READER’S DIGEST
June• 2019 | 43F
ive years ago,
I was 30, living
in London and
working in advertising.
My job required
long hours, and my
colleagues often
told me that I looked
stressed. I was in my
head a lot, ruminating
over conversations,
wishing I’d said
something differently
and wondering what
others thought of me.
A complete stranger
inspired me to change.
A visitor from Australia
came to stay with
my roommate. She
had this amazingly
calm energy. I asked
her what her secret
was, and she told me
that she practised
Vedic meditation, a
silent transcendental
meditation rooted in
Ayurvedic tradition
in which you repeat amantra in your mind.
A few months later,
when life became even
more overwhelming, I
started thinking about
our Australian guest
and her meditation.
Coincidentally, she sent
me a message out of
the blue and asked if
I’d ended up trying
it. She recommended
a local teacher, and
I signed up for a
weekend course. I was
given a mantra and
practised meditating in
a group setting.
It took a while to
see the effects. In my
first meditation, time
dragged on. When Iopened my eyes, the
instructor asked how
I felt, but I didn’t
notice any change. I
stuck with it, practising
daily, 20 minutes
in the morning and
evening. A few months
later, I visited family
and friends and they
commented on how
much calmer I was.
Today I’m working in
tech and meditating
twice a day. I’ve made
other healthy changes,
too, such as drinking
less alcohol and
working out. Now time
flies when I’m
meditating, and I sleep
much better. If I miss a
practice, I’m not as
alert and I can feel my
ruminations returning.
My worries aren’t
gone, but when I
meditate, they seem
much more
manageable.witnessing someone else in a stressful
situation can cause your own levels of
the stress hormone cortisol to spike.
Buhr says there’s no need to avoid
those influences. “But you want to be
aware of how certain people affect
you and how that gets you think-
ing,” she adds. “Find balance by also
seeking out people who have healthy
perspectives.” Worry might be conta-
gious, but a positive out look could
be infectious, too.Finding Zen
A FORMER WORRYWART SPEAKS OUT
BY ALEXIS CLARFIELD-HENRY AS TOLD TO JILL BUCHNER