Meditation doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need hours of silence or a special cushion—just a few intentional moments in your day. In this episode of 1,000 Waking Minutes, Dr. Wendy Bazilian explores how to make meditation practical, approachable, and meaningful. Whether you’re brand new to it or looking for a fresh way to integrate it into your life, this episode will give you science-backed insights, practical tools, and a fresh perspective on how meditation can feel less like a task and more like a powerful pause in your 1,000 waking minutes.

FROM THE EPISODE

Meditation at its core is simply taking time to quiet the mind's chatter. 

WE DISCUSS:

(2:52) My first experience with Transcendental Meditation (TM) as a teen

(6:46) What meditation is—and what it isn’t

(9:35) ROI of meditation: How it may help with pain, migraines, stress and aging

(14:43) What my 6-year-old is teaching me about meditation

(18:01) Guided Mindful Minute: A simple 5-Senses Mini-Meditation

(22:03) 3 small ways to bring mindfulness into your life

(24:47) Recap and final thoughts

CONNECT WITH WENDY:

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Visit the website: wendybazilian.com

Email me: 1KWM@wendybazilian.com

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Join the conversation! Share your thoughts or questions by visiting wendybazilian.com or connecting on social media.

Thank you for tuning in to 1,000 Waking Minutes and being part of this journey—together. A huge thank you to our amazing collaborators including our production and marketing teams, and Gabriela Escalante in particular. To the ultra-talented Beza for my theme music, my lifelong friend and artist Pearl Preis Photography and Design, to Danielle Ballantyne, Jen Nguyen, Joanna Powell, and of course, my family and everyone working tirelessly behind the scenes.

HEALTH DISCLAIMER:

The information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered individual medical or health advice. Always consult with your trusted healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or medical treatment.

REFERENCES:

Barrett, B., Hayney, M. S., Muller, D., Rakel, D., Brown, R., Zgierska, A. E., ... & Coe, C. L. (2018). Meditation or exercise for preventing acute respiratory infection (MEPARI-2): A randomized controlled trial. PloS one, 13(6).

Colzato, L. S., Szapora, A., Lippelt, D., & Hommel, B. (2017). Prior meditation practice modulates performance and strategy use in convergent-and divergent-thinking problems. Mindfulness, 8(1), 10-16.

Epel, E. S., Daubenmier, J., Moskowitz, J. T., Folkman, S., & Blackburn, E. H. (2009). Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging? Cognitive stress, mindfulness, and telomeres. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1172(1), 34-53. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04414.x

Estave, P. M., Margol, C., Beeghly, S., Anderson, R., Shakir, M., Coffield, A., Byrnes, J., O'Connell, N., Seng, E., Gardiner, P., & Wells, R. E. (2023). Mechanisms of mindfulness in patients with migraine: Results of a qualitative study. Headache, 63(3), 390–409. https://doi.org/10.1111/head.14481  

Riegner, G., Dean, J., Wager, T. D., & Zeidan, F. (2025). Mindfulness Meditation and Placebo Modulate Distinct Multivariate Neural Signatures to Reduce Pain. Biological psychiatry, 97(1), 81–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.08.023   

Wachholtz, A. B., & Pargament, K. I. (2008). Migraines and meditation: Does spirituality matter? Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31(4), 351-366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-008-9159-2  

Meditation is about stepping fully

into your life.

It's not about clearing your

mind, but about making space.

Space to breathe, to reset,

to notice the moments already

here.

And maybe, just maybe, to

meet the person in charge -

who's been with you all

along.

We experience 1,000 waking

minutes on average every day.

How are you spending yours?

I'm Dr. Wendy Bazilian, and

you're listening to 1,000

Waking Minutes.

I can't wait to connect

with you here with practical

ways to eat well, move

daily, and be healthy, to

optimize every waking minute you

live for a happier, healthier

life.

Thank you for sharing some

of your waking minutes with

me today.

Let's get started.

♪ I'm saying yes to

better days, yes ♪ ♪

I'm on my way, yes,

it's gonna be okay, yeah

♪ Welcome back to

1,000 Waking Minutes, where we

explore the small, powerful practices

and choices we can make

each day toward a healthier

and more vibrant life.

I'm Dr. Wendy Bazilian, and

today we're talking about meditation.

It's a 'be healthy' practice

in our eat well, move

daily, be healthy approach together.

