Meditating with Candace Molatore

Meditation and mindfulness are all the rage right now, and for good reason. Recent studies show that practicing mindfulness, even for just a few weeks, can bring about many different mental, physical, and social benefits. Here are just a few:

Boosting the immune system

Improving quality of sleep

Reducing negative emotions, stress, depression, and anxiety

Increasing memory, emotion regulation, and empathy

Reducing the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

People are catching on, and there are now mindfulness programs in place in schools, hospitals, and even prisons.

So what is this thing we call “mindfulness”?

Mindfulness is a form of meditation that is used to bring the mind into the present moment. Can you remember the last time you went three minutes without checking social media, asking a question to google, thinking about your long list of to-do’s, replaying something that happened in the past, or worrying about something that might happen in the future? 

There are many different ways we can practice mindfulness. There are meditation and mindfulness apps, youtube videos, and tons of free content online to help get you started. It could even be as simple as taking a few moments to sit down and focus on your breath. And the best part is, you only need a few minutes a day to start seeing the benefits!

Yomassage believes in the power of mindfulness and the breath to bring us into the present moment, calm the nervous system, and encourage self-healing. Every Yomassage class begins with at least 5 minutes of a mindfulness exercise, and incorporates mindfulness throughout the class. 

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the amazing Candace Molatore to talk about how she uses mindfulness outside of a class environment and give you some ideas about incorporating mindfulness into your everyday routine.

Q: When and why did you start meditating/implementing mindfulness? 

A: Meditation, for me, was something that started in college. I knew very little before then, but one of my public speaking professors actually made meditation a regular part of the class. We would meditate before every session, and I learned that it was helpful for a myriad of things including stress relief, focus and lowering anxiety. My practice became much more regular after working closely with Kait Hurley. She has an entire online platform dedicated to pairing your workouts with meditation and she has been a teacher to me in so many ways! I owe my sanity to her, haha.

Q: What is your meditation routine? 

A: One of the things I like most about meditation is that it can look different for everyone who does it. I typically meditate an hour or so before bed as a way to 'take the day off.'

It really helps me relax and gather my head before having a restful sleep.

Q: How often do you meditate? 

A: I meditate lying down almost every night. It's something I work at to make regular, but right now it's more like 4-5 days a week. I do always notice a difference on the days I don't meditate vs the ones where I do get a session in. The days after I skip a session tend to be a little more restless and something feels off. When I do get to meditate I often feel a little more at ease and focused on the tasks for the day ahead.

Q: You mentioned in the studio that it’s all about finding a balance for yourself, can you expand on that?

A: Of course! Often times when we think about meditation it can seem unapproachable and something you need to get perfectly each time--that can apply to a lot of things within the wellness space. I refuse to see meditation as something that needs to be perfect, and that's really helped me to deepen my practice. Kait taught me a lot about this in that meditation is not about completely clearing your mind of thoughts. Instead, it's about meeting your body where it's at and explore those feelings deeper. Some sessions I feel distracted, others I might only be able to sit for 5 minutes instead of 15. It's never perfect because it doesn't need to be--and that's okay!

Candace Molatore is a Self-Love Advocate, Branding Consultant and Photographer based in Portland, OR. With a passion for building community, Candace uses her photography and writing skills to broadcast the message of self confidence, body positivity and inclusivity online. She shares her interests, inspiration, tips and everyday life with her audience regularly through social media (@hey.candace). With a modest but strong following behind her, Candace continues to spread the message of inclusivity and self-love with high quality visuals, a strong work ethic and a mission to make everyone feel empowered in their own skin.

Sources:

Boosting the immune system: 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12883106

Improving quality of sleep: 

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_mindfulness_improves_sleep

Reducing negative emotions, stress, depression, and anxiety: 

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/images/uploads/Keng_Review_of_studies_on_mindfulness.pdf

Increasing memory, emotion regulation, and empathy: 

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/a_little_meditation_goes_a_long_way/

Reducing the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): 

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/treating_the_wounds_of_war/