, Emily Fletcher introduces the Ziva Technique, a powerful trifecta of mindfulness, meditation, and manifesting designed to unlock your full potential. The technique is tailored for busy lives and helps in reducing stress, improving mental clarity, and enhancing overall health. It involves a 17-minute, three-part process that includes mindfulness to deal with present stress, meditation to address past stress, and manifesting to clarify future goals. By practicing this technique, individuals can experience deeper rest than sleep, improved focus, and increased productivity.

Mind to Matter

Dawson Church

The healing code

Alex Loyd

Ben Johnson

The Healing Code is a program that uses energy medicine to address the source of health, success, and relationship issues. It includes techniques like the Universal Healing Code and the Heart Issues Finder to help individuals heal from various challenges. The book has been widely acclaimed and translated into 29 languages.

The Telomere Effect

A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer

Elizabeth Blackburn

Elissa Epel

This book, co-authored by Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn and health psychologist Elissa Epel, explains the role of telomeres in aging and how they are affected by daily habits such as sleep quality, exercise, diet, and stress levels. The authors provide evidence from scientific studies showing that changes in lifestyle can protect telomeres, thereby increasing the number of years one remains healthy, active, and disease-free. They also discuss how chronic stress, negative thoughts, strained relationships, and environmental factors impact telomere health and offer practical advice on maintaining healthy telomeres from pregnancy through adulthood and at the community level.

How to Change Your Mind

What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence

Michael Pollan

In this book, Michael Pollan delves into the history of psychedelic drugs, from their rise in the 1960s to their current resurgence in medical research. He combines historical and scientific analysis with personal narratives of his own experiences with psychedelics, such as LSD and psilocybin. The book explores how these substances are being used to treat conditions like depression, addiction, and anxiety, and discusses their potential to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and consciousness. Pollan's work is a blend of science, memoir, and travel writing, offering a nuanced and engaging look at the therapeutic and spiritual benefits of psychedelics[1][2][4].

You're a Badass

Jen Sincero

The Alter Ego Effect

Todd Herman

In this book, Todd Herman explains how creating an 'alter ego' can help individuals unlock their full potential. Backed by scientific research and real-world examples, Herman shows how this concept, often used by top athletes and executives, can be applied to various aspects of life such as sports, business, career, parenting, and more. The book provides strategies for building and activating an alter ego to overcome self-doubt, negativity, and insecurity, and to empower individuals to become their best selves[2][4][5].

The Metabolic Theory of Cancer

Thomas Seyfried

Presence

Amy Cuddy

Meditation For Mind-Blowing Sex, Meditation For Insomnia, Meditation For Energy & Much More.

My guest on today's podcast has cracked the code on what kind of meditation works for all these goals, and for many more. Her name is Emily Fletcher, and Emily is the founder of Ziva Meditation (use code BEN to save $50) and the creator of zivaONLINE, the world’s first online meditation training. Her mission is to make meditation attractive and accessible to people who are ready to up-level their performance and their lives.

Recently featured in The New York Times, named top 100 women in wellness to watch and regarded as one of the leading experts in Vedic meditation, Emily has been invited by companies like Google, Barclays Bank, sweetgreen, & Viacom to help improve company performance through meditation.

She began her ten years of training in Rishikesh, India and was inspired to teach after experiencing the profound physical and mental benefits meditation provided her during her 10-year career on Broadway, which included roles in Chicago, The Producers & A Chorus Line.

Emily has been invited to speak at Harvard Business School, Bulletproof Biohacking Conference, Summit Series, A-Fest and The Omega Center. So far, she has taught over 5,100 people to become self-sufficient meditators with this game changing practice to take with them for life.

Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance is a new book by Emily. For the book, she specifically developed a novel meditation technique for working people with busy lives.

Now, you can learn to recharge anywhere, anytime – at home or at your desk. All you need is a few minutes and a chair (no apps, incense, or finger cymbals required). But this is not just another meditation book.

In it, Emily teaches a cool trifecta of Mindfulness, Meditation, and Manifesting to improve your personal and professional performance, clarity, health, and sleep. You learn how to cultivate Mindfulness through brief but powerful exercises that will help you stop wasting time stressing.

Plus, you’ll get Manifesting tools to help you get crystal clear on your personal and professional goals for the future. I'm digging it (and I'm usually NOT a fan of woo-woo meditation books). Get it here.

