#210: Mastering Mindfulness with Dr. Nirali Dubal

Hey, this is Melissa Parsons, and you are listening to the Your Favorite You Podcast. I'm a certified life coach with an advanced certification in deep dive coaching. The purpose of this podcast is to help brilliant women like you with beautiful brains create the life you've been dreaming of with intentions. My goal is to help you find your favorite version of you by teaching you how to treat yourself as your own best friend.

If this sounds incredible to you and you want practical tips on changing up how you treat yourself, then you're in the right place. Just so you know, I'm a huge fan of using all of the words available to me in the English language, so please proceed with caution if young ears are around.

Melissa Parsons

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Your Favorite You. I am so grateful that you're here today, as always. Today, I'm especially grateful because we have an amazing person that I met last fall at the Physician Coaching Summit. Um, we were in Savannah, Arizona. And I've been thinking about the meditation that she led us through at the Physician Coaching Summit since we were there. So you should know that, Nirali. I've been thinking about the meditation and the deep place that I was able to get to in a room full of other physicians since we did that, and that was back in November, and as of this recording, it is September 1st. So it stuck with me.

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Nirali Dubal

Oh, that makes me so happy.

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Melissa Parsons

Yes, yes, yes. So Nirali, I'm gonna kind of introduce you by way of your bio, and then I want you to introduce yourself. So I'm gonna give everybody the buttoned-up version, and then I want the real you to come and, and tell us about yourself. So, board-certified pediatrician, just like me, ICF credentialed life coach, and MMTCP certified meditation teacher. Nirali worked 25 years in primary care as a pediatrician. She beat me by three years, and then she stepped beyond clinical practice to pursue her passion for helping people slow down, reconnect with themselves, and live with greater intention. So Nirali helps people through mindfulness, meditation, and coaching to find greater clarity, inner peace, and purpose so that they can create lives that feel more aligned with who they truly are. So amazing to have you. I feel like we have so many similarities, um, in terms of kind of where we were, where we are now, and maybe the transition in between the two. So I always ask everyone on the podcast to introduce themselves by way of telling our listeners about your favorite you now, Nirali. So tell us about your favorite you.

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Nirali Dubal

So my favorite me right now is the way I am, uh, feeling hours and hours during the day when I am completely peaceful, which surprises me sometimes that this is even possible.

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Melissa Parsons

Right.

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Nirali Dubal

Um, but that has come with practice and years of, uh, practicing meditation, as well as learning more about it from my teachers, Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, as well as, um, coaching.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm, mm.

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Nirali Dubal

So, uh, learning to know myself better, to be able to have a life that was aligned with my true nature has brought me here.

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Melissa Parsons

That's amazing.

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Nirali Dubal

And that's why I love to help other people do the same now.

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Melissa Parsons

Yes, yes, yes. It's so funny because I don't know if you're anything like me, but sometimes I'll catch myself in my peaceful, quiet days and think, "Oh, no, like, this isn't... I can't be doing this. Like, somebody's gonna catch me," like, being too myself, being too slow, too intentional, too peaceful. Have you encountered that? And if so, how do you-

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Nirali Dubal

Yeah, I don't feel like somebody... I, I have definitely had those moments, and I ha- I don't feel like somebody's gonna catch me more. I feel more like, "Wow." I just feel surprised. I'm like, "This is amazing. This is just possible."

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Melissa Parsons

Mm.

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Nirali Dubal

And it just lights me up, like, wow, this is where I am, and I never thought something like this much peace was possible.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm. Can you give our listeners who might be thinking, "What the hell are these two on?" A snapshot of what your life was like before you found all of this transformation.

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Nirali Dubal

Yeah. So, uh, I came to the US because I got married, and my husband was here in the US. So according to Indian tradition, you follow your husband. And I came here, and that was... I wa- had finished the med school there. And in India after med school you do a year of internship, and then you are able to pra- practice as a physician. So I was practicing, and after coming here to the States, I had to relearn everything that I learned in med school again to do take the exams here, which was a big, uh, hurdle in wanting to go into residency here. And I didn't want to do anything but pediatrics. I was pretty sure about that.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

So it took me a little bit. Uh, I didn't match the first year, so I went ahead and did master's in public health. Uh, and, uh, my focus was maternal and child health.

