236. The Secret to Mindfully Balancing Motherhood and Professional Life - Katie Krimitsos

00:00.00
karagoodwin
Hi welcome Katie I am so glad to finally be connecting with you on here. How are you doing.

00:06.56
Katie Krimitsos
Hi Kara I'm doing really well I feel like in some ways we've probably been orbiting each other for quite some time and this is finally like hey finally we get to meet.

00:15.61
karagoodwin
I Know that's how I feel absolutely so you are the founder of the women's meditation network and you have several podcasts under the meditation for women topic and and under that kind of heading and Umbrella. Let's just start by how your work and meditation began.

00:40.45
Katie Krimitsos
Yeah, um I I can pinpoint the exact moment when I was introduced to meditation I was I I want to say 19 or 20 I think about 19 and I was taking a yoga class at arizona state university and. It was my very first yoga class and we did our positions and at the very end of class. We lay down in shavasana and the instructor took us through a 5 minute guided meditation and I I kind of awoke from that meditation going whoa that was so awesome. Because it was like this moment where I could actually remember even though I was you know, just like meditation practice. It wasn't like perfectly still my mind wasn't perfectly quiet but like it was this. It was this really honest moment of my mind. Actually being guided to some level of clarity or stillness or quiet and my body felt really soft yet alive and so I just woke up going. Yeah, that was cool I want more of that and over the years then I just. Kind of sought out different ways that I could meditate and you know back then that looked like going to the library and probably checking out like Cds that that I could get of any guided meditations and then also um I can also still very vividly. Remember the very first time I tried to.

01:58.96
karagoodwin
Um, so.

02:06.86
Katie Krimitsos
To actually meditate on my own in silence. You know the kind of picturesque version of a meditation I was in my dorm room and I was you know lights were off I had candles burning and I think I I want to say I probably even had some music just in the background. And I just sat on my bed in this perfect like Lotus position back straight and it lasted about 12 seconds before I was like cursing and like this is so uncomfortable I can't get my mind to stop and I would try and get back in it and the entire process probably lasted you know fifteen twenty minutes before I just gave up and I was done.

02:35.78
karagoodwin
Um.

02:45.21
Katie Krimitsos
Um, but basically it was fulfilling enough all of these little tastes of it were fulfilling enough for me to continue seeking it out in some way. Fast forward I moved to Florida when I was 22 and somewhere along the way I ended up. Um you know, just being interested enough to find the local buddhist center I would go and you know attend their whatever meditation series they had going on I did that for a good year or 2 um, very informally like I never met another person. It was just like I would show up and just listen to whatever was being taught about that that topic or meditation then we would meditate on it and it was just this interesting practice and then um, you know I would. And then somewhere along the way I met a friend who invited me to her home for a weekly meditation group a group meditation and that lasted about a year or 2 with people I never had met and it was sometimes it was 2 of us sometimes it was 10 of us and then eventually I discovered. My very first sort of digital meditation as we know it now and that was meditation oasis I can still remember it was a podcast and um it was this beautiful woman named Mary who had this just gorgeous butter voice. Very.

04:10.21
Katie Krimitsos
Relaxing and that was my first like oh I have a phone and I can access a meditation now and I use them a lot to sleep I use them when I was feeling frustrated and basically it just all of these things sort of accumulated to. To building this muscle and seeing this thing as a tool that I could use in my life in a lot of different ways and over the years I've just sort of played with that tool and maneuvered it in different ways and practice this way of meditating and practice that may way of meditating and that that's really been my experience as ah, as a. Consumers a practitioner of meditation.

04:47.94
karagoodwin
I Love that I Love the stick with itness that you had because my my journey with meditation before I integrated it as a daily practice was very hit or Miss and I. You and I have a lot of parallels because you mentioned before we started recording that your birthday is next week. So Happy birthday in advance. But um and you're about to turn the age that I am.

05:13.83
Katie Krimitsos
Um, thank you. Thank you.

05:17.44
karagoodwin
And so when you're talking about being in college and taking yoga class like I did that I took a yoga class I was a business student but I was like oh I'm really curious about yoga and I remember like the meditation sort of unit or when we talked about meditation and it was so hard.

05:34.90
Katie Krimitsos
Um, yeah.

05:37.11
karagoodwin
And it was so like it didn't draw me to it at all I was very curious about it because it was so unusual but I couldn't stick with it and then just throughout my adult life I would get curious about it but I didn't have the same level of dedication at that time. But you did because you kept like kind of finding different avenues.

05:58.80
Katie Krimitsos
Um, ah yes, but let me make sure to pull the curtains back I was I have never been nor am I Even now a daily meditator like I don't have like a practice that looks like okay every day I'm going to show up and do it at this time and look like that like that's just never been my practice. So.

06:04.18
karagoodwin
Powerful.

06:13.51
Katie Krimitsos
You know that that story is definitely. You know has happened over years and perhaps not thinking about it again for another month or 2 and then trying it again and oh I found this and this book sounds interesting and oh that thing mentioned meditation maybe I should try this like it's it feels like it's always been.

06:17.10
karagoodwin
You.

