An Honest Review of the Unplug Meditation Teacher Training

Unplug Meditation Teacher Training Review

Written by Dr. Tracey McGrath

Founder of Bliss Arts Co. Mindful Art & Meditation

Are you thinking of joining the Unplug Meditation Teacher Training program this year? You’ve come to the right place. Here I share my honest review of UMTT!

How Unplug Meditation Changed My Life

I lived in Santa Monica, CA for several years before my divorce.  It was at that time that I was dealing with some pretty difficult emotions.  Mostly a lot of negative emotions about my self-worth.  I was asking myself questions like “Who am I without this person as my partner?”  “Did I make the right decision?” “Am I loveable?”  “Am I hated?”  “Why do I exist?”  

Nothing too heavy, right?

Let’s not forget that I had also gotten into a new relationship, a veritable emotional roller coaster.  This situation was literally driving me to tears almost every day.  

Needless to say, I wasn’t in a great place.

A good friend of mine had mentioned Unplug Meditation to me but for whatever reason, I felt I wasn’t cool enough to go.  

Yes, that’s exactly what I had been telling myself.  

One night when I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest and I was so sick of crying that I figured, what the hell?  If I’m actually not cool enough to be there they’ll tell me to leave and nothing will have changed.  

But, of course, it wasn’t what I had imagined.

My first class was a guitar-led sound healing meditation.  And it was magical.  For once in many months, I was actually able to relax.  To not hear the seemingly unending scenarios in my head.  To release some of my emotions and fears.  The sounds were so strong and powerful (and the room was dark) I knew no one would see me as tears streamed down my face.  

And then I was hooked.

I made it a weekly routine to attend live classes at the studio. Meditation opened me up to so many new ways of thinking about myself and taking care of myself.   

I eventually moved back to NC and had to leave my beloved Unplug meditation studio.  But I still had the amazing Unplug app to help me.  I loved seeing the familiar teachers that had helped me through such difficult times.  Check out my review of the Unplug app here!

Then one day I got an email with the subject line, “This would change my life.”  It was announcing the next Unplug meditation teacher training led by davidji and Unplug’s studio owner, Suze Yalof Schwartz!  I knew I already trusted and loved the content that they had been creating and delivering to the world.  

My determination to expand my knowledge of meditation and learn how to share it with others was real.  

I was pregnant at the time so I knew that it was going to be tricky getting to CA with an infant.  But I started brainstorming how I could make it work.  

And then COVID hit.

Now, COVID has affected all of us in great ways – some super difficult and others eye-opening.  In this case, it was a blessing.  

I could attend the week of live classes online via Zoom!  This made it possible for me to become a certified meditation instructor in my own home.

Now, I feel so confident in my own practice and in my ability to teach others, that I started a mindful art and meditation coaching business!  Learn more about mindful art and how it can help you reduce stress and anxiety here!   I couldn’t be more grateful for this experience and all that it taught me.

If you’re ready to learn how to teach meditation to others or just expand your own practice, keep reading!  If you’re ready to apply, click here and be sure to mention my name, Tracey McGrath, to get $100 off the price!  

What Is Unplug Meditation Teacher Training?

Let’s start with the basics.

Unplug Meditation Teacher Training helps you learn the basics of meditation as well as the proven scientific benefits (this was a huge draw for me as a healthcare professional!).  You’ll get tons of background information about meditation and its benefits.  And you’ll get hands-on experience teaching live meditations!   

The program provides clear instructions for each week’s content and assignment.  Trust me, you’re not left wondering where to begin.  And you also have 3 live calls during the first 5 weeks for more support and to meet your classmates.  The final week of the program is an immersion week with daily live calls with davidji and Suze.    

What Is Unplug Meditation?

Unplug Meditation is a meditation studio located in Santa Monica, CA.  It was founded in 2014 by Suze Yalof Schwartz.  

She has over 10 years of experience with meditation.  Suze began her studio when she discovered a quick and powerful relaxation method in 2012.  She wanted more but felt there was a void in the meditation world.  

At the time, it seemed the only options were signing up for a several weeks course or going on a silent retreat to learn how to meditate.  These options didn’t work for her lifestyle, which I totally can relate to.  