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Melissa Parsons

Oh, wow.

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Nirali Dubal

And then I went for residency in pediatrics. Um, that made me realize I am way stronger than I think I am.

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Melissa Parsons

Yeah.

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Nirali Dubal

Just like all of us are realizing.

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Melissa Parsons

I can do really hard things. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

Yes. Um, and then I had kids, and then I was busy, and I was part of a group practice, and, uh, had a great career. Like any physician dealing in this time and days with work and home and kids, I was stressed.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

Um, and comes COVID was the first time that I had time to just pause and just be for a little bit. Um, and I always wanted to paint. I used to paint when I was little, and I restarted that, and kind of got in touch with myself.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm.

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Nirali Dubal

And then, um, this information about a life coach training came into my Instagram feed, and it won't go away, and I didn't even know what life coach was. I'm like, "I'm a pediatrician. I don't have time for this. What am I gonna do being a life coach?" But here I am. I did train with Wayfinder Training program with Martha Beck.

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Melissa Parsons

Awesome.

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Nirali Dubal

And I loved it. And I loved what it did for me as far as the stress going down, connecting with my own self, and also finding the next chapter.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

And I turned 50 five years ago. And that was kind of a pivot point where I was thinking about, I don't have as many years as I did, and what do I want my life to look like at the end when it's time to move from this earth to the next plane? And I really, uh, felt like one word kept coming, was service. And I didn't know what it meant and how to do it. Um, but after finishing, uh, coaching training, I became ICF certified, and I was coaching some while working. And, um, then also next step was I felt like I really wanted to go deeper in my meditation, so I did a two-year training, uh, to become meditation teacher, not thinking that I would be teaching meditation.

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Melissa Parsons

Right.

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Nirali Dubal

I just wanted to do it for myself. But after doing the two year of more meditation, I did meditation for last 10 years before that on and off. But it was more intense when I was doing my training.

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Melissa Parsons

Of course, yeah.

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Nirali Dubal

Um, if you want to become a teacher, you can't just-

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Melissa Parsons

Do it on and off.

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Nirali Dubal

You cannot not do it and pretend. So you have to practice, and that really helped me connect with myself. Gave me the courage to take my next step to move away after 25 years in a pediatrician at a peak of my career, uh, loving what I did, and I still miss my kids and my, uh, patients. But I very strongly felt intuitively that my next chapter is to do something different and make a bigger impact by teaching people meditation as well as coaching. Especially in healthcare and physicians. So instead of treating 15 patients a day, I could make bigger impact. Uh, and I did not have bandwidth to do it all. I had a pretty bad car accident about 20 years ago, so I have some disability, and I have chronic pain, and everything that comes with it. Uh, so I didn't have the bandwidth to do it all. So I had to make the decision, and last year I made the decision to stop, retire from my clinical practice, and decided to become full-time coach and meditation teacher, and I am absolutely loving it.

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Melissa Parsons

Oh, my gosh. Our stories are so similar. I don't know that I realized how similar they are. And I will say that I did not have the bandwidth to do both, and I don't have chronic pain, and I was never in, in a car accident, knock on wood, right? So yes. I hear you, and I also definitely resonate with the idea of having more impact as a coach than I did as a physician. And most people who've never made this transition don't believe that that's possible. And you know, I do have one client whose child I also took care of, who she's always arguing with me that I made a huge impact in their life as the pediatrician, and I've obviously made a huge impact as the coach. But I think even just thinking about it from my perspective, like, helping the mom of a family has such a huge impact. And I think honestly we're doing that as pediatricians too. We didn't really call it coaching, but I don't know about you, but I was coaching them without having any credentials, um, behind my name other than, you know, the MD. Not to say that that's not a huge credential, because it is. Um, but I do feel like, you know, even just helping the parent makes such a huge impact on the family more than helping each individual child.

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Nirali Dubal

Absolutely agree 100% with you.

