October 26, 2019
Mind-blowing sex, better sleep, increased energy… My guest on today's podcast has cracked the code on teaching you how to meditate, what kind of meditation works for all these goals, and for many more.
Her name is Emily Fletcher, founder of Ziva Meditation and creator of zivaONLINE—the world’s first online meditation training.
Emily's 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 her new book, for which 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 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
- Telomeres are like the plastic casings on the ends of shoelaces; chronic stress weakens the telomere and impacts the body age
- BGF podcast w/ Dr. Bill Andrews
-The nitty-gritty of how to meditate using the Ziva method [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 the “super power pose” is [54:15]
- When you're scared or stressed, we start to concave
- Our emotions respond to our body, and vice versa
-What black pepper tea is, and what it has 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
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
Resources from this episode:
- Dr. Bill Andrews (telomere testing)
- Philip Land (transcendental meditation)
-Book: Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance
-Book: The Healing Code by Alexander Loyd
-Book: Mind To Matter by Dawson Church
-Book: Powerful Poise by Amy Cuddy
-Book: The Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman
-Book: The Telomere Effect by Elizabeth Blackburn
–Radio Lab podcast on Einstein's brain
Episode sponsors:
–Learn How To Meditate With The 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.
As for the sauna and black pepper tea, I’m giving them a try, too. It’s increasing the warmth already there in my body. In Norway, where I live, the days are short and the nights are chilly, and flu season is just around the horizon. I feel like I’m becoming sick, and I’m hoping that this mixture will be yet another effective means of warding off my impending cold. That was a fantastic episode, so thank you very much!
If you don’t have access to a sauna, would black pepper tea have the same effect in am Epsom salt bath?
I love this podcast and have been following Z meditation (book) for 8 weeks and it has been life changing in many ways…sleep, energy, emotional clarity, pain management. Black pepper drink took a bit to get used to. The infrared sauna I go to is 30 minutes away so the time between drinking and sauna was about 45 minutes. Could be placebo effect, but I don’t care… I sweat quicker and faster and felt more detoxed afterwards. I’ll definitely try this the next time I feel an illness coming on!
I’ve done two cups of black pepper tea now and I must be doing it wrong. Do you crush the peppercorns or leave them whole? I have left them alone and poured boiling water over and there hasn’t been a warming effect at all for me. Can someone please help me out.
Hi Ben,
Using black pepper in a tea form, increase heat shock protein. I have just finished reading the metabolic approach to cancer and they speak about this in the book. I as well have tried it in my sauna, it increased the heat in my sauna even though did not change the temperature from the last time. It also made me sweat much faster and more than I had before in previous saunas.
Omg I love this tea and sauna trick. i loved pepper before but now I’m sold
Curious if black pepper in coffee has the same effect.
I also don’t have access to a sauna but tried the black pepper tea when I was feeling a cold coming on and can’t prove causation but I didn’t get sick! Would love to try Ziva!
I am also testing the sauna and black pepper tea (I’m actually sitting in mye clearlight sauna with a cup of tea right now!) It’s definitely raising my temperature and adding extra heat. I am Norwegian, and it’s getting very dark and cold here with flu season right around the corner. I have been coming down with a cold myself, and hopefully this combo will add to my list of hacks to prevent it. Thanks for a great episode!
I don’t have a sauna :(, but I’d love a scholarship to ZIVA online!
Hey Ben and Emily! Thank you for sharing your gifts with the world! I’ve been using my full spectrum infrared sauna daily for 3 months as my me-time, meditation chamber and to get my sweat sesh in as I’m a busy single mom, full time student, and work at the university I study at. The benefits are insurmountable and I attribute the ability to maintain a beautiful body, perform daily with optimal energy, and increase brain function and focus as I age. Typically I take a quart mason jar of warm clean water, lemon juice, 10drops of trace minerals, pink Himalayan salt, and a few shakes of cayenne pepper in the sauna with me and consume 1/2 upon entering then the 2nd half upon completion. I swapped the cayenne for black pepper today. It had similar affects however I am intrigued so I will continue to experiment with it. I first heard Emily Fletcher’s method of meditation on the MindValley app and have integrated her methods into the yin yoga class I teach in my community. It has had a profound impact on the students. Your podcast has quickly become one my faves! In gratitude! Best – Tara
Tried the black pepper tea, I really think it made me sweat more, gonna try it daily for a week to see how it feels.
Did the black pepper tea and sauna this morning! Definitely felt great! Thanks guys! I will add this to my routine!
How can I access the Ziva scholarship? Thanks guys!
I think black pepper tea would help enhance a sauna by increasing the amount we sweat, therefore, helping release more waste & toxins from the body.