And we're talking about meditation

today in a way that's

totally approachable and real life.

Now, I'm no meditation guru,

and I don't even do

it every single day.

And guess what?

You don't have to be

a monk on a mountaintop

to do meditation.

But today I want to talk

about making meditation work for

you, whether you're brand new

to it, or maybe already

have some experience but are

wanting to keep it simple

or reset your practice.

So I'll share a bit

of my own journey, a

little bit about what my

nearly six-year-old daughter

is teaching me about mindfulness,

some, I think, fascinating research

because you know I love

science, plus have a short,

easy meditation that we can

do together along with some

practical tips that we can

do and take into our

lives anytime.

Don't worry, this isn't about

adding one more thing to

your to-do list, but

it really is about making

space in your already busy

lives in a way that

can feel good and natural.

Think about that:

Making space.

So let me tell you

a little bit about my

real introduction to meditation.

Rather, it was my experience

with Transcendental Meditation and how

meditation really found me.

I'll take you back a

little bit to when I

was 17 years old.

My now husband, Jason, and

I, some of you may

know as listeners, we were

high school sweethearts.

Rather, camp sweethearts...

that's why I stumbled there.

We met in summer camp,

and we had been dating

for a while, and he

found this Transcendental Meditation, TM

for short, class in Hartford,

Connecticut, a little bit of

a ways from where I

grew up, about a 30

-minute drive, and he invited

me to join this class,

something we could do together.

Now, this was extracurricular, extracurricular

for me, and it cost

$75.

I remember that so specifically

like it was yesterday.

This was huge for me

at the time because I

paid for it myself, because

if I was going to

do it, I was going

to be all in.

And by the way, courses

these days cost hundreds and

even thousands of dollars for

some Transcendental Meditation courses, but

that was big money for

me then.

And I did have some

jobs, so I babysat and

I taught kids, through the

YMCA, gymnastics, and I had

even had a paper route,

the Yankee Flyer, for anyone

who grew up in my

neighborhood and town.

The Yankee Flyer was my

weekly route for many years,

so I had saved up

a little bit of money

from this.

We went to our TM

classes from a real teacher

in Hartford on Sundays for

a series of weeks.

I feel like it was

maybe six sessions if I

were to guess and remember.

We were assigned our own

mantras, and if there's one

true secret between me and

my husband, Jason, it's we

have never shared our mantra

with each other.

That's probably the only secret

that we have.

And we started meditating together

and with a group of

strangers, mostly adults.

I'd get up early before

school to practice.

In those days, occasionally, I

was a bit of a

procrastinator and I'd pull all

-nighters sometimes or study hard

and wee into the nights,

and I'd still try to

get up.

And you know what?

Sometimes it worked, and sometimes

it didn't.

I say didn'ts in little

air quotes if you can't

see me and you're just

listening, because it probably did

always work to a degree.

But it certainly planted a

seed, and I kept on

trying.

So over the years, I've

had many - what I call -

seasons of meditation.

Some days or some periods

it's structured.

Some times and days it's

just a mindful pause while

washing the dishes or waiting

for someone or something.

Sometimes it's moving, and other

times it's still.

I've taken courses, I've read,

I've also just winged it

and tried things on.

I always like to say

I try it on to

see how it fits.

And this is the thing

about it that I've learned.

It doesn't have to look

one way.

In fact, meditation at its

core is simply taking time

to quiet the mind's chatter.

And it's often done through

focusing on a single point

of reference, maybe like your

breathing or some bodily sensations,

maybe a word or a

phrase or a visual.

It's by being present in

a single simple act.

Now, before I share a

few of the many scientifically

backed benefits of meditating, I

want to do something I

haven't heard many others do,

because I know that some

people I've interacted with over

the years - clients and friends,

maybe even you - have entered

into the topic of meditation

from a variety of places

and notions, sometimes preconceived ideas

or imaginations, sometimes expectations, as

well as some deep study

at times.

And some feel a little

bit sort of fearful or

distant from it, like it's

a little bit too woo

-woo to sort of get

a grasp on or even

know where to start.

So I thought I'd mentioned

briefly what meditation is NOT.

Meditation is not inherently religious.

To quote the famous actor

Hugh Jackman of stage and

screen, as we've all enjoyed,

I think we've all enjoyed,

I love his work.

He's spoken on his journey

with meditation and I think

he captures it really well

with a quote.