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Melissa Parsons

Yeah, that's amazing. And I love how, you know, I personally became a client of coaching, and I was like, "Oh, this is amazing. I need to share this with everybody. Why aren't we learning about this everywhere," right? Like, why is this something that is, you know, this secret society? And, and like you said, it, it was just something that kept coming up, coming up and like a bad fungus. It just wasn't going away. And I was like, "Okay, I think I need to follow these nudges and, and go with it." So I love that, and I love how... I, of course, love Martha Beck and everything about her. Talking to you makes me think, "Hmm, do I need to do the Wayfinder certification?" Probably not, but, like, it would be an amazing thing to do. Um, maybe if I get bored one day, but-

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Nirali Dubal

Just for the fun of it.

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Melissa Parsons

Yeah, yeah. And just to be in Martha's orbit and to be around people that are drawn to her, I think, um, you know, I love that. I did go... I think you were there too, the event in Toronto where she and Liz Gilbert were speaking, but we didn't know each other then, so.

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Nirali Dubal

Yes. We did not.

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Melissa Parsons

Yeah.

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Nirali Dubal

That was a phenomenal meeting also.

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Melissa Parsons

It was.

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Nirali Dubal

That event was great.

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Melissa Parsons

Yeah, so, so good. So okay. But yeah, I just am, I'm seeing all these parallels. And I knew I loved you, and now I know why.

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Nirali Dubal

We're sisters from different moms.

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Melissa Parsons

Exactly, yes.

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Nirali Dubal

Different parents.

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Melissa Parsons

Exactly. Exactly. Tell me, and tell our listeners, with meditation, why is it so effective? What is happening in our bodies, in our brains? Like, what is the science behind why it helps?

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Nirali Dubal

Yeah, absolutely. So a lot of times, mindfulness, meditation are considered as, uh, these mystical things, and I always like to clear that up with people that it really is not. Mindfulness literally means focused attention intentionally, without judgment, and with kindness.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm, that's the part that's hard for people.

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Nirali Dubal

Yes. Especially physicians

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Melissa Parsons

Especially without judgment and kindness. Yes.

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Nirali Dubal

Yes, and high achievers. Yes.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

And that's a skill, and we can develop that skill with practice. And when we practice the skill of mindfulness for a longer period of time, uh, for five minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, we call it meditation. So it's not anything that's woo-woo or something that we can't understand. It's once you realize it is something very simple, not necessarily easy but simple.

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Melissa Parsons

Right.

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Nirali Dubal

It does get better. It's a skill that gets better with practice, like any other skill.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

So in past 30 years, there has been a lot of research in neuroscience that, uh, show us that, uh, people who practice mindfulness and meditation consistently, there are fMRIs done in brains of, um, cohorts who did meditation versus not. And people who did meditation, they sh- uh, they, it shows the areas of their prefrontal cortex, um, grew that, uh, visibly, physically grew that are associated with emotional regulation and, uh, um, thinking, uh, and making decisions. And the areas like amygdala became smaller, which are areas of primitive, uh, fear and-

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Melissa Parsons

Reactiveness.

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Nirali Dubal

... reactiveness and, um, learning how to ... It helps them, people learn how to not be living in the, from the place of fear and reactiveness, but bringing a space between what is happening and then you have a space before you react.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

So instead of react, you're actually responding.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm. Yeah, with intention.

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Nirali Dubal

So once we develop that space in ourselves, everything automatically starts getting better.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

And this example was one of the big one that I like to share which really surprised me. I was, uh, in training for my meditation teacher about four months, four to five months into it, and we practice every day because that's what we're supposed to do. And it's your homework and sometimes more than once a day. And being good students, we do our homework. We're being a good student. We are physicians, type A. We wanna do our homework always. So I had the accident about 20 years from now, so maybe 18, 17 years since I was in training. And since the accident, during the accident, my car ... I was trapped in the car, uh, and it took the ... Of course, the fire people came, and the, uh, ambulance came, and all these noises and- Since then, every time I heard any ambulance going or firetruck going even somewhere in the distance, I would have palpitations. And initially when it happened, I was surprised, like, "What's going on?" And then I would realize, oh, that's from that firetruck going. And it's probably just PTSD. And I just accepted it.