06:27.40
karagoodwin
Are.

06:32.20
Katie Krimitsos
This energy that pulls at me very imperfectly and I show up very imperfectly. But I'm willing because I'm interested and I and I like how it feels even when it's frustrating even when.

06:32.89
karagoodwin
And.

06:39.59
karagoodwin
More it.

06:46.21
Katie Krimitsos
My mind is going a thousand miles a minute as it still does after all of these years after all these decades of doing this and um I just like the way it ends up feeling and and it's a cumulative feeling meaning it's not like.

07:03.70
Katie Krimitsos
It's like athletics right? So I'm an athlete and so it's sort of like you show up, you do your workout some days you do the workout and you were not in the mood to do the workout. It was a painful workout to get through. You're just glad it's done. Um.

07:13.10
karagoodwin
Um, yeah.

07:16.72
Katie Krimitsos
And you feel indifferent afterwards. You're just glad it's done right? and then some days you're just like flying and it feels so good and you're energized. You're inspired and you feel really good afterwards. But the cumulative effect of working out you feel in your bones. That's the way I feel about meditation. It's like there are some days.

07:30.68
karagoodwin
You know.

07:36.40
Katie Krimitsos
I show up. There's some days I I show up every day in some way of a level of mindfulness of like what do I need today or some consciousness of breathing like I'm definitely that very you know not planned um, but you know I'm showing up every day sometimes. In a formal meditation being very frustrated by it being very distracted being you know, letting myself pick up the phone letting myself do all these things that I'm getting distracted by and then some days I show up and if I am able to sit for ten fifteen minutes and and it feels really good and just like that workout. It's that cumulative effect of feeling very clear and connected to myself. Um, and and very confident that this tool that I have to know myself is very strong that. That to me is the power of the meditation.

08:27.88
karagoodwin
Um, yeah yeah I love that thank you for that and I think everybody can relate to that right? where it's just like some days. It's it's easy. It feels great. It's like. Why don't I do this for the rest of the day and then some days it's like oh my god was that even worth it. You know and I trust that any time that I do sit to meditate is building like you say that humulative cumulative effect is so powerful. But i. Often one I mean I would love to be able to have the insight for like my own chemistry my own like physiology like okay so how how did I end up in this restless state is it what I ate yesterday. Is it the culmination of like how many days in aroic had coffee. Is it the the solar flares that are happening from the sun is it and it's surely It's a yes, all of this you know it's coming together for it. But I haven't been very good about like. Capturing the data to be like well yesterday I slept like this and I ate like this and I got in this kind of an argument or whatever I was worried about this and then tying that back but we are fascinating multifaceted creatures and.

09:50.99
karagoodwin
It's interesting to think about how all of it plays out when we try to sit and and it's so hard.

09:58.25
Katie Krimitsos
Yeah, and we all have that like those of us who have been for those who have just started meditating. You know you have that for those of us who have been meditating for decades. We still have that for those of us who have been meditating you know thirty forty even fifty plus years like.

10:15.57
karagoodwin
Yeah.

10:15.96
Katie Krimitsos
They still have that like that is the common thing your brain's job is to make thoughts and to produce things and ideas like that's its job physiologically, we're not going to stop that you know meditation just gives us a ah ah way to detach from those thoughts. So that we can allow ourselves to see that we are not our thoughts and in that detachment we're able to to let go of the really big hold that we have on those thoughts so that we can allow them to sort of move away like clouds in the sky they're there. But they and they keep on moving but we don't have to be there with them. We don't have to be 1 with that cloud and in that detachment and in that beautiful. Um, you know awareness a space opens up.

11:04.73
karagoodwin
1

11:06.73
Katie Krimitsos
And that's that space of stillness that we all really crave like that's really what every that's like the you know the the Holy Grail of what meditation is and and what you are told to go after in meditation is that's that sense of stillness that sense of quiet and um and so it's a really interesting dance to. You know, not show up with meditation going. Ok my mind's going to get clear. It's going to get quiet like I got to I got to accomplish that right? because meditation is not about accomplishing anything and and so and then the irony is that like you have to completely let go in order to really feel that and live in that space.

11:30.70
karagoodwin
Um, these.

11:34.30
karagoodwin
Who are.

11:44.31
karagoodwin
Like.

11:46.34
Katie Krimitsos
And and experience that stillness and sometimes it's for 30 seconds from a 20 minute meditation time that you have and that's okay, um, as long as you get to practice experiencing that.

11:51.63
karagoodwin
Yeah, yeah, yeah I Love it. I Mean That's what's so funny is sometimes when those moments of clarity come and it's really still and it's like and then the thoughts start coming in about oh my God This is Awesome. So Still oh my God I'm doing it I'm doing it and then it's like wait a minute.. It's gone now I'm just waiting. Yeah exactly Yes, it just chased it away really quickly. Well so you have a lot of.

12:11.45
Katie Krimitsos
Yeah, oh that's gone. There's my there's myself narrating about the stillness right? There know.

12:26.64
karagoodwin
Women woman focus in your work. Um, what what makes you drawn specifically to working with women and what kind of things. Do you feel like um, you particularly offer that specific group.