Suze had a different idea of how we could learn to meditate and reap its benefits in today’s modern world.  And I’m so glad that she followed her intuition!  

Suze’s meditation studio has helped so many learn the power of meditation.  And her book, Unplug: A Simple Guide to Meditation for Busy Skeptics and Modern Soul Seekers, is a powerful resource for anyone wanting to learn how to meditate quickly! 

Who is davidji?

davidji contributes greatly to Unplug’s teacher training program.  His method of teaching meditation (that anyone can do!) has helped to spread its healing power throughout the world.

He apprenticed under Deepak Chopra for nearly 10 years before becoming the first Dean of Chopra Center University.  davidji has certified thousands of people on how to teach meditation and trained thousands more how to meditate.

His work with Navy Seals shows how well he teaches using meditation to manage stressful situations.  He has written 3 books about meditation.  They include Sacred Powers: The “5 secrets to awakening transformation”, “destressifying:  The real world guide to personal empowerment, lasting fulfillment and peace of mind” and “Secrets of Meditation: A practical guide to inner peace and personal transformation.”

Is Unplug Meditation Teacher Training Worth The Investment?

In one word…absolutely!

This experience was a pivotal point in my life.  I made a big investment in something I believed in and wanted to know more about…and it has paid off!  

I have experienced even more great benefits from a daily meditation practice.  And now I have the confidence to go out and teach others.  

Here are just some of my biggest takeaways from Unplug mediation teacher training:

• I learned so much about the proven scientific benefits of meditation.  You’ll see the exact studies that actually show the results.

• So many different techniques of meditation can be effective!  

• How to cultivate your own practice and make it a daily habit

• A HUGE part of Unplug Meditation Teacher Training is learning how to teach it to others. You’ll learn practical ways to teach your own class and how to respond to your student’s needs.

• I can overcome my fears of being on camera and teaching in front of others

Another INCREDIBLE part of Unplug Meditation Teacher Training is the Week 6 live calls!

• You meet with Suze, davidji and your other classmates to dive deeper into the material.

• You will feel connected to your classmates because they keep the classes small.  You have break-out rooms to discuss experiences, and difficulties and to try out different meditation techniques.

• Optional student-only sessions to get to know each other

• You’ll teach in front of your classmates and get immediate feedback from Suze and davidji!

• Student submitted questions answered daily by Suze! 

To sum up: yes, the course cost me $3,500…that’s definitely an investment.  I was so impressed that Suze herself called me when I was trying to decide about signing up.  She understands that it’s an investment.      

But you can expect to spend way over $10,000 on other meditation teacher training programs.  And they often require weekends away from home.  For me, with an infant, this just didn’t work for me.  

I believe that we get out of anything what we put into it.  I put a tremendous amount of time and energy into learning and expanding my knowledge in this course.  And at the end of it, I felt prepared to teach others. 

I also knew:

• How to maintain my own daily meditation practice

• I had a Lifelong certification to teach meditation

• I had support when I needed it

• I had cultivated my own knowledge of meditation’s benefits

Is Unplug Meditation Teacher Training Right For Me?

Eager to teach others the benefits of meditation but wondering if Unplug Meditation Teacher Training is the right fit?

This training will serve you in life and as a potential way to create a business if you…

• Are working full or part-time and need to learn online in a convenient method

• Have dabbled in meditation but know you could reap even more benefits if you go deeper into your own practice

• Have meditated for years and you’re now curious about how to teach meditation

• Want top-notch and genuinely authentic teachers who understand how modern-day life creates unique obstacles to meditation 

• Feel the pull to do something different that will make an impact on others’ lives

• Want to learn about the benefits of meditation in an intensive and caring environment where you can ask questions and get answers

What’s Included In Unplug Meditation Teacher Training?

• 5 weeks of self-paced learning with required readings, lessons, worksheets and assignments 

• 3 Live calls with Suze and davidji and your classmates during the self-paced weeks

• An optional one-on-one call with davidji

• A complete, printable binder with everything you need to refer to from the benefits of meditation to different meditation techniques to teaching methods to hosting your own classes.  