During our discussion, you'll discover: -How the Meditation Shame Spiral undermines efforts at meditation [7:25]

Activity: "My brain is too crazy; my stress is special"
Time: "I want to meditate, but I just don't have time"
Broken promises to self; personal integrity
No one has time to waste (return on investment)
Stress is responsible for 90% of all doctor's visits
Autonomic nervous system dysfunction is related to most disease
You're not spending time; you're investing time meditating

-Why meditation doesn't replace the importance of quality sleep [13:50]

Chemical reactions in the brain to sleep and meditation are very different
Nature doesn't allow the human body to be in deep relaxation physically and mentally at the same time
Meditation is more relaxing, but is a different type of rest than sleep
Curing insomnia is the #1 benefit that people report after starting meditation

-Adaptation energy [16:30]

Stressors vs. Demands affect your ability to adapt to circumstances
When depleted of adaptation energy, you break (straw that breaks the camel's back)
We act and react according to the baseline stress levels in our nervous system
Meditation doesn't change or remove the stressors; it replenishes our adaptation energy
Indicative of higher interplay between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
People are attracted to people who know how to to adapt (higher HRV)
Chronic, staying stress is the killer

-Whether or not committing to a meditation regimen creates more stress [22:45]

If you become self-sufficient with meditation, you'll have more time in your day, and you'll lose dependency on toys, gadgets, etc.
Your body will be functioning as it was designed to function

-How the anatomical structure of the brain can change with meditation [26:00]

Corpus callosum connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain
It's proven that meditation thickens the corpus callosum (strengthens the connection)
Great way to come up with the witty comeback when it really matters
Nootropics has a similar effect

-The effect of meditation on our neurons [31:30] -The effects on telomere length [34:35]

Book: The Telomere Effect
Telomere is like the plastic casing on the end of a shoelace; chronic stress weakens the telomere and impacts the body age
BGF podcast w/ Dr. Bill Andrews

-The nitty gritty of how Ziva meditation works [37:30]

Three "M's": Mindfulness, meditating, manifesting
- Mindfulness: The art of bringing your awareness into the present moment (not synonymous with meditation)
- Meditation: alleviates stress from today as well as from the past
- Manifesting: Your thoughts become things
It is inspired by Nishkam karma yoga
- Nishkam: "hardly taken"
- Karma: "action"
- Yoga: "union"
"A union attained by action hardly taken"
Many modern meditation techniques, apps, etc. are derived from meditation intended for monks; this is why it's perceived as difficult to the busy person
Use of mantras:
- Mantra means "mind vehicle"
- Transition from left brain thinking to right brain being
- "The ultimate meditation hack"
Don't mistake simplicity for weakness

-What is the "super power pose" [54:15]

When you're scared or stressed, we start to concave
Our emotions respond to our body, and vice versa

-What is black pepper tea, and what does it have to do with meditation? [59:06]

Put 6-8 grinds of organic black pepper into a mug and pour boiling water over
Self-induced fever
Would it enhance a sauna experience?
- First person to try it and report their results via a comment below will receive a gift registration to Ziva online

-And much more Resources from this episode:

-Ziva Meditation (use code BEN to save $50) -BGF podcasts mentioned:

Dr. Bill Andrews (telomere testing)
Philip Land (transcendental meditation)

-Meditation Demystified Ebook

-Book: Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance

-Book: The Healing Code

-Book: Mind To Matter

-Ecomeditation

-Book: Powerful Poise by Amy Cuddy

-Book: The Alter Ego Effect

-Book: The Telomere Effect

-Radio Lab podcast on Einstein's brain

Episode sponsors:

-Meditation Demystified Ebook: One of the most comprehensive resources on how to personalize your meditation practice based on your own goals.

-WHOOP: The performance tool that is changing the way people track their fitness and optimize their training. Save $30 off your order when you use discount code: GREENFIELD

-Beekeeper's Naturals: A wellness company specializing in innovative nutraceuticals made from healing hive compounds and plant-based ingredients. Get 15% off your order when you use discount code: BEN

-Policy Genius: Whether you’re an insurance expert or a newbie, Policygenius created a website that makes it easy for you to compare quotes, get advice, and get covered.

Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Emily or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!

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