Meditation keeps me riding my bike in bad weather and eating healthy.
Johannes Gmeiner is a Coach.me user with over 500 checkins in the Meditate goal. He practices almost every day of the week! He started meditating in yoga class as part of his recovery from a cycling injury and picked it up again in 2012 to alleviate a new health problem: tinnitus. He shared with us how meditation helped him recover his health and how it’s now helping him reach another goal: train for a Gran Fondo cycling race.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Johannes Gmeiner and I am 32 years old. I live in Linz, Upper Austria together with my girlfriend Judith. I’m a professional Software Engineer and work for an industrial research company in upper Austria. I’m also a RYT 200 certified Yoga Teacher, recreational cyclist and “retired” Marathon runner. Right now I am preparing for a Gran Fondo (bicycle race) and practice yoga regularly.
Why did you start meditating? What was your goal?
A cycling injury led me to meditation. When I started practicing yoga, I was recovering from a cycling injury (2010). It was through yoga that I had my first experiences with meditation. We regularly practiced Zazen and other forms of Zen and Martial Arts inspired meditations.
I absolutely found it beneficial, but didn’t see a reason to meditate at home on a daily basis. Then, in 2012, a lot of things were going on in my life: a stressful project on my job, the yoga teacher training and some difficult private choices. At the end of 2012 I went to see my Ayurvedic Doctor with sleeping problems and tinnitus (a buzzing/ringing in the ear). He prescribed herbal tea and daily meditation to me. I was to practice Zazen (sitting still and observe your mind) and some Mudra during the day when I felt stressed out. Meditation really helped me to detach from the noise in my mind. I found that I could sleep well again. The tinnitus didn’t bother me any more, either.
How did meditation help you overcome your health problems?
Tinnitus is basically just a symptom of stress. You are trapped in a vicious circle: the ear ringing stresses you even more, which makes the stress worse which again makes the tinnitus worse.
I had so much on my mind during the day and just could not “switch off.” Meditation taught me how to be with my thoughts without being defined by them. I was no longer trapped in my emotions and thoughts, but I could “detach” from them. I used to react to the ringing in my ear by telling myself, “Oh no this noise makes me crazy.” I identified myself way too much with it. Meditation helped me to step back, observe this thought and not give it too much meaning. It’s just a thought! But the point is you really have to meditate regularly to “get it.” I think 10-15 minutes daily is best.
What’s your meditation routine?
I go to my meditation-space right after waking up (it’s just a carpet and a pillow, nothing fancy) and see what’s on my mind. It’s good to be able to have this space where you can observe your mind. I also go to my meditation space when I am in difficult situations to take a step back from my emotions and feelings. This usually calms me down and helps me to focus on the important things. So the formal practice of 10-15 minutes meditation in the morning transfers pretty well into daily life. For instance, if I have to face an difficult meeting in my job, and all those negative emotions arise with it, I step back, take a few deep breaths, focus and so on.
What’s meditation helping you achieve now?
My next big goal is to race the Gran Fondo. To train for that I need to do long rides and lose some weight (I’m not fat, but I’m not in the best shape of my life either).
During long rides, especially in bad weather with headwinds, it’s good to have some distance from your thoughts. In my mind, I’m usually thinking, “Oh no, it’s cold and wet and it’s going to be like this for another three hours. I hate it. I should stop.” In those moments I put my meditation into practice: I observe those thoughts but let them go, giving them less meaning, and focus on what really counts: the breath. I use the same process when making decisions to eat clean. So meditation keeps me riding in bad weather and eating healthy. And guess what: Riding in bad weather = dealing with difficult situations in life. And what usually comes after the rain? Sunshine.
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