• Weekly assignments with critiques provided by Suze

• The live immersion week classes to go deeper into the lessons, to discuss questions directly with Suze and davidji, to practice creating and delivering mediations with your classmates, to connect with others like you who want to make a difference in the world! 

• Ongoing support via live Zoom calls with Suze and davidji and to connect with former & current students. 

• Opportunity to teach live during an Unplug studio class

• Lifetime (free!) access to the amazing Unplug Meditation App

• An official certificate of completion & graduation ceremony!

To recap, that’s:

• 5 weeks of intensive self-paced learning

• 3 Live calls to meet your classmates and mediate with davidji

• A one-on-one call with davidji

• 1 week intensive LIVE calls with Suze and davidji

• Printable lessons, worksheets and guides to refer to forever

• Critiques on your work directly from Suze and daviji

• Opportunity to teach live!

Where am I now after Unplug Meditation Teacher Training?

I now offer one-on-one meditation coaching services and mindful art coaching sessions. You can book a session with me here! Please reach out if you have any questions about the Unplug Meditation Teacher Training. I’m happy to help!

Or if you’re ready to dive deep into your meditation training, be sure to mention my name, Tracey McGrath, when you apply to get $100 off! If you have any additional questions for me, please contact me here!

Frequently Asked Questions

WHEN DOES UNPLUG MEDITATION TEACHER TRAINING ENROLLMENT OPEN?

You can apply anytime here and find out the upcoming training dates.

HOW MUCH SUPPORT DO WE GET INSIDE UNPLUG MEDITATION TEACHER TRAINING?

Tons! You get 3 LIVE calls with Suze and davidji before the week 6 intensive.   You also can reach out via email at any time.  And you get personalized feedback on your weekly assignments from Suze.  During the week 6 intensive, Suze answers student-submitted questions and davidji provides feedback on your techniques.   

WHAT SUPPORT DO YOU GET ONCE THE 6 WEEKS ARE OVER?

Once your initial 6 weeks in the Unplug Meditation Teacher Training are over you continue to get ongoing support via Live calls with Suze, davidji, and your peers.  Special invites to additional trainings are always offered to prior students first.  And there’s a student-only Instagram handle so you can always check in with your classmates!  This gives you access to support from your classmates and the team at Unplug!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tracey McGrath is a pharmacist turned mindful art teacher and meditation coach. She is on a journey to share how mindful art can help women with their mental health. She is a certified mindful art teacher by the International Mindfulness and Meditation Alliance and a certified meditation teacher by UnPlug Meditation Studio. She is also a Duke Health & Well-Being Usui Reiki Level 3 Master Practitioner as well as a Certified Strategic Life Coach and Certified EFT Practitioner by Priority Academy. She earned her doctorate of pharmacy from UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2004.

3 Qualities That Make a Great Meditation Teacher

3 Things I Bring to Every Session

By Health and Wellness Coach Kama Hagar

As a holistic wellness coach and certified Unplug meditation teacher, I have a big responsibility to you and my clients to walk my talk. Of course, I do the work I do because I am a devotee to it. After being a student to it (and always will be), I was my own first client. If I haven't experienced it, I won't teach it. If I won't do it, I won't enforce it. I love helping people feel empowered, peaceful and joyful. I love showing people that self-care is actually selfless. 

With the utmost integrity, here are three things that I vow to bring to every session with my clients:

1. Honesty

Your trust means everything to me. I vow to be transparent about my abilities as well as my story. My heart is open and I will never hide any information that could help you, including my darkest moments as morsels of inspiration or relatability.

2. Presence

If half of what I preach is presence, I better bring it, am I right? It's a practice, but it's important. Through presence, I can see you, hear you, feel you. Through presence alone, I can access my deepest intuition, tapping into you at a level only being in this moment can bring.

3. Reverence

I see you as whole, even if you think you're broken. It's my job and my gift to do so. It's also the truth. You are holy, sacred, beautiful. As your guide, I will lead you back to the remembrance of this veracity.

If you're reading this with a pull to learn more, I'd love to gift you 20 minutes of my time to hear more about your story and how I can support you on your holistic wellness journey.