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Melissa Parsons

Just PTSD. It sounds like a typical physician. "Oh, it's just PTSD."

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Nirali Dubal

Typical physician. It's just PTSD. You just move on with your life, right?

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Melissa Parsons

Oh, if only it were that easy.

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Nirali Dubal

And sometimes I would just listening to a patient and I ... All of a sudden my heart starts pumping and I'm like, "What's going on?" Then I'm like, oh, yeah, it's just firetruck or ambulance going somewhere. So four month, five months into my training, one day I'm s- going to work, standing at a light, and two firetrucks went next to me. And nothing happened. No palpitations, no anxiety, nothing. And I was shocked. I did not have that expectation, and I had nothing else to attribute that to except my meditation practice.

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Melissa Parsons

Wow.

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Nirali Dubal

So that was just so dramatic. Not everything is that dramatic and not everybody experiences dramatic stuff, but for me, that was such a dramatic change in a positive way that, uh, it just stuck with me since.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm. So interesting. So yeah, that kind of speaks to what you were saying. For those of you who aren't medical, fMRI means functional MRI. So they kind of look at your brain before you do the meditation, they look at your brain after, and they see different parts of your brain lighting up, you know, so that ... Or growing, like Nirali said. So, so interesting that that thing, almost like a Pavlovian response, firetruck, palpitations, you know, siren, palpitations. The meditation kind of took you and was like, "Firetruck. Oh, wait. Do I need to respond to this from fear? Probably not, because the firetruck's not coming for me."

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Nirali Dubal

Yeah.

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Melissa Parsons

"And okay, no need to have this response somatically in my body." That's amazing.

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Nirali Dubal

And none of it was conscious.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm. Oh, yeah.

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Nirali Dubal

It all happened at a subconscious level.

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Melissa Parsons

Right. Right. Right. Well, and I think, uh, something I wanna say ... Uh, two things I wanna say that I think are misconceptions, I guess, about meditation. I think a lot of people think that meditation makes it so you have this blank mind, that you're not thinking. And I don't think our brain ... I know for sure that our brains can't do that.

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Nirali Dubal

No. No.

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Melissa Parsons

Our brains are kind of always thinking.

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Nirali Dubal

Our brain's job is to create thoughts. It is the brain's job, and brain's doing a great job. Our job ... When we do meditation, our goal is not to get rid of the thoughts. Our job is to just observe those thoughts. And recognize the-

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Melissa Parsons

With kindness and compassion.

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Nirali Dubal

... with kindness, compassion, and without judgment.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm. And then let them go by without getting stuck in one thought, right?

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Nirali Dubal

Right. And most of our, our thoughts are surprisingly because of our negativity bias which is evolutionary gift for humans. Is something that has kept us alive for all this thousands of years. Um, makes us think about all negative thoughts, and then we also repeat those negative thoughts a lot. And we don't realize that. It's a survival mechanism, but we don't need it all the time, every thought to be negative and scary and have to act on that. So just recognizing the thoughts, observing the thoughts, creates that understanding, gives us some space between us and our thoughts.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm. Yeah. We are not our thoughts, which is kind of crazy when you think about it. Um, that's a thought.

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Nirali Dubal

Yeah. That was a big aha for me when I learned. I'm like, "What do you mean I'm not my thoughts?"

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

I'm like, "How come nobody told me earlier this secret?"

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Melissa Parsons

Yes, exactly. Well, and then I think we go to medical school or we become moms, and all of a sudden we're responsible for other people. And it's like, "Oh, I need to be thinking all the negative thoughts for them too in order to keep my patients safe, in order to keep my family safe." You know, that type of thing.

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Nirali Dubal

Mm-hmm.

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Melissa Parsons

So I think those of us who are physicians or moms or a combination of the two, it's like, oh man, our brains can really do some gymnastics to try to protect us and our families.

