spin class
When I teach writing classes, I always start out with a quick little breathwork/meditation exercise. It’s a great way to invite people into any collective space, but here’s another thing that’s true: I am prone to the flop sweats when I teach, so this opening exercise is also a clever ploy to steady myself. Class usually goes pretty well, if I do say so, but (if you are aware of this, come sit by me) impostor syndrome is generally immune to evidence of this type, and as reliable as the trains.
I’m by no means trained to lead meditation, beyond being a person with anxiety who has magpied around, grabbing up little shiny buttons of tricks to calm my inner jumping bean. But it turns out pretty much everyone alive is a leetle bit anxious these days, and no one minds a couple minutes to settle and gather their wits, even if they do not self-identify as twitchy or they are being guided by a rank amateur.
Maybe you already know all of these tricks. Skip down to the drink, in that case. Also, maybe you are not anxious! That’s awesome. Coffee’s on me.
1. Make a conscious effort to establish good contact between the soles of your feet and the nice solid earth that is holding you up. If you have to understand its presence through your socks, and shoes, and then the floor beneath that, all the better. It’s nice to take your time with it and go layer by layer and toe by toe. However, if you are in a hurry to calm TF down, sit down squarely in a sturdy chair and do a few hard stomps, alternating feet; it works wonders, especially if you open up an “I am supported” kind of receptor in your mind.
2. Crib a little trick from the fine folks who invented EMDR. Put your hands up to stop traffic (this is actually a mildly unnecessary extra step but gives the whole thing a fun Supremes vibe), then turn your hands to face you and cross one behind the other until your thumbs catch. Lay this hand-butterfly right under your collarbones and begin to tap one set of fingers and then the other. Now choose your adventure: if you’re finding yourself too amped to function optimally, tap nice and slow against your chest. Droopy and need a boost? Tap to a peppier tempo. The beauty of this little jobby is you can perform it any old time and any old where. No need to do the whole sarcophagus routine with your hands up high and visible. If you need to execute some up- or down-regulation on the QT, say at a family dinner or bizniss meeting, then tapping your index fingers on your knees under the table works on the same principle of bilateral magic.
3. Next up, we feature that old classic ‘three deep breaths’ (smell the flowers, blow out the candles), with the tiny adjustment of letting your out-breath be a beat longer than your in-breath. That intentional imbalance signals to your central nervous system that you have outrun the tigers. A handful of breaths where you fill right up to a count of three, and let it out for a count of four or five, is the goal. Bonus points if you make a little hummy noise in the back of your throat on the exhale, like monks do. That’s your vagus nerve back there, and when you hum, you vibrate another bat-signal to the nerve center controls that all is well. Monks know what’s what. Be like monks.
Tap your taps while you breathe your breaths. Voila. If you have closed your eyes while doing these things, dollars to donuts when you open them again, the world will look a little more welcoming and possible.
A wondrous set of insights into human stress, and strategies to dial it down, can be found in this podcast episode. Twin sister musician/sex therapist duo who talk about dogs a lot, being interviewed by Brené Brown: you had me at hello.
Meanwhile, if you have not already done so and you can, get a milk steamer. I had a Nespresso one for a long time and it worked fine but was suspiciously losing its nonstick interior, possibly to my interior, and did NOT enjoy tackling adventures like this admittedly off-label usage, so I upgraded to one that is stainless steel and very sturdy. I got this one and I lurve it. You can even put it in the dishwasher! Screaming deals can be found on ebay and many credit card rewards programs seem to offer them as well. 10/10 do recommend.
Which leads to what I have been doing with mine lately: froojshing a spoonful of tahini into my morning latte.
Before you say ew, please understand that my morning latte doesn’t have coffee in it (see above, my nervous system is operated by a coked-up hamster on an electric flywheel), but rather one of three health-giving kinds of dust:
ground matcha
Frothing these mixtures makes a morning (or afternoon) drink extra delicious. And wonder of wonders, if you add just a spoonful of runny tahini to the mixture as it spins, each of these concoctions is enhanced even further. Tahini adds body and a buttery flavor, as well as a powerful little kick of protein, fiber, and trace minerals, plus alleged anti-cancer and cardiac health properties. Basically, how have we lived as long as this without adding tahini to everything?
I actually don’t know if my lifespan is going to be affected by this habit. But despite how different they are, all three flavors of morning beverage seem to play nicely with tahini. It tastes good and makes me feel nice. I am hooked.
tahini latte
per serving
½ c milk of choice
½ c water
1-2 teaspoons golden milk or adaptogenic cocoa blend, or ½ teaspoon matcha powder
2 teaspoons honey (for the matcha and golden milk options) or maple syrup (for the cocoa), or to taste
1 heaping teaspoon of runny tahini
Combine the milk, water, flavor and sweetener in the steamer and set it to whirring. Drip in the tahini as the steamer runs. Allow the steamer to complete its cycle, pour into a mug and enjoy with your feet firmly on the floor.
SOME NOTES:
the milk
I like cashew milk because it is very milky without involving milk (currently unfriendly to my system), and has none of the oils and stabilizers that make oat milk seem like a better idea than it turns out to be. My children reassure me I am the only person alive who likes cashew milk, so I’ll add here that really any type of milk will do. The spoonful of tahini magically transforms the water into a kind of milk, so this balance works well for my palate but you can also do all milk, no water, if you like a super creamy drink.
the mixes
I like making my own blends and I’ve linked the recipes I use for adaptogenic cocoa and golden milk. Those posts also have links to high-quality mixes you can order online, or you can just troll the aisles of your local naturale foode shoppe, where examples abound.
FURTHERMORE, I’ve just been alerted to the existence of this magical way of making turmeric super available to your body, and I have been subbing this in for the turmeric portion and adding a spice mix on top.
Going the matcha route? Try a pinch of ground ginger in there. YUM.
Could you also just use plain cocoa or turmeric or matcha for jiminy sake and not bother with all this other stuff? Yes.
the tahini
There are many types! Make sure you pick a runny variety, not a firm one. Absolutely this could work with any nut or seed butter, as long as it is finely ground and has a drips-off-the-spoon consistency.
the frother
Could you make this in a little pot, with a whisk? If you don’t have a frother? Of course you could.
Cheers!