How to Teach Meditation Online

Meditation is one of the most powerful tools to improve mental health, boost overall wellness, and enhance both your physical and emotional state. If you regularly practice meditation, the benefits of your practice already clear. For many people, seeing those benefits is the first step to becoming a teacher.

Meditation is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing health and wellness segments which makes teaching a great way to earn income doing what you love (and helping others in the process). But how exactly do you get started?

Here are a few steps to help you learn how to teach meditation online:

Join a Certified Meditation Training Program

The fastest way to learn the ins-and-outs of meditation training is to join a program. Facilitator training is designed to go over every aspect of crafting a successful business. From learning how to hone your practice with improved techniques and guides to teaching you how to help others learn and grow in their own journey.

Unplug Meditation Training is a 6-week program with a world-renowned instructor to give you the base you need to become a great instructor. Not only will you enhance your practice, but you will also learn how to lead others, power their success, and gain recognized certification.

Separate Yourself With A Niche

There are a lot of people searching for answers with meditation—all of which could potentially become your students—but there are also a lot of teachers out there. To find success, you have to differentiate yourself from others by focusing on a particular niche or field. By separating yourself from others, you gain the ability to hyper-focus on their particular needs. Your niche may be a particular style of teaching, a particular student demographic, or just about anything to separate yourself from others out there.

Decide How You Want to Teach

There are many different methods of delivery for teaching meditation, even if you stay completely virtual and teach online. Deciding your delivery method will allow you to craft a roadmap to help you deliver your content as effectively as possible. Some options that you can choose include:

·         Digital Workshops or Events – Doing workshops and group coaching is a great way to create a large base quickly.

·         1-on-1 Live Coaching – Individual coaching is a great way to grow your business if you have a very specific niche. It allows you to hyper-focus on specific, individual problems and techniques which can be very profitable.

·         Digital Courses – Creating a set of courses and adding automation is a way to deliver as much content as you have to offer to as many people as possible. This is typically not something you want to start doing at first, but eventually creating your course system can be a great way to take your business to the next level.

Create a Website and Advertise

Once you have all the training and planning in place, the next step is to create your own business. The first thing you want to do is create a website or have one created for you. Focus on individual branding that helps describe who you are, what problems you solve, and how your service helps.

After you have a website, focus on advertising and marketing. Blog posts and content marketing are a great way to drive organic traffic, but the process takes a while. Social media is an excellent source for new clients, but make sure you’re prepared to deal with a lot of competition (which ties into creating a niche for yourself).

2 Keys To Boosting Your Inner Confidence

Unplug Coach - Suze Yalof Schwartz

I've been coaching for a decade now, and the biggest thing I've learnt - both for me and for my clients - is that inner confidence is the key to it all.

There are all kinds of strategies, ways of thinking, patterns of behavior and practical tips for improving your life and feeling better about yourself, but they're all redundant if the foundation isn't there. That foundation is the real you, the you that you know deep down you are. The trick is that it takes confidence to find that and to bring out who you are – here are the two keys to real inner confidence.

1. Get To Know Your Values

Personal values are a big passion of mine and I often get carried away with myself when I talk about them. I make no apology for that though – they’re one of the most important things you can know about yourself and are vital in getting genuine inner confidence. Your values are ten thousand feet down inside you, right at the very core of who you are; and they’re the building blocks, the foundations and cornerstones for you. A value is something in yourself, in others or in the world that’s most important to you, and could include things like beliefs, progress, family, fun, nature, achievement or freedom.

Why is it that some people and situations leave you feeling angry, frustrated, demotivated or deflated? It’s because one or more of your values is being denied, suppressed or repressed – and we experience that as a negative experience because it’s denying a fundamental piece of who you are. You know those times when you’ve felt really alive, amazing or buzzing? Those are the times when one or more of your values are being honored, and you can get more of that by living according to them.

Your values are all yours, and no matter what happens, no one can ever take them away. You can have absolute confidence in them because they’re there all the time just waiting for you to notice and use them. When you get to know your values, you can start to make choices and align your life around them. It’s so simple and it feels amazing because all that really means is that you’re allowing who you are to live in the real world.