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Nirali Dubal

Can create some really amazing stories.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. And then I think the other thing about mindfulness that I like to think about, and this might be helpful to people who are listening, it's very easy for me to notice when I'm not mindful. So I'll be driving and I'll get to where I'm going, and I won't remember how I got there. I'll just kind of be on this autopilot. And, you know, you don't think about it when you are being mindful when you're driving, but you, when you get there, you're like, "How the hell did I even get here?" Or the other place that I notice that it happens for me is in my routines that I do every day. So like getting ready, taking a shower, you know, that type of thing. If I'm not really directing my brain, I won't... I'll be like, "Oh, where did that, you know, 30 minutes go?" Um, so, so it might be interesting for those of you who are like, "I don't even know what mindfulness means," it might be fun to notice, oh, when I'm not mindful. Like, pick out those patterns, and then that might help you to notice when you actually are being mindful.

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Nirali Dubal

Absolutely, yes.

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Melissa Parsons

So awesome. Um, is there anything that you want to say about that that we haven't said, Nirali? I know that's kind of a tough question to answer.

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Nirali Dubal

Oh, there's a lot to say. No, I'm just kidding. Of course there's a lot to say, but my message would be that it's not anything big. It's something simple. Everybody can do it. If I can do it, everybody can do it. We can develop this skill. We can access these peaceful states of mind while living our lives, while working, while being mom, and also being peaceful inside us. And living your purpose, doing the work that you're doing.

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Melissa Parsons

Right.

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Nirali Dubal

It could be as a physician or a coach or whatever it is. And it is something that you just have to, um, continue to practice. And when you can't practice or have a reason or no reason to forget, just being kind to yourself and being okay with it.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

I think biggest lesson, uh, with my two-year training was self-compassion.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know I love that. I think it does speak to the idea of I don't want anyone who's listening to think that you have to choose mindfulness or being a productive member of society, right? I think a stigma maybe, I don't know, of like oh, do I have to like go-

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Nirali Dubal

You don't have to be in Himalayas by yourself, uh, and leave your family and go and do meditation for 24 hours. Or even in every day you don't have to sit for 20 minutes.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

You can just sit for m- two minutes, one minute, or just do what I call micro-meditations during the day when you-

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Melissa Parsons

Oh, tell us about that.

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Nirali Dubal

... yeah, I love the concept of micro-meditations. Like, you can, um, just like habit stacking, you can stack those micro-meditations with things that you do every day. Like every time you wash your hands, you just try to sense how the water feels on you. Or when you're taking shower just remember that, oh, the water feels really nice, just for a second. You don't have to do it for longer. And, um, when I was in clinical practice, I, uh, every time before I opened my patient room, uh, once I learned how to be mindful during the day, before I opened the room I would just take a breath and then go in. And then before I put a stethoscope on a child's chest, I would just take a breath and just focus solely into listening. So just having those moments, um, before sending the next email, just checking in with yourself. What else do I need? Do I maybe need drink some water or use the restroom? Things like that. Just having that moment to get in touch with yourself, checking in with yourself. How am I feeling right now? What do I need? That helps.

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Melissa Parsons

Yeah. As a human being instead of a human doing. So good.

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Nirali Dubal

Mm-hmm.

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Melissa Parsons

I love it. I used to take a big old deep breath before I would enter a patient room. And of course before I get on my coaching calls I like to sit and take some deep breaths and ground into my favorite version of myself as a coach. And, um, and I think I love this idea. I didn't know that I was doing these micro-meditations, but I think I am, Nirali.

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Nirali Dubal

You are. You have a word for it now, micro-meditations. And if you are not doing that, getting grounded or having those moments to be mindful without calling it mindful moments in my experience, you can be a good coach. So since you're a great coach you have to be doing those things even without knowing.

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Melissa Parsons

Right, right, right. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. For sure. That's amazing. So I want to talk about how you getting back to painting, how you getting back to that creativity and that, I'm gonna call it a childlike activity because you started it when you were a child, how has that helped you with your mindfulness?

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Nirali Dubal

Uh, that is another way of being mindful for me. Um, when I paint, I lose myself into it. I can do it for 12 hours and not realize that I'm doing it. So I don't do it for 12 hours. Occasionally, rarely, yes. Um, but whenever I do that, I know that I feel just so deeply connected with something that's higher than us- higher power, universe, God, whatever you want to name it.