So I wanted to share

his quote about this.

And I quote: "You can

be an atheist that meditates.

You can be a Christian

who meditates, a Muslim who

meditates.

It's like saying, is walking

a religious thing?

No. It's available to anyone

and the quality of your

life is changed forever," end

quote.

I think that that really

captures it.

It's like walking.

It's something that all of

us can do and it's

not inherently religious.

The second piece is that

meditation is not judgmental.

There's no, I can't or

I'm bad at meditation.

It's not competitive.

There's no judgment whatsoever.

Meditation also, I'd like to

think of it as not

being a talent.

No one is better than

anyone else.

It's a practice unto itself.

You may advance your own

practice, but it's not an

inherent talent or a skill

that you get and achieve

better than another.

And finally, meditation is not

linear.

What I mean by that

is with practice, you can

certainly improve in terms of

how you're able to start

a meditation or maybe flow

with the meditation or feel

the benefits.

But even for long-term

practitioners, there are days when

it feels clunkier or tougher

to settle down or settle

in.

It can be more difficult

at some times than others

to be present in the

moment or in your body.

You just keep doing it

and that's the evolution.

So that's what meditation is

not.

And now we're going to explore

the benefits of what meditation

can do for the body

and why meditation is more

powerful than we may have

thought.

So you know I love

good science-backed reason and

rationale for making the small

changes in our day.

So I want to share

some research with you that

shows that meditation can help,

especially with things like pain

and migraines and even aging

at the cellular level.

And by the way, there

are literally hundreds of published

papers, research studies on meditation

for a variety of conditions

and symptoms and proposed benefit

showing that regular meditation can

help reduce stress, anxiety, tension,

help with sleep and insomnia.

It can help with blood

pressure and sickness.

It can even help ward

off the common cold.

So I want to share

just a couple science-backed

benefits that may apply to

you.

Number one, for pain.

A 2025 study just published

in the Biological Psychiatry journal

found that mindfulness meditation can

reduce pain perception by activating

natural pain relief pathways in

the brain.

These were measured through validated

subjective survey tools, but also

by functional brain MRIs that

measures where the brain centers

light up in different responses

like the pain center.

And this was statistically significant

and compared to a variety

of controls, including a placebo

cream that was applied to

an area of pain.

So is that mind over

matter?

Well, it looks like science

says that it is.

So number two, for migraines,

a specific type of pain,

but something that thousands and

thousands of people, including myself,

suffer, and it can be

very debilitating.

Another recent study and some

studies before it, but a

recent study showed that while

it may not prevent migraines,

(darn!), it can affect how

people experience them.

People practicing mindfulness-based stress

reduction have shown to have

beneficially altered pain perception and

responses to migraines.

In other words, they felt

less severe, the headaches.

They had improved wellbeing, including

lesser anxiety and fear around

having a migraine.

And other studies have shown

that spiritual mindfulness can result

in fewer migraines or less

severe pain associated with those

migraines, not by eliminating the

migraine, but by changing the

perception to it.

I think that's pretty cool.

Another benefit is boosting creativity.

So 'go figure!' on that.

A study in the Leiden

University in the Netherlands found

that even those new to

meditation, so listen up if

you're a beginner, those new

to meditation experiences get a

tangible boost in creativity after

just a short session.

So it is definitely worth

trying.

And the proof is in

your own creative output.

So you can put this

to the test yourself.

And finally, just one more

benefit I want to share today,

help with stress and potentially

with aging.

If you want a natural

way to slow aging or

to age gracefully, a growing

body of research shows that

meditation can almost short circuit

aging on a cellular level.

And it might just be

the closest thing to having

actually an anti-aging or

a slowing aging tool.

One study found that just

15 minutes of daily meditation

help preserve and lengthen the

telomeres by putting a cap

sort of on our DNA,

on our chromosomes, that help

protect the cell from the

cells and the telomeres from

shortening, which is a part

of the sign of aging.

And it seems like meditation

may help slow this process

down.

Another thing that's very cool

and worth the effort and

the time to make space

for meditation.

And as I mentioned, there's

much more research that has

been linked to mindfulness meditation

to a host of health

benefits from reduced blood pressure,

helping with the anxiety, stress,

burnout in the workplace, as

well as overall wellbeing and

so much more.

So the big takeaway here

is that meditation isn't just

about relaxation.