2. Exercise the Muscle

Confidence is a muscle, and like any muscle you need to exercise it so that it doesn’t shrink and waste away. The problem is that unlike your biceps or glutes, which tend to stay in the same place, your confidence muscle can be harder to find. How do you develop your biceps or firm up your glutes? By doing exercises that are designed to work that muscle over a period of time until you see the results you were looking for.

It’s just the same with confidence. Let’s say that you’re the kind of person that doesn’t take many risks, the kind of person who goes through each day doing what needs to be done and doing it well, but not really stretching yourself. You might talk yourself out of doing something because it’s too scary or because you think to yourself ‘I’m not good enough,’ ‘that’s not who I am’ or ‘I don’t really want it anyway.’ That kind of person lives within what they know and what keeps them safe and comfortable. The fewer risks they take, the less confident they need to be and so the less confident they become.

To work your confidence muscle you need to be prepared to take risks – big or small. You need to be willing to stretch yourself in an unfamiliar direction, to try something new or try something in a slightly different way. You need to open yourself up to the possibilities around you and push yourself to increase what you know, what you do and who you are. The more open you are to risk, opportunity and possibility the more confident you need to be, and so the more confidence you’ll develop. That’s your confidence muscle – the question is, what are you going to do to exercise it?"

To Boost your confidence you can try both hypnosis for confidence and confidence meditations.

2 Simple Strategies For Never Losing Out Again

Wellness writer at Unplug Meditation

Life is full of ups and downs and sometimes has a few sideways thrown in too. When things go wrong or don’t go as planned, or when something happens to throw us off balance and doubt ourselves it can be tough to deal with. After all, we all want things to go well and to end up as ‘winners’. But life will always throw challenges at us, and we can’t control everything. Nor should we try. It’s not what happens to you but what you do with what happens to you that makes the difference. Here are three easy ways that you can always come out on top.

1. Focus on Your Strengths

We’re a bunch of contradictions – sorry to break it to you. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad; sometimes hopeful, sometimes pessimistic; sometimes childish and sometimes mature. We also have a whole load of strengths and weaknesses that affect what we do and how we do it, but we tend to put more focus on our weaknesses and not our strengths.

A strength is something that you do consistently well– it’s something you’re just able to do, you’re hard-wired to do it well and you get an inherent satisfaction from doing it. It could be tackling and solving complex problems, empathising with people, having a lively imagination or being able to make the perfect omelette.

Focusing on what you do well rather than what you’re not so good at makes all kinds of sense. When you look at what you’re not good at you feel bad about yourself and your ability, but when you focus on and play to your strengths you’re guaranteed to get results, and can even eliminate any negative effect your weaknesses might have.

2. Set Things Up Ahead Of Time

Sure, there will be times when you can just head into something, do brilliantly at it and get the result you were hoping for (normally if you’re playing to your strengths), but other times you might blunder forwards, wing it and not get the result you wanted. Whatever challenges or opportunities you’re facing you’ll stand a much better chance of getting a great result if you set things up to succeed ahead of time.

So what exactly do you want to happen? What solution, outcome or result would be great? Get really clear on the outcome you want from what’s facing you and how it would feel to get the outcome you’re looking for. Then start breaking it down – what can you do to set things up so that your desired outcome happens? What needs to be put in place? What will help to make what you want to happen, happen? And to ensure the best outcome, what are you willing to do?

How to Become a Certified Meditation Teacher

Ever wondered how to become a certified meditation teacher, and if you’re ready for it? Have you been daydreaming about getting certified? If you’ve been practicing meditation for a while, it’s not uncommon to consider the path to teaching. Training to become a certified meditation teacher can be such a rewarding experience, and a way to give back what you’ve learned in your own practice. And of course, it will improve your practice for yourself too! Here are a few simple steps you can take along the process to become a certified meditation teacher in the most present way possible.

Learn As Much As You Can

One of the most important things you can do for your meditation teacher training is continue to learn yourself. Be an open book and soak everything up like a sponge! Learn as much as you can about meditation. Immerse yourself in the different types and styles of teaching so you feel comfortable with all facets of the practice. Keep an open mind, and don’t be afraid to be vulnerable with your classmates in your meditation teacher training program, so you can all grow together. This mindset will also help you see things from a learner’s perspective, which will help you be a more effective teacher! When you know how it feels to be a student, you can better serve your own students.