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Melissa Parsons

Yes. Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

Uh, but I feel very much connected, so that's another way of being mindful or being in connection. It's a skill to connect with the universe.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm. I love that. I love that, I love that. I am, uh, level one IFS trained, so what I would call that from my IFS training is connected to your capital S Self.

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Nirali Dubal

Yes, for sure. I'm familiar with, uh, the IFS because Martha Beck talks a lot about it and I have read about it.

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Melissa Parsons

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course, of course. Yeah, and I mean, you know, the goal is not to be in capital S Self all the time. That's not possible. But any time you can bring yourself to that, um, and have your other parts that are protective of you observe you doing that, it's so helpful for your whole system, and, and again, like connection to a bigger scope, the universe, God, whatever you want to call it. Yeah.

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Nirali Dubal

And, and when you are doing your mindfulness or practicing your meditation, that's the same thing.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm.

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Nirali Dubal

You are taking that, they call it a seat as a witness. And call it witness consciousness. And you're just observing. You are being that higher, the capital S self and just watching what else is going on around you.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm. Yes. I love that. Okay. That's wonderful.

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Nirali Dubal

It's all the same in the end.

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Melissa Parsons

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And I mean, I think that that's what makes you know that it's real, right? If it's, you know, all roads are pointing to a similar spot, it's like, oh, there must be really something in a broader sense to this. So I love it, I love it.

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Nirali Dubal

Yeah, and lately I have been, um, reading, uh, one of the oldest, um, Hindu- it’s called Bible for Hindus, Gita.

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Melissa Parsons

Okay.

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Nirali Dubal

And it is one of the texts that is consider really important to live, how to live as a human being. But I have always had hard time understanding it, and I still am not great at it. I think I need a teacher for that. Um, but again, because everywhere in Buddhism or in Christianism or everywhere I go, again, it's the same. I'm like, yeah, but that's the same message that is the central message of Gita that do your work and don't get attached to the outcome. So like you said, all the-

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Melissa Parsons

Sounds simple but not easy.

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Nirali Dubal

Yes. Simple, not easy, but in the end, all roads are pointing to the same thing.

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Melissa Parsons

Mm-hmm. I love that. Well, I asked Nirali before we started if she would be willing to lead us in a guided meditation, and she has, of course, said yes. And I said I didn't want to put her on the spot, and she said, "I can do this anywhere." And I said, "I figured as much." But if you are driving and listening to this, this would be the point at which you would want to pause the podcast and come back when you're parked or when you have a chance to spend a few minutes, um, meditating with us. So is that o- Is it an okay time to do that now, Nirali?

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Nirali Dubal

Yeah, absolutely.

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Melissa Parsons

Okay. Awesome.

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Nirali Dubal

How many minutes do you want us to do it?

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Melissa Parsons

Um, up to 10.

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Nirali Dubal

Okay.

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Melissa Parsons

Does that sound good?

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Nirali Dubal

Sounds good. Yeah. Let me know. We can start?

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Melissa Parsons

Yeah, let's do it.

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Nirali Dubal

Okay. So I will start with one bell, and then end with three.

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Melissa Parsons

Okay. Amazing. I'm gonna do it too. So I'm gonna close my eyes and meditate.

