Meditation is taking one intentional breath IN and OUT. Meditation helps connect your mind, body, and soul all in that one breath. We breathe some 60,000 breaths a day, yet unless we have a health problem, or are engaged in strenuous exercise, we don't notice most of them.
Just like shutting down our background apps and recharging our phones so our phones run more smoothly and quickly, we also need time to shut down and recharge. Just like you need sleep, and a mid-day break, you also need moments during the day to recharge.
I'm not suggesting you need to meditate for 30 minutes during your busy day, but to take a pause and connect to your breath on purpose. Maybe even 10 purposeful and connecting breaths between calls, emails, meetings, or before you drive home from your busy day. When you do this, you get out of autopilot and into a moment of presence.
Think of your nervous system as the gas and brake pedal of a car. You have a gas pedal to speed up and the brakes to slow or stop. To drive safely, you need to use both pedals. For most of you, your gas pedal is in full gear most of the day (your activation part of your nervous system). If your gas pedal is always pushed to the metal that part of the nervous system begins to respond thinking there's something to fear. So it goes into fight, flight, freeze mode. This is when anxiety and panic attacks become more likely. When you're always pushing the gas pedal, you're more likely to crash.... i.e. react to situations in ways you aren't proud of, instead of responding with a more calm state and attitude.
So, behold the great brake pedal! This part of the nervous system is responsible for the rest and digest system in your body. It slows the heart rate, the breath, a tells the body it is safe so it can respond to situations with better judgments (executive thinking part of the brain).
Meditation is the brake pad, it is the shutting down of apps on your phone, it is the phone charger. Meditation is tiny moments of awareness, repeated many times, throughout the day. Yes, a regular meditation practice of 30 minutes or more each day is a real game-changer, but you don't have to start there. Just a few minutes every day throughout your day can be helpful.
Here's a great article and research from the Mayo Clinic that goes into more detail about meditation and the benefits of practicing. Let me know what you think!