{"id":119495,"date":"2019-02-13T14:31:08","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T19:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=119495\/"},"modified":"2019-08-19T10:41:49","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T14:41:49","slug":"emily-fletcher-stress-less-accomplish-more-meditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/ja\/journal\/emily-fletcher-stress-less-accomplish-more-meditation\/","title":{"rendered":"Emily Fletcher’s Stress-Busting Meditation Creates Space for Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learn with Emily directly at Wanderlust Brooklyn<\/a>!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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With so many styles, adaptations and applications, meditation can feel like an elusive concept. It may be a lifesaver, but it can also feel like something everyone tells you you should be doing but you aren\u2019t sure how to grasp. Emily Fletcher, founder of Ziva Meditation<\/a> has designed a technique specifically for help high performers integrate and master meditation\u2014even if they claim to be too busy to do so.<\/p>\n

Her debut book, available on February 19, Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation For Extraordinary Performance<\/em><\/a> brings her technique\u2014along with the science behind meditation\u2019s many benefits\u2014to the masses. Her humor and candor make this book an easy and enlightening read for seasoned practitioners and newbies alike, not to mention this is the book to recommend to that friend who seems to always complain about stress yet never take you up on your recommendation that they meditate.<\/p>\n

This is not just another meditation book. In Stress Less, Accomplish More<\/em>, Emily teaches the trifecta of Mindfulness, Meditation, and Manifesting to improve your personal and professional performance, clarity, health, and sleep.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe meditate to get good at life, not at meditation,\u201d quips Emily, reminding us that the point is deeply profound energetic shifts we are capable of making in our lives when we adopt this kind of practice, not simply to say that we are capable of clearing our mind. (Which she tells me is impossible). Curled up in Emily\u2019s West Village apartment, with her adorable six-month-old joining for this interview, Emily gave me the insight behind meditation, mindfulness, manifestation, magic-making and more.<\/p>\n

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Photo by Jared Rice<\/div><\/div>\n

Cara<\/strong>: What inspired you to write this book?<\/p>\n

Emily<\/strong>: Honestly, I am tired of people saying that they don\u2019t have the time to meditate. Many people don\u2019t know the difference between mindfulness and meditation. So, what this book aims to do is rebrand meditation as a productivity and performance tool, so that people can see that it will actually help them accomplish their goals with more ease and less stress.<\/p>\n

Cara<\/strong>: I know in the book you talk a lot about the difference between mindfulness and meditation, but if you could just give us a little sneak peek into exactly what you are referring to?<\/p>\n

Emily<\/strong>: Where this gets confusing is people are using mindfulness and meditation as synonyms. Most of the \u201cmeditation apps\u201d and \u201cguided meditations\u201d on YouTube, and even meditation studios are teaching what I would call mindfulness, which is the art of bringing your awareness to the present moment. This is very good at dealing with your stress in the now. The type of meditation that I teach in the book is about getting rid of your stress from the past. It\u2019s about getting the deep, healing rest that can combat the stress and tiredness that is making us stupid, sick, and slow. When you eradicate the backlog of stress in the nervous system, that is what uplevels your productivity and performance capabilities.<\/p>\n

Cara<\/strong>: I love that! A lot of people who are familiar with Wanderlust tend to already have a strong and active practice of meditation, and then when they are talking to people in their live to whom they want to recommend it, that\u2019s when we hear, \u201cOh I\u2019m just not someone who meditates,\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t have time for that.\u201d So for people who want to help those that they care about embrace meditation and some of the lessons in your book, what is the best way to have that conversation?<\/p>\n

Emily<\/strong>: This is a beautiful use for the book. For people who don\u2019t have a practice, this is a great starting point. And for people who do, this book has equipped you with the perfect rebuttal to \u201cI can\u2019t clear my mind, I don\u2019t have enough time.\u201d It is all the neuroscience behind why stress is making us stupid, sick and slow. The best way to share with your loved ones is, \u201cHey, this book actually covers the neuroscience behind why meditation can help you have better sex, better parking karma, make more money, reverse your body age, and improve your immune function.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is the first five chapters of the book right there, and it breaks it down benefit by benefit. The best argument is to not have an argument. The most helpful thing that you can do is share your experience, and then say \u201cHere is all the science broken down for you. One of the world\u2019s leading doctors wrote the foreword; a leading neuroscientist from Stanford wrote the preface, this woman\u2019s taught 15,000 people how to meditate. It will take a few hours and it could change the rest of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cara<\/strong>: That was one of the things that I liked about the book. It felt like a really easy read, digestible for people both on the \u201cspiritual,\u201d \u201cmindful,\u201d \u201cwellness\u201d path, but also a door opening invitation for people who weren\u2019t. Was that your intention? Who is this book for?<\/p>\n

Emily<\/strong>: Yes, my superpower is making meditation accessible, attractive, and easy to adopt. This book is a great starting point for anyone who is curious but a bit skeptical. It is for people who want scientifically verifiable benefits, and it is also a tool for people who already have a practice to share with their friends and family.<\/p>\n

Cara<\/strong>: For people who already have a practice, how can this enhance it or be a tool for them?<\/p>\n

Emily<\/strong>: For one, it goes deep into the difference between mindfulness and meditation. Most people are practicing what I would call mindfulness; this may be a new technique for them. It also talks about the importance of twice a day. For people who are only meditating once a day, it breaks down why twice a day is so important. Like anything, we can get stuck, and in a rut or get stagnant. And in that case, having an intellectual reframe or deepening can reignite our personal practice.<\/p>\n