[music]

Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. All this week, we've been taking a closer look at some of the tricky new health challenges that have come up during COVID living and offering some solutions. We picked five different pandemic self-care topics, one for each day this week, based on what we've been hearing from you and seeing around the web. Yesterday, we talked about nutrition. Today, meditation. Now, many of you already meditate, many of you do not, nobody thinks it's a bad thing. Let's talk about what meditation really is and its relevance to our pandemic lives to the extent that it is relevant. With us now is Regina Rocke, Ayurvedic wellness counselor, yoga teacher, and meditation instructor. Hi, Regina, welcome to WNYC. Thanks for coming on with us.

Regina Rocke: Hi, thank you. I'm excited.

Brian Lehrer: For the uninitiated, what's the difference between meditating and just sitting and thinking or just sitting and relaxing?

Regina Rocke: I love this question. I think the biggest distinction is with meditation, you're trying to clear your mind of thoughts, attachment of thoughts, attachment to feelings, people, scenarios, the past, the future, you're trying to achieve simply being in the present, again, without attachment to thoughts or past or future. Sitting and thinking that might be for creative purposes. Maybe to daydream, you're trying to access some creativity, you're a painter, a writer, or something like that. I think relaxing is that has a purpose that's meant for something. Often people maybe lie around, and relax, and watch TV, listen to a podcast, maybe they do some stretches. Yes, they're three separate things.

Brian Lehrer: Now, people hear about mindfulness meditation, transcendental meditation, other kinds, are there different meditation styles for people with different kinds of lives or different goals?

Regina Rocke: Definitely. My training is predominantly or primarily in Pranayama, breath control, awareness of breath. Especially in my Ayurvedic training, a huge, huge focus was being aware of your breath and how you breathe. We learned many techniques for calming your mind, calming your body, or even energizing. As you mentioned, there's Buddhist meditations, roots in Buddhist meditations, [unintelligible 00:02:54] meditations, transcendental meditation. Yes, I encourage people to do research because you'll find different things, different styles that work for you. That also helps people have a consistent practice that they'll stick with when it's something that they enjoy and look forward to.

Brian Lehrer: Well, how different are they? Can you give us a little example?

Regina Rocke: It's a little difficult because my training didn't go into a lot of the different styles. I would say that like I said, there's paying attention to your breath, being mindful of your breath, and then there's also styles where you count, you breathe in for a certain amount of counts, you exhale for a certain amount of counts, you count to 10, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Once you get to 10, then you count back down, 9,  

8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, et cetera. Some styles, you are scanning your body and noticing what's happening in different parts of your body. All of it is the same purpose, to empty your mind of thoughts and again, attachment to thoughts.

Brian Lehrer: Now, for people who are trying to get into meditation for the first time, do you have any tips or tricks for sticking with it? I know people, more than one, who have tried but say their minds are too active and they can't sit still. They'd rather go for a run or something else to achieve the same thing. Are there tips or tricks for actually just even getting into it?

Regina Rocke: Yes, definitely. I know many people like that also. A consistent practice helps, doing it at the same time every day, and even in a specific location in your home every day. I think people really I encourage them to take judgment, especially around perfections out of it. Wanting to master it the first time, "I'm going to do 45 minutes. I've never meditated before, but I'm going to sit and just focus on my breath for 45 minutes straight." Trying to be perfect at it, trying to achieve something, can you take judgments, criticisms, making it something to achieve or conquer?

Can you take that out of it? Can you see it as a practice where you're actually not obligated to be doing something else, especially a bunch of work you got to get done later in the day? Can you think of it as, "Oh, I don't have to think about that work, I don't have to stress about things that I have to get done today, I actually have this opportunity to simply sit, and breathe, and be off the hook? I'm not obligated to be any other place doing any other thing." Again, consistency routine is really, really helpful.

Brian Lehrer: Will you try something with us? Can you guide us through just the first 30 seconds, let's say of beginning a meditation to get yourself going in the right way so that you might settle into it successfully?

Regina Rocke: Yes, definitely. This is my favorite part of it.

Brian Lehrer: All right. Should people who want to do this at home right now with us get into a certain position?

Regina Rocke: Seated as preferred. If for any reason that's not comfortable for anyone, find a different position, but seated, even no matter where you are, even if in your car right now, you can pull over if possible. You want to be seated and--

Brian Lehrer: Don't meditate while you're actually operating a motor vehicle. That's a good piece of meditation advice, right?

Regina Rocke: [laughs] No.

Brian Lehrer: Not while you're operating a motor. Go ahead, sorry.

Regina Rocke: Exactly. I've had people pull over into parking lots of things with me. Seated, comfortable position, place your hands, wherever it's comfortable for you. If it's comfortable for you, close your eyes. We will breathe in together. Take a deep

breath in through your nose. When you're ready, open your mouth, exhale it out. This can be a grounding, cleansing breath for you. Let go of anything you want to release. Breathe in through your nose. Exhale it out. Let yourself settle. Let go of the past and the future. Let your body relax.

Brian Lehrer: That's really--

Regina Rocke: Then you're hopefully ready, yes.

Brian Lehrer: It's really that in-breath through your nose, and then breathe out because you're focused on breath and breath is a great way to get into it. People don't think about their breath, usually, we just breathe-

Regina Rocke: No.

Brian Lehrer: - until we get congested, and then we think about our breath. If we're healthy, we don't think about our breath. You're really saying almost just pay attention to your breath, and direct it a little bit in a rhythmic way at the beginning, and that's how you can start meditating.

Regina Rocke: Yes, definitely. Again, try not to think about being perfect at breathing. This is your breath, it's how you want to breathe. I think of in through the nose out through the mouth as a starting point. I'm officially starting a cleansing breath, as you exhale, release from your body tension, and also any emotions, especially if you're feeling some big emotions. Maybe some rage has come up, something upsetting, as you exhale, you can imagine that releasing from your body, and then you can start your practice.

Brian Lehrer: Last question. I know besides teaching meditation, you teach yoga, is yoga a moving meditation as you teach it?

Regina Rocke: I think it can be. I think a really large part of the practice and anyone who's trained or spent a lot of time in the practice is again, coming to your mat or wherever you are with the intention of, "I'm simply going to move and notice what's happening as I move or if I hold these poses, I'm going to notice again without attachment, without going into a whole story around what's happening." Can you do this asana practice and let it be what it's going to be, and even be curious about what comes up? Notice, try not to judge, try not to criticize, try not to think of it as a practice of being perfect.

Brian Lehrer: There we leave it with Regina Rocke, Ayurvedic wellness counselor, yoga teacher, and meditation instructor. You know what, Regina, I am so relaxed after that. I'm ready even to face the Ask the Mayor segment, which is coming up next.

Regina Rocke: I love it. [laughs] Perfect.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you very much for joining us. That was great.

Regina Rocke: Thank you.

Copyright © 2021 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information.

New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.