As we celebrate World Meditation Day 2021, mindfulness and meditation expert Leona McDonnell joined Empeal for an interview to discuss some simple ways to introduce mediation into your life. Leona is a qualified Tera-Mai Reiki Energy Healing Practitioner a qualified doTERRA Essential Oils Advocate, a qualified doTERRA AromaTouch Technique Practitioner, a qualified Tera-Mai Reiki Energy Healing Practitioner, along with having completed her IMMA Accredited Creative Mindfulness for Kids training. 

“I teach those I work with how to experience calm, peace and serenity in their everyday lives and I teach people how to reduce the everyday chatter in their minds. I empower children, teenagers and adults that I work with through Mindfulness, Meditation and Wellness with the belief that they already have all of the resources they need inside themselves to be the best version of themselves possible”. 

Leona discusses the first-hand benefits she has seen in herself and her clients who practice mediation regularly. Mindfulness mediation is a very powerful tool that can be used to help achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.

“When I teach mindfulness, I am speaking from personal experience as it has brought me back from a very low point in my own life. It is about empowering yourself from the inside out. It is about learning to create a space in your mind and then therefore in your body to give yourself some downtime and relaxation”.

Leona’s passion for mindfulness meditation was clear from how she described her experience with it and the impacted her life in ways you would not expect.

“When you learn to practice mindfulness, you create a very intimate relationship with yourself which allows yourself to become the best version of yourself. Mindfulness can help all aspects of your health it can help you to make diet and food choices as it gives you the space in your mind to make better choices for yourself as it helps you become much more aware of yourself”.

Throughout the interview it became clear that mediation can be easily implemented into your daily life and Leona shared a few simple tips to practice when introducing yourself to the relaxing technique. The importance of anchoring yourself into the present moment was highlighted along with finding the right tools that suit you to help you relax.

“I think it is important for people just to create a few minutes for yourself to clear your mind and allow yourself to become more aware of your breath and your breathing patterns. One good tip is to place one hand on your chest or stomach to connect yourself to your body and your emotions. You can build up your mediation practice slowly and it is important to find what is comfortable for yourself and what suits you. One of the biggest things to remember is that when you find yourself getting distracted during mediation or mindfulness it is important to bring yourself back to the present. This will help you to focus on yourself and your body and not your stressful thoughts. Using visual, listening to guided mediation, or even holding a small object in your hand can also help to anchor yourself into the moment”.

Leona also described her personal experience with using essential oils and how she uses them on a daily basis in more ways than you would initially think. Leona described the diverse ways in which essential oils can be used which include using them aromatically, topically, internally and also in her household cleaning regime.

“As you try different oils, you will learn which essential oils work best for you and your needs. For the best essential oil experience, it is important to use oils that are pure, potent, and safe. I use essential oils for everything. I use it to improve my family’s health, on my animals and even for cleaning around the house. One oil I love is called a balanced oil which is great on the soles of the feet, on your hands and on your chest. It is important to get an essential oil that is pure as then it will absorb into your body within twenty seconds. You can even mix it with coconut oil and use it for massages as well”.

Leona’s message and passion regarding mindfulness and mediation are hard to ignore as she was able to give such interesting insight into how this relaxation and coping strategy is truly a way of life. Leona highlighted the importance of taking some simple steps to introduce mediation into our lives as it can help us enter into a stable state both emotionally and physically. Leona’s message and teachings are so inspiring, to believe in yourself and to give yourself the space to be the best version of yourself.