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Nirali Dubal

Wonderful. I would like to invite you to be in a comfortable position in a safe place where you can safely close your eyes or just look downward. You may lie down if that works better for you. Noticing your feet on the floor or the surface you're on. Noticing the pressure between your feet and the floor or the surface. Moving up to your ankles and your legs. Noticing any sensations. Paying attention to the angles of your knees. And noticing your thighs and sit bones. Letting yourself be held by the surface you're on. Noticing your pelvic region and moving up to your belly. If it helps, you can put a hand on your belly, noticing its moment with each breath in and out. Noticing any sensations inside your belly. After brain and spinal cord, our bellies have the highest number of neurons, so we sense a lot here. Any knots, any tensing, any butterflies, or no sensations, or sometimes a sensation that's hard to name. Just observing. Moving up to your chest, noticing the movement of your chest with each breath in and out. Noticing the depth of your breath. Noticing the speed of your breath. Bringing attention to your chest area where your heart is. If it feels helpful, you may bring a hand on your heart. After brain, spinal cord, and belly, our hearts have a large number of neurons. Sensing your heart, you may or may not notice your heartbeat. Any sensation of tightness or relaxation, warmth or coolness. Moving up to your throat, your neck, and your shoulders. Letting those shoulders drop away from your ears. We all tend to carry a lot of stress in our neck and shoulders. If you feel the need to move your neck or shoulders, feel free to do that. Bringing attention to your arms, elbows, forearms, and your wrists. Noticing your hands and fingers. The position of hands and fingers in relationship to your body or the surface you're on and with each other. Noticing any sensations in your hands and fingers. Heat or cold, numbness or tingling. Sometimes vibrations or pulsing, and sometimes just no sensations. Whatever is present is just fine. There is no right or wrong. Bringing attention to your entire back. Noticing small movement of your whole back with each breath. Bringing attention to your jaw, letting it be unhinged. Noticing your mouth, cheeks, ears, eyes, and nose. Noticing the really small movements of your nostrils with each breath in and out. Noticing the air moving by your nostrils. Bringing attention to your brows, letting them soften. Noticing your hair and scalp. And next, I would like to invite you to find an anchor. You may use your breath as your anchor where you feel it the most. It may be by your nose, back of your throat and nose, your chest, or your belly. Could be different for different people. It could be different at different times with the same person. If breath doesn't work for you, you may use your hands or feet as your anchor. And bringing attention to that anchor, and staying there. Where is your attention now? As your mind wanders, because mind's job is to wander, gently bringing it back to your anchor with kindness and compassion. And doing that over and over.

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Nirali Dubal

If your attention has wandered again, that's normal. Bringing it back to your anchor gently, like you would bring a puppy back when puppy wants to wander off. And staying with your anchor here and now. I'll be re- reading a simple poem by Joyce Rupp. It's called Simple Things. It's a very short poem. In the hurry, in the rush. Simple things missed. Blessings denied. Beauties ignored. In the calm, in the quiet. Simple things received. Mystery unfolds. Happiness blooms. Gently bringing your hands and feet into a little activity. Wiggle your toes, and opening your eyes when you're ready. Thank you for practicing with me.

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Melissa Parsons

Thank you for taking us through that. That was amazing, and now I get something to think about for the next several months. And I can come back, and I can listen to my own podcast and meditate with you as often as I want.

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Nirali Dubal

I have a podcast where I specifically do meditations.

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Melissa Parsons

Amazing.

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Nirali Dubal

Um, and they are less than 20 minutes. It's called The Reset Room. I have very short ... I talk about something very brief, and then guide you through the meditation. So you can listen to it.

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Melissa Parsons

Awesome. Awesome. So people can find that on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever they listen to podcasts.

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Nirali Dubal

Apple, yes. Apple Podcasts and Spotify both.

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Melissa Parsons

Okay, amazing.

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Nirali Dubal

Yeah, and it's fairly new. It's, uh, it's only been, like, 12 weeks, so.

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Melissa Parsons

Amazing. Okay. Well, instant follow. And tell my listeners how they can follow you, how they can find you if they wanna work with you. Tell us everything that we need to know.

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Nirali Dubal

Yeah. They can, uh, I think the main place to find me is my website, niralidubal.com. I'm also on Instagram and LinkedIn as well as Facebook under the name Peace With Purpose.

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Melissa Parsons

Amazing. Okay. And we will list all of these in the show notes so that it's easy for people to click and find and that type of thing, so. Thank you so much, Nirali, for coming on the podcast. I so appreciate it

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Nirali Dubal

Thank you for having me. It's been an honor. I love your work.

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Melissa Parsons

Right back at ya, sister from another mom.

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Nirali Dubal

Thank you.

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Melissa Parsons

All right. Thanks everybody for listening. Come back again next week and we'll have another amazing episode for you. We meaning me. All right. Bye, everybody.

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