Be Dedicated In Your Practice

Becoming a certified meditation teacher is more than just having knowledge—it takes dedicated personal practice as well. Before you start meditation teacher training, make sure that you have solidified your practice. The meditation sessions you’ll teach won’t serve as your own meditation time, so you’ll need to set aside time for that on your own. That means making a commitment to yourself that you will meditate regularly, both because it will make you a better teacher and because you deserve it! (That said, this does not mean being hard on yourself on days when you skip a meditation session - we all have our ups and downs. The key is to always get back on the horse and be kind to yourself.) Be intentional about meditating daily, show up for yourself in your practice, and take the time to connect with others in the meditation community. Having practical experience goes a long way in developing a warm and informed teaching style.

Ask Yourself Why

To make sure you are entering meditation teacher training with the right attitude, take time to reflect on why you actually want to become a certified meditation teacher. If you are only in it for the money or desire to have a huge following and fanbase, you may find your journey more difficult. (Those things are great! But they are not the core of what makes becoming a certified meditation teacher fulfilling and rewarding.) While there are many reasons to become a meditation teacher, many successful, satisfied meditation teachers started teaching because they:

·  Had a desire to constantly learn and were excited to share their findings with others.

·  Worked in fields like mental health or wellness and wanted to share how meditation fits perfectly with handling anxiety, stress, and other issues.

·  Knew that teaching was their calling and that meditation was their passion - and the two naturally fit together.

These aren’t the only reasons to become a certified meditation teacher - not by a long shot! - but hopefully they serve as a helpful guide. The idea is to be sure that you’ll enjoy teaching meditation for the practice itself, and for the ways it can help you improve others’ lives.

Enter A Training Program

If you’ve continued this far, then congrats: you’re almost there! You’re in the right headspace to start your meditation teacher training! Once you have decided to go through with becoming a certified meditation teacher, entering a meditation teacher training program is essential. Going through a training program is an immersive way to quickly gain the knowledge you need to go from practitioner to teacher. The Unplug Meditation certified teaching program, for example, is an intensive 200-hour program over 6 weeks that prepares you for every aspect of teaching. With those hours of training, you’ll be ready to change lives - both your students’ and your own - with the sessions you lead.

Prepare Your Practice

Once you have gone through training and have become a certified meditation teacher, you’re ready to roll! Get out there and create groups. Practice teaching as much as you can, so you can get to know your own teaching style and develop routines. You may want to start with familiar faces, like your coworkers and friends, and lean toward shorter lessons (in the 10-to-15-minute range) as you learn. As time goes on, you will quickly see how to best apply all the knowledge you’ve gained up to this point. You’ll be a thriving certified meditation teacher before you know it, and it will make life that much sweeter. Happy meditating!

6 Questions To Ask Yourself When Pursuing Your Dreams

Wellness writer at Unplug Meditation

What's your dream? Want to give your vision a jumpstart? Write down your goals and use these questions to speed up delivery of your dream.

1. What's your highest priority in this lifetime?

What's most important for you to experience, explore or embrace this time around? Until you answer this question, your life goals will be off purpose. Unaligned with your inner passion, your intentions will lack the power to attract the people and situations necessary to become a reality.

Get clued into your true joy. What activities did you enjoy as a child? What are your hobbies now? When your goals are aligned with your soul, synchronicity kicks in to guide you to your target. 

2. Is this your dream, or someone else's?

Are your goals your own choice, or what others think you should strive for? Do you want to look back in your old age and wish you had followed your passion? Will you regret having "played it safe?"

Is it selfish to go after your own dream? What joy can you give to others if you haven't given it to yourself first?

3. Are you settling for less than?

Are you resigned to accepting less than your full share of love, health and success this lifetime? Have you compromised and sacrificed your dream?

Anything short of living your true passions will never make you happy. 

4. What will you feel like when you reach your dream?

Personal passion fuels a vision. Dive into the thrill and exhilaration of the feeling of living your dream. 

The Hawaiian Kahuna say, "Where your creative attention flows, so flows your life."

