Sarah Joy Gaines On the Impact of Meditation

It’s not often you stumble upon someone like Sarah Joy Gaines. Her good vibes are indisputable, her Instagram is filterless, and her knowledge of wellness is unending. So when she so kindly agreed to chat with us about her joyflow teachings and the essentiality of meditation, our day instantly brightened. 

How is meditation a part of your everyday approach to wellness?

Meditation is a critical component to my everyday wellness. It's my opportunity to check in with me—acknowledge how I'm feeling physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically. It's an opportunity for me to connect with myself to gain clarity, insights, peace, and stillness. It's a nonnegotiable. A pillar to start my day. My go-to when I'm feeling off. I am who I am because of meditation. I am well in my body, mind, and spirit because of meditation. 

What inspired you to become a meditation instructor? 

Meditation has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My mom got me started early on in life, and in my early 20s I really deepened my practice. I would use techniques I had learned over the years to guide people into presence and visualization when I would speak at events or lead retreats/workshops. I also used to teach fitness and would end my classes with a mellow stretch and savasana like a yoga class. I've always found it important to let your body truly rest and recover after putting it through such intensity like a 45-minute workout. I was living in Boston and surrounded by such high achieving people—from work to school to fitness. So many people would leave even before the stretch to race out into their day. I had been meditating and doing yoga for years and knew the positive effects it had on me. I wanted to bring meditation to the city of Boston in a way that felt approachable, casual, and fun… There are so many misconceptions about what meditation is, and so I started [b]club—a morning meditation series to help people find meditation in a way that feels good for them. That was when I really started leading and teaching meditation on a consistent basis; I've been flowing and growing with it ever since!

What’s the core message behind your teachings? 

The core message behind my teaching is that there's no right or wrong way to do what you're doing… It's all about finding what works for you. This has been my message from my days in fitness to my current teachings in meditation and spirituality. We live in a society that has been built upon high output, productivity, perfection, and doing it "right". This has left many of us in the pits of shame, guilt, unworthiness, feelings of not enough—not doing enough, not being enough, not giving enough, etc. My message is drop all of that. Tune in to you. What do you need? What is your body telling you? Do what feels good for you. Give yourself permission. I teach this in my meditations and joyflow, my inutive movement class.

Could you explain some of the practice's positive effects? 

The biggest one is this: awareness. Meditation guides you to know yourself deeply. All parts of you. It is from this awareness that you can truly act from a place of truth. Similarly, meditation guides you to witness without reacting. In this way, the practice of meditation allows you to move through life simply witnessing, not reacting to the people and situations around you. This results in less stress, more groundedness, and ultimately a higher resilience to all life hands you.

What’s an easy way to get started with meditation? 

I've always said, "The only way to get started is just to start." Make a commitment to yourself! Why do you want to meditate? Get clear on your why, then go for it. Keep the bar low. Three to five minutes a day for five days. See how you feel. Let how you feel be your reason to continue. Try Headspace or Calm, find a meditation on Insight Timer, or join my weekly meditations in joyspace for a community bonus :) Again, there is no wrong way to do it. Know that it might be uncomfortable. It probably will be, and that is okay! That is part of it. Learning to sit with that discomfort and do it anyway is the practice of meditation. A mantra I love to come back to always is, "I am inhaling. I am exhaling. I am witnessing. I am here."

Inspired to learn which Bellage service would pair best with Sarah’s meditations? Schedule a complimentary consultation with our founder, Belinda, today!

Author: Team Bellage