It's almost like a superpower

for your body and your

brain.

Now, here's the thing -

this is a maybe brief,

but I think an important

aside:

I've noticed that kids seem

to really 'get it' early

on.

They have almost an innate

ability to embrace and embody

mindfulness and what I think

are like certain meditative behaviors,

especially if they're given the

space to do so, and

maybe if it's gently fostered

along the way.

And we can learn from

this.

I've been observing it in

the school where my daughter

attends and just out when

I've been interacting with others

and on the playgrounds.

So I'll give you a

couple recent examples from my

own soon-to-be-six

-year-old.

The other day, just in

this last week, and I

recorded it real quick because

I was thinking about this

topic and making this into

an episode, my daughter sort

of spontaneously mused -

and if you have children

or you can remember periods

where they just sort of

blurt out of their mind

the thing that came to

mind - she was doing the

'back-and-forths' with a

full mouth of toothpaste in

the bathroom, brushing her teeth,

and she just sort of

gurgled and gargled - and then

I had to repeat it -

she said, "Mama, get ready

to meet the master.

Are you ready to meet

the master?

You've already met the master

because the master is YOU!"

And I just sort of

paused and looked around into

an empty void, looked down

at my daughter.

I mean, how true is

true?

And where did that come

from?

She's not even six, just

a little something out of

the blue, it seemed, but

she's already fostering a bit

of mindfulness practice.

She's picking it up from

different places.

There are practices now in

her public school.

And even when she was

younger, different meditative books and

practices and things that she's

seen and experienced.

And another one, when she's

frustrated or when she sees

me getting a little frustrated,

which is something that we

all experience at times, she

has this little ritual and

sometimes it changes a little

bit. But again, I captured

it the last time I

heard it within the last

week or so.

She puts her hands on

her belly and she makes

some little circles and little

movements with her fingers.

And she says in this

made-up little lyric, and

I think she made it

up, you can tell me

if I'm wrong here, but

she says, "'Frustration isn't here

to stay, ...so I'll try

to stay calm and be

happy, ...and wash my worries

away." And that is so

much what I love, that

meditation doesn't have to be

complicated.

That sort of is, in

a nutshell, for me, what

sort of captures what I

think of as meditation and

sort of being centered and

making space for the moment.

It can be as simple

as a breath.

It can be a phrase

or a made-up rhyme.

It can even be that

tiny quiet pause just before

you blow out a candle.

Okay, so let's do something

right now together.

Usually we do a Mindful

Minute together and this one

will take about 90 seconds,

so it'll be a Mindful

Minute and a Half.

But it's called something that

I think you'll enjoy and

it's called the Five Senses

Mini Meditation.

You can do it wherever

you are, whether you're sitting

or standing, even walking, you

can do this mini meditation.

Just 90 seconds and you

don't need anything fancy to

prepare.

So first, I'm just going to

ask you to sit or

stand comfortably with your feet

grounded for our first time

together.

And we'll start by taking

one deep breath in through

the nose and then exhale

through the mouth.

Okay, now just follow along

with the five senses.

First is Taste.

If you have something near

like water or tea or

coffee, take a sip right

now.

And if not, just notice

the environment of your mouth

right now.

Notice the sensation.

How does it feel on

your tongue?

What does your tongue feel

like against the roof of

your mouth?

What's the temperature?

Is there any texture?

If you didn't have liquid

right now, try this again

later at various temperature fluids.

Next, Touch.

Press your hands together palm

to palm or one hand

to another place on your

body if you only have

one hand free at the

moment, like your torso or

your leg.

Press and release.

Press and release.

Feel the contrast between tension

and relaxation with the press

and release.

Next is Sight.

Look at something still, so

somewhere in your room, outside,

inside, anything in your space.

Observe it, notice something about

it.

No judgment, just notice.

And Sound.

Listen.

What's the quietest sound you

can hear right now?

Maybe a hum in the

background.

Is it the sound of

your breath?

And finally, Smell.

Notice the air around you.

If you have a candle,

a coffee, an essential oil,

food cooking on the stove,

take a breath in.

And notice, if there's no

strong scent, notice the neutrality

of your air right now.

That's it.

You just meditated.

Totally done.

Taste, touch, sight, sound, and

smell.

Five Senses Mini Meditation.

Pretty simple, right?