5. What steps can you take today toward your dream?

Don't defer your dream. Set up supports and systems around you to instantly translate your intentions into action. Jump on every opportunity that is in line with your purpose and vision.

Are there smaller projects that lead to your larger dream? If the dream is to run a marathon, train for a local fun-run first. And find a way to measure your progress. Track those little wins-by writing in a journal or telling a friend.

6. Are you telling yourself: "I can't have my dream?"

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them -Walt Disney

Most people don't believe they can live their dream. Either their belief system has them believing they can't make a living doing what they love, or they feel they don't deserve their dream. To avoid the pain of feeling they can't have their dream, people often keep their dream so buried they can't remember they ever had a dream.

Everyone has a dream! And everyone is destined to fulfill that purpose. Why wait?

A Guide to Corporate Wellness Programs That Work

In the last year, work has shifted more drastically than any time in history. Businesses shifted online. Hours changed. Stress levels rise. The global poandemic led to higher rates of anxiety, more challenges in the workplace, and, in many instances, lower levels of productivity.

Fortunately, it has also opened our eyes to the benefits of corporate wellness programs and how they not only benefit employees but businesses as a whole. Here’s what you need to know about corporate wellness programs and how to choose one that works:

• What exactly is a corporate wellness program?

At its basic level, a corporate wellness program is a benefit that employers provide for employees to help deal with health risks. While these have traditionally focused on the physical such as workplace sponsored gym memberships and healthy eating programs, mental health and wellness is now one of the most important benefits companies can provide. 

• What are the benefits of corporate wellness programs?

Wellness programs are a surprisingly cost-effective way for businesses to reduce long-term costs. In a study conducted by Harvard, it was found that for every dollar companies spent on wellness programs, more than three dollars were saved on healthcare costs. A World Health Organization report found wellness programs to reduce sick leave by nearly 30%. Not only are wellness programs great for employees, they help the bottom line as well.

• Which wellness programs actually work?

One of the important things to remember when choosing a corporate wellness program is to tackle the root cause of issues, not just the symptoms. That’s why mental health and wellness is the biggest focus for many programs. By helping employees relax, reduce anxiety, and stress, you can improve overall fitness, reduce sick days, and increase productivity.

Unplug For Business

Unplug For Business, for example, is designed to help employees de-stress and refocus. Unplug has worked for over 150 businesses and helped create a more positive work environment, increase employee job satisfaction, and led to improved productivity. If you are a business searching for a way to improve the life of your employees and create a more efficient work environment, consider Unplug.

9 Ways To Combat Fear

Wellness writer at Unplug Meditation

Fear gets to the best of us, whether it is fear of failure, fear of success or even fear of fear. All of us have experienced fear at some point in our lives and it can be a real stumbling block that holds us back from being truly successful.

Fear can’t hold you back forever, if you don’t let it. There are several ways to overcome fear, here are my top 9:

1. SEPARATE REALITY FROM PERCEPTION

Ask yourself what is really going on, locate the facts and place them over your feelings.

2. IDENTIFY THE TRIGGER

Figure out what it is in a situation that triggers you. Learning to identify it will help you learn to combat it.

3. KNOW WHERE FEAR LIVES IN YOUR BODY

A lot of times, fear takes over physically. It affects different people different ways. Identify if/how it affects your physical body and do the work to take care of your body. Ex: if you hold stress in your back, you can learn stretches, foam rolling, etc. to avoid the pain.

4. PRACTICE GRATITUDE

Everyday, list out 1-3 things you are thankful for. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is, gratitude helps shift the mind into a positive light, which overtime, overcomes fear.

5. LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE

Monitor your inner conversations. If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, don’t say it to yourself. Speak positively to yourself and remind yourself of your strengths.

6. CREATE A NEW ASSOCIATION

Remind yourself that the feeling and the moment will pass. Focus on the positive outcome of the situation, rather than the scary in between.

7. LOOK AT THE GLASS HALF FULL

Perception is a very powerful thing, and how you feel about your situation dictates how you respond. So think positively and you’ll give yourself a much better chance of success. This won’t happen overnight; practice with just one thought. What is one recurring negative/fearful thought you have? Work on reversing this one thought. Overtime, this will become a habit.

