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!