Conversations About Meditation With Ms. Ileane - Ep 2

In this episode of Conversations About Meditation I speak with Ms. Ileane. She is a Live Streamer, Blogger, Podcaster, Social Media Diva! How can you use your meditation practice to help you with your health? I hope you enjoy our conversation and how she found a moment of mindfulness just in time. Leave a comment and let me know what you think about these conversations. Let me know if you want to be interviewed as well!

Transcript

Greetings, I'm Barbara J. Facing, Your Mindfulness and Meditation Ambassador with this episode of Conversations About Meditation. In this series, It is my intention to share conversations with various people across all lines of work and life about their practices and specifically meditation or mindfulness practices. Today I will be talking with Ms. Aileen who is also Aileen Smith and if you know Aileen across the platform she is known as Ms. Aileen. We're going to talk with her about her practices, Meditation and I know she does yoga so stay tuned and I will. . . Well thank you so much Barb and I wanted to first of all above everything what I am is a single parent. My daughter Nicole, She's 35 years old and when she was a little girl I started at my day job so I've been at the same job for 35 years. I remember seeing that on one of your feeds where you were being recognized and that is just amazing. Yes so I love my day job and I've never been one of those people that was like quit your nine to five. Yes. That's not me. Yes. But if you got one that's working for you, You stick with it but along the way I got into this whole digital media thing with blogging and with podcasting, YouTube and all of that so that has brought me to the place where people have looked to me as a mentor and also as an instructor because I teach what I learned. Yes and you teach it so easily. You make it easy to digest and that I think with technology is really important so when you're doing that you're going to be able to do that. Yes. And I think that's what I found. I found you on YouTube and thank you for that because I discovered you on, I can't remember if it was Anchor or YouTube. I think it was YouTube first then I found you on Anchor so I started stalking you on all the platforms. That's fun. Yes, Ms. Eileen. Yes, Ms. Eileen. So when I saw that you had a yoga room I said ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding. I've got to talk to her and see what she does and what her practices are and thus my conversation is about meditation. So I just want to ask you a few questions and I don't want to take up a lot of your time but I want to just present people who are out here with practices for other people to know that it's not something that is woo woo or just woo. That is something that's practical, Right? So how did you start meditating and how long have you been meditating? Well, You know, When you mentioned yoga that reminds me I got to go back to the start of all this was with yoga. And I and I got introduced to something called half a yoga. I don't know that that's one of the most popular ones now. So many different things as a teenager in high school. So we are talking 1975 when I was in the 10th grade. Because I graduated in 77 so I had already been introduced to the concept of the breath and how you can use the breath to get centered and to get focused. So I had throughout the years off and on, You know, Even on my journey of losing weight, Gaining it back, Losing, You know, I would always turn to yoga, Because yoga was is also something that helps me to stretch out. So even when I couldn't really do a lot of physical activity, I've had both of my knees replaced. So even at certain times, There was and that's very stressful. You know, When you're in pain, Every time you get up, Walk around and you're like, Wait, I'm still young. I should be able to walk to the store. But when I couldn't really exercise like I wanted to, I was still always able to turn back into the yoga. So now let's progress and talk a little bit more about the meditation. Believe it or not, In the most unlikely place, I got introduced to meditation. And you know, I quickly recognized the link between yoga and meditation, But I got introduced to it on social media. Watching a live stream, There was a felt there is a fella and I don't remember his name. I've lost touch with him. Because the platform that I used to watch him on is gone now. But it was mere mere cat. And I think I also watched the same fella on Periscope a little bit, But he would have the candles lit. And it was like, You know, The room would be dark, But he had a little bit of an accent. I can't remember I think he was he was from a European country. And so he had this little bit of an accent. So the voice makes a strong connection with me too. You know, As well as being a visual learner. I'm also I love to listen to people that have soothing voices like you, Barbara. And so this guy mesmerized me out of watching all these social media tutorials and how to and this that and the other on these live streaming on this live streaming platform. I found this one person that really had me mesmerized and I found myself trying to go back and find that same meditation. And no, If you guys remember that site, It wasn't good research and finding. So I kind of lost track of it. But I kept it in mind. You know, Anytime I would see anything related to it would catch my attention. So later on, I found this app called stop, Breathe, And think. And I think I saw a tweet or something like that. And that's how it came to my attention. So I started using that and then that's when I started practicing more regularly. Wonderful, Wonderful, So what's been one of the most surprising or surprising aspects or of the practice of meditation and I like to say practice because it is a practice right. What's been surprising to me is that I thought that I would be like bored, Like, Sit quietly, Like who does that? And I did not acknowledge that it was something that I needed to do. And so after doing it a few times, Because one of the things and I don't use this app stop, Breathe and think anymore. But I do want to tell folks about it. Because if you're just getting into it, You may want to start with this app. And you can't really see it. But they have really short