8. PRACTICE BREATHING EXERCISES

Breathing helps center your body; when you stop breathing, your heart stops beating. You can do a grounding exercise, or even just take 5 deep, long breaths at any point to calm and center yourself. It is best to start your  day with this, but feel free to practice all day long.

9. CREATE A SAFE SPACE

When you feel safe and secure, there is no room for fear. Find somewhere safe you can retreat to when ill feelings begin- whether this is a real place such as your bedroom, or a place in your mind such as the beach. This sense of comfort will soothe you and allow you to face your fear.

Please keep in mind, that these are just 9 strategies, not everything works for everyone. But this is a place to start. Start implementing these techniques into your life and don’t let fear hold you back from reaching your goals and your highest potential this year!

3 Steps To Discovering The Purpose of Your Life

Wellness writer at Unplug Meditation

Determining what our purpose is in life can be one of the hardest questions that we as humans must try to answer. In this article we will be going through a step by step process, exploring your feelings and options, and by the end, you should have a fairly solid tool you can immediately employ in your life, to help give it a meaningful direction!

There are three steps to the process of discovering the purpose of your life:

1. Understanding the principle of choice

2. Creating your “underlying principle”

3. Aligning your life with this underlying principle

Understanding The Principle of Choice

Norman Vincent Peale has this to say about the power of choice. “The greatest power we have is the power of choice. It is an actual fact, that if you have been groping under unhappiness, you can choose to be joyous, instead. And, by effort, lift yourself into joy. If you tend to be fearful, you can overcome that misery by choosing to have courage. The whole trend and the quality of anyone’s life is determined by the choices that are made”.

“Choosing” is the most important activity of your mind, because by making a choice, you are proclaiming your desires to your subconscious mind. Once the subconscious mind gets to know your desires, it is going to do anything to manifest them in your life. The choices you make in your life become your goal. And, if you are sincere in pursuing them, there is no reason why you should not accomplish them.

Indecision, on the other hand, not only creates frustration and anxiety, but can also confuse the subconscious mind about what you want. But it is important that the choices you make are made by you, in accordance with your true desires, purposes and aptitude. A lot of us let others make choices for us, or make our choices according to what we think is ‘correct’, even if that means that we go against our wishes. What is right for someone else may not be right for you, and the way to know this is listening to what your heart says.

So, to begin with, make a list of things which interest you; things which you have always enjoyed, which make you feel better, and which inspire you to surge ahead, no matter what obstacles you face. Do you like doing something creative, or something artistic? Do you enjoy nature? Do you like the sea? Do you enjoy helping others? Do you get pleasure out of making a difference in other people’s life?

Whatever it is that interests you, write it down and answer these questions:

• What thing do you love to do?

• What is it that you love in this thing and why?

• How could you do this for money, and make a living out of it?

Creating Your Underlying Principle

The next step is to examine the list you just made and find out if there is any recurring theme. Maybe, it is the contribution that keeps coming up, or an effect to seek or give love, or helping your parents cope with old age. Whatever it is, try to identify the central theme of the things you love to do, and try to put it in a short and precise statement. This will be your ‘Mission Statement’. It may even be a quote by a famous person, or a philosophy that has influenced you. Of course, as you grow up, this statement could evolve, but its soul will remain the same. Now, write down your Mission Statement.

Aligning Your LIFE With Your Underlying Principle

The final step in this journey is to map your path to your ultimate purpose and to begin implementing changes that help to align your daily life with your underlying purpose. By making these little changes in your lifestyle, you will start to be able to begin living this principle out each and every day. It might take a few days, but by becoming aware and intentional of this underlying principle of your life, you will certainly start to feel the difference in your enthusiasm for life as a whole. If you realize that you love being amidst nature, plan out your holiday. Maybe an outing with your children could be enough to recoup with your energy. If you discover that you enjoy helping those in need, start to look for opportunities to volunteer in your community. On the other hand, you might even want to change your job, or start a new business that is more in line with your mission.

So there you have it! By following along with the steps outlined above, you will be on your way to finding and living out your purpose. And, as you go through this process, just remember, “You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously.” - Steve Maraboli