Over the last few years many people – including the men in our community – have been looking towards mindfulness practice and yoga to open themselves up to stress relief. Meditation, especially, is an important tool to help reduce PTSD and anxiety in a lot of different areas. Studies show that it can reduce anxiety & stress, enhance cognition, memory, improve general wellbeing, and a lot more.
April is also Stress Awareness Month, so we turned to the founders of Medito, a free meditation app that promotes meditation and mindfulness, to understand how our society approaches mindfulness for men and managing emotions. From Cardiff to Bristol, London to Los Angeles and Amsterdam: the Medito Foundation team came together to create their award-winning app in 2020 at the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown. They also created a Diversity & Inclusion group of BIPOC volunteer members to help ensure that all the content welcomed and encouraged people from all walks of life. And while all of the founders are men, the app encourages women and non-binary people too to to sit, breathe and find a spare moment for mindfulness.
Mindfulness is manly
For some time, men haven’t been culturally encouraged to share their feelings and open up as much as women are in our society. Co-founder of Medito, Steven Yorke, believes that creating more spaces for people from all walks of life can help change the way our society views gender roles.
“I think men are sometimes more reluctant to talk about their mental wellbeing or how they feel, because historically it hasn’t been the manly thing to do. This is definitely improving, but I think there is still work to be done on reducing the stigma around talking about mental health,” says Yorke. “I think there is a similar issue when it comes to mindfulness, with men being less open to it than women.
The Medito team doesn’t collect data on their users in the app but says that the Medito Instagram channel seems to attract many female users: more than 60 per cent of their followers are female. It’s apparent that more work can be done to make men feel more welcome in the mindfulness space and to improve men’s mental health.
“Meditation and mindfulness are critical for us to centre ourselves back in order to be fully authentic,” says Yuta Hasumi, a Medito Foundation’s D&I Board Member. “Many of us feel anxious and are easily affected by what other people think about us, especially in this era of social media. Based on the unconscious and social biases, these are the way out of our control. Meditation enables us to focus back on feeling privileged to be who we are.”
Mindfulness and yoga tips from the Medito Foundation
Steven Yorke, Medito Foundation Co-Founder (Cardiff, UK)
“About 2 years ago, I realised that I couldn’t touch my toes! I think that’s a common issue for people who sit at a computer all day, one that can lead to back problems as we age. Since then, I’ve been doing daily yoga and also stretching every night before bed. Now I have no problem touching my toes! My three main stretches to help my hamstring flexibility are forward fold, downward facing dog and three-legged dog. I usually wear simple shorts and a T-shirt when I practice. Every morning, I do a yoga session followed by meditation using Medito. I used to do 10 mins of meditation, but then I increased it to 20 mins and I’ve recently started doing 1 hour. I’ll have to see if I can keep those 1 hour sessions going.”
Gareth Yorke, Medito Foundation Co-Founder (Bristol, UK)
“I like to stretch before and after a run, so I wear my running gear. My favourite stretches are downward dog, for stretching hamstrings and calves, low lunge for stretching quads and hamstrings and ‘Viparita Karani’ or legs up the wall pose, for improved circulation and muscle recovery time. I like to practice meditation every morning after breakfast. I’m an early riser, normally getting up at 5:45, and I like meditating in peace and quiet of early mornings, before starting work for the day. I also try to go for a run 2-3 times a week and I’ve started incorporating mindful running.”
Michael Martin, Medito Foundation Co-Founder (Los Angeles, USA)
“I have a lot of tension in my back and hips, so I like to do stretches that help disrupt that tension. Prasarita Padottanasana (“feet spread intense stretch posture”), Janu Sirsasana (“head to knee posture”), and Marichyasana (“Marichi’s pose”) are three of my favourites. I’m not too particular about clothing, but I like something that will keep my muscles warm. I try to take meditation and mindfulness off of the mat or cushion by practicing it throughout my day while doing regular tasks. For example, I’ll check in with my breath while waiting for web pages to load. I also practice the noting technique when I’m worked up or feeling stuck, such as when I’m struggling with writer’s block. By working mindfulness into our daily activities, we can benefit from it around the clock.”
Mike Speed, Medito Foundation Co-Founder (Amsterdam, NL)
“You really can’t beat a forward fold for relieving hamstring tension after a workout. Child’s pose is good for a cool down. Similar to Michael, I like to be mindful throughout the day. I try to notice my emotions, sensations or discomforts and experience them fully. When playing musical instruments, I find mindfulness also helps me to be focused without forcing.”
Romain Sourdiaux, Medito Foundation Co-Founder (Amsterdam, NL)
“Yoga really helps me to feel relaxed and grounded. My three favourite positions to help me to destress and stretch after long zoom calls are Downward Dog, Low Lunge, Reclining Spinal Twist. I often feel overwhelmed by the negative things going on in the world – everything from inequality, to climate change to the suffering of farmed animals. I’ve learned that mediation and mindfulness can help me to become clearly aware of these things, while not becoming too overwhelmed. So I try to bring moments of mindfulness to whatever I’m doing throughout the day, as well as practicing meditation on a regular basis.”
Yuta Hasumi, Medito Foundation’s D&I Board Member, (London, UK)
“Meditation enables us to focus back on feeling privileged to be who we are, wherever we find ourselves – that’s why practicing it every day is key to managing stress and anxiety. I personally like practicing yoga and my favourite positions are butterfly, cow and dolphin plank. I usually wear soft cotton T-shirts and shorts.”
Accessible meditation and mindfulness: The Medito App
Want access to meditation that doesn’t cost the earth? Try the Medito app (it’s FREE!).
Follow: @meditoHQ