You brought attention to something,

you made space for your

senses, and this is something

you can return to anytime

you need a pause in

your day.

So that's it.

That's our Mindful Minute and

a Half.

Today, you can literally do

this anytime.

And the more often you

take little pauses for this

minute, more or less, the

more naturally mindfulness and meditation

will come to you.

Thank you for sharing that

Mindful Minute and a Half

with me today.

So let's put this to

practice this week and bring

some meditation into your life.

I invite you this week

to try one small way

to bring mindfulness into your

everyday life.

You don't need to carve

out extra time.

You just need to notice

what's already there.

So here are a few

easy ways you can start.

Try a 'Morning Moment.'

Before you grab your phone

in the morning, take one

deep breath.

Just one.

That's your mindful moment.

And that can be your

morning moment.

Build up to or build

into a certain number.

Maybe you take five or

seven breaths or spend one

minute.

You can choose what your

morning moment can be.

Second, you could try a

walking meditation.

The next time you're walking

to your car, through your

home, [or] outside, focus on your

footsteps for just 10 seconds

or maybe 10 steps or

maybe one block.

I will talk more about

moving meditation in a future

episode for sure.

It can be extremely powerful

in so many ways, but

this is a simple walking

meditation that you can do

when you're walking anytime.

And a final tip: taking

a 'mindful pause'.

Before your first sip of

your coffee or tea, pause.

Start saying "pause" to get

you into the awareness.

If you're visual, picture yourself

pressing pause.

Maybe it's on a remote

or I'm always thinking of

my old school tape deck

to press pause.

Then if you're holding your

mug, feel the warmth of

the cup in your hands

or the handle or the

coolness of the ceramic.

Whatever you're doing, notice the

aroma.

Bring your senses to attention.

That's mindfulness in action.

You don't need to change

your routine at all.

You just add some awareness

to what you're already doing.

That's the kind of meditation

and mindfulness I hope that

I'm bringing to you today.

Try one - or a few -

of these this week and

see how it feels to

you.

It just takes one moment

to start seeing and bringing

mindfulness into your everyday life.

So let's briefly recap as

we round out today's time

together.

Meditation isn't just nice;

science shows it actively reduces

pain and stress and anxiety.

It even impacts the way

we age.

Meditation isn't about perfection either.

It's about the small moments

of presence and bringing awareness.

And those kids, pay attention

to those kids.

They naturally know how to

be mindful.

We can learn from them

and we can also foster

their ability to stay mindful,

which will keep them resilient

as they grow and age.

Remember, you don't have to

spend 30 minutes of meditation

sitting with your eyes closed

in a chair.

Just a minute or two -

even 10 seconds - can make

a real difference.

You can try that Five

Senses Mini Meditation

again. It regrounds you and

it brings you right into

your body.

And this week, try one

small way to bring mindfulness

into your life.

Whether it's that deep breath,

a mindful walk, or taking

a pause before you sip

your morning coffee.

Thank you for sharing a

few of your 1,000

waking minutes with me today.

I hope you found something

helpful or interesting to take

with you.

And if you enjoyed this

episode, I'd love for you

to share it with a

friend or someone who might

appreciate it.

You can always find me

at wendybazilian.com and you

can reach me directly at

1KWM@wendybazillian.com.

I'd love to hear from

you.

And if you haven't already,

please be sure to subscribe

wherever you listen to your

podcasts so you can stay

in touch and not miss

what's coming next.

I'm very grateful for your

support.

Well, until next time, find

those little moments for some

meaningful meditation and be well!

Thank you for tuning in

to 1,000 Waking Minutes,

a huge thank you to

our amazing collaborators, including our

production and marketing teams and

Gabriela Escalante in particular, to

the ultra talented Beza for

my theme music, my lifelong

friend and artist, Pearl Preis

Photography and Design, to Danielle

Ballantyne, Jen Nguyen, Joanna Powell,

and of course my family,

and everyone working tirelessly behind

the scenes.

And to you, our valued

listeners, I so appreciate your

support.

If you enjoyed today's episode,

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Until next time, find some

simple opportunities to optimize those

1,000 Waking Minutes each

day.

♪ I'm saying yes to

better days, yes ♪ ♪

I'm on my way, yes,

it's gonna be okay, yeah

♪ ♪ I'm saying yes

to better days, yes ♪

♪ I'm on my way,

yes, it's gonna be okay,

yeah ♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

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