meditations. They have three minute meditation, Five minutes, And then you can work your way up. So just doing it for the three minutes, I think was probably the first couple of times when I started doing it regularly. And I thought, Oh, Wow, I could feel this good for three minutes. I wonder how I would feel if I did it for 10 minutes, You know, And then they have some other ones that are longer. And so then after a while, I found another app, Which is the one that I use today I use every day, And it's called calm. Just one word c lm. And you know, I like the guided meditation. I've meditated on my own a few times. But I like the guided meditation. And let me tell you, This is a good time for me to tell you the story because okay, I swear the story just popped in my head. I had to have some dental work done. And this was really I've had to have it. I had this tooth that was all infected and all this kind of stuff, Right. And they wanted to not only pull the tooth out, But also put what they call bone graft. I don't know if you ever saw that before. It looks like sand. Yeah, Yeah. This wasn't what I thought it was gonna be. But anyway, Yeah. I'm already you know, I'm like, Okay, Let's do this. Let's get it over with because this pain is getting to me right. And my blood pressure was too high. Well, I hadn't taken my medicine that day because I thought, Oh my gosh, Because I take a blood pressure medicine. I'm like, I don't want to have to run to the bathroom while she's doing this thing. Right. So I didn't take it. So I knew that. But what I saw then she said, I'm not going to be able to do it. I said, Wait a minute. Just let me sit still because I do practice and I told her that I practice meditation and yoga. And so sure enough, They let me in. I told her 10 minutes, She gave me about four minutes. And then she was she was she was talking through half of that. But because I do it every day, Because this happened in February. And because I do the meditation every day, I was able to block her out even when she was trying to talk to me like I told you I needed. But anyway, And then she came back and she took my blood pressure again. And then they realized, Well, Maybe we should use a bigger cuff. Yeah, Use a bigger cuff. Hello. And so it was a combination of the two things. But I bought my blood pressure down enough that she didn't have any worries about going and doing the, You know, It was oral surgery. Yeah. So I did that through meditation. That is powerful. I just thought about that. Thank you, Universe. Thank you, Universe. Because you're right, I'll have conversations about stuff. It's like, I totally forget about this story until it comes up. And that's why I'm like, There is a force out here greater than me. And I just say thank you, You know, Because you're right. And it's those little simple things. And that's why I wanted to have these conversations because you were able to go to a place at peace even with her talking. That's right. And that is what I really want people to get from this when you practice by yourself or guided or however you practice when you practice. It is a practice because the more you practice, You can pull on that tool when you need it. And it comes in and allows you to do what you need to do. And that's really, I think the power behind meditation, Mindfulness, Whatever kind of tool if you can use it when you need it. That's what is the most powerful aspect of it. So absolutely, You know, I just want to ask you, Do you have any recommendations for people that may be thinking about meditation? What would you say to them? Well, I think that, You know, One of the things that may prevent people from doing meditation is finding that quiet space. I mean, I think some of us may take that for granted like myself. Like I said, My daughter's 35. You know, I basically live alone. I do have a friend. He comes when he feels like it, But he doesn't live here. So it's easy for me because I do it in the morning because in the mornings I'm by myself. And I think that once you get to that point where you know when everybody's going, Kids are asleep or whatever the situation, Okay, I'm going to try this meditation thing now. So if you've never tried it before, And if you found that that's one of the reasons why it's like, When do I ever get time to myself that when you do get that time to yourself, Or even it doesn't even have to be at home. It could be maybe you decide, You know what, I'm going to go to the library because even though you're not by yourself, You people won't, For the most part bother you. Right? Maybe maybe you'll try it then maybe you'll get into one of these apps, The calm app or stop breathing thing or you'll just turn Barbara on on one of her Instagram TVs. And you know, You just close your eyes. And you can start that way. Well, Thank you. That is a great way to move into it. And I share one of my tips I share with people, We all have to go to the bathroom. And so when you're in the bathroom, Just sit for a couple extra minutes and just sit there and breathe. Meditated it, You know, I try to make it as simple as possible. And that's it, It doesn't have to be 1015 minutes is just moving into the space of knowing that I can do this wherever I am. Because the piece is right here inside of me. I just have to tap into it. That's right. Well, I'm going to let you go. Please let them know where they can reach you online or wherever you want to put your information out there. Thank you so much for sharing with us your practices and the things that are beneficial about meditation. And just you in general, Because your energy and your spirit, You know, I just love you, Miss Eileen. So Oh, Let us know where we can find you online. Thank you, Barbara. Okay, Guys, All you have to do is type my name in Google. But the thing is, It's tricky. So I'm going to spell it. It's I l e. A and E. One more time. I l e a n e. You type that in Google, You're going to see my YouTube, You'll see probably my anchor stage and whatever, Whatever you see, Instagram, LinkedIn, Follow me there. Like I do. And that's okay with me. Thank you so much for having me on Barb and you have a wonderful joy the rest of your afternoon and I'll be looking forward to your IGTV stories and doing some meditations with you. Wonderful. Thank you so much. Be well. Okay. Plays