12:43.24
Katie Krimitsos
Yeah I I feel like I've been a feminist ah my entire life in some respect. My dad was a feminist. My mom was a very is a very hardcore matriarchal figure. There are 5 my parents have 6 kids five girls one boy it was just a lot of feminine energy. Um, and I was always very proud to be who I was I was I didn't have what I think sometimes I hear is a very typical experience of like I'm a girl so therefore I was told I couldn't do this that was not my experience at all. My experience was.

13:15.95
Katie Krimitsos
I am who I am and that is great and I get to celebrate everything about me and so um so in college I ah I can but I can remember the moment I took a um I took a I think it was a feminist class or women's studies one a 1 and a gender and communication class all in the same semester. And it completely blew my mind and turned my world upside down because I had never it was the first time I had seen that there are things called. Um, oh you know girls or women were told that they couldn't do things or oh that like there have been limits in the. Past for women and I wasn't aware of those things and so it just really blew my mind and I can remember you know sort of like the the end of those of that semester and and a couple of subsequent semesters of taking some other women's studies classes of really. Kind of declaring like I'm going to do work with women in this world I don't know how but I'm going to do work that impacts millions of women because if I can if I can make a difference in the lives of women. What I know about women is that we we make big shifts happen in our lives and to. Our kids to our communities like we are such generally speaking. We are such connecting individuals and so you know like I I really still do believe and back then I absolutely believe like I can change the world if I can if I can make an impact with women I change the world.

14:51.38
Katie Krimitsos
The better so that's really where that fire began and my entire professional life has has in some way tried to to express that love and that dedication in some way in a gazillion different ways and um and so you know that. Then got married with the fact that when I was initially when I initially had this idea of creating the women's meditation network and that would you know it would be all of these different types of meditations for women or different it would you know all these different podcasts under the network work would sort of meet women where they are in these different. Seasons of life times of day types of experiences. Whatever that may be and I started doing the research to see what was out there already I was blown away that nothing existed. This was 2018 and there was 1.

15:42.97
karagoodwin
Um, um.

15:43.79
Katie Krimitsos
If you looked in 2018 if you looked up meditation and women. There was one podcast that existed and it was for transcendental meditation which is a very very specific type of meditation and I was not that I'm not trained in transcental Transcendental Meditation. So I was like I can't believe this doesn't exist so that big fire that i. Have ah have had to do work with women in the world for women in the world sort of met with this opportunity of I can't believe this space exists I'm going to take up the space I'm going to be the behemoth in this space if you look up meditation and women that's going to be me, let's go.

16:18.80
karagoodwin
Um.

16:19.17
Katie Krimitsos
And um I'm very grateful and and proud to say that that's what's happened over the past four and a half years

16:25.85
karagoodwin
That's amazing. Um, well being that you are a woman your mother you are you know, successful and busy and and living like a modern life. Can you share with. Us any of the particular challenges that you've had to overcome um with all of that with that combination of things and also to be kind of dedicated to your own growth and to your meditation practice.

16:58.70
Katie Krimitsos
Yeah, um I think struggles that I think many all of us really have um which are ah you know wanting having so many things that I love and that I value and making time for them all in a meaningful way. And my sort of you know main dance that I do is between sort of my kids personal life or what I'll call mommying so like mommying and business and these 2 worlds that both are incredibly significant for me. They both are. Are parts of you know who I am in this world that I really value and I want to put a lot of time and energy into them and they both require a lot a lot I have two littles I have a seven year old and a 4 year old right now. So like I and.

17:44.80
karagoodwin
Yes.

17:51.24
Katie Krimitsos
When I was pregnant with my second is when I I launched the women's meditation network. So it's been. You know it was. She's been raised with this I um I have raised this business alongside these two girls really? and so um, you know this is not ah a an. I don't know if there's any easy season of motherhood but this is definitely not 1 of them if that does exist. Um, so so the struggles for me have been mostly having to write the mindset that will allow me.

18:11.28
karagoodwin
Are um.

18:25.20
Katie Krimitsos
To do what I want to really do in this world to to live into the the light that I really feel like I'm here to bring in all of these ways because it's um, it's not 1 or the other for me like I love my girls and if I were to be a full-time mom and not allow myself.

18:36.81
karagoodwin
Um, and.

18:44.40
Katie Krimitsos
The mode of self-expression through my business that would feel very limiting I would I would feel I would feel a little less than in my ability to be me and the opposite is true as well. If I were you know, just working this business and barely seeing my kids I would absolutely feel a lack there. So so for me, it's It's really.

18:51.12
karagoodwin
Are the.

19:03.63
Katie Krimitsos
Having to be very honest with myself taking constant inventory of who I am what my values are at any given moment and and sort of taking stock on how those 2 things are dancing with each other and in this. This particular week. Do the kids need to stay at school a little longer because I need to I really do need to do some more work and this week that needs to be okay and next week oh can I can can I pick up the kids right after school ends and and you know do less work because you know I want to have more quality time with them. And and even in saying that there's sort of this this underlying what I'm going to call a limiting belief called I can't have both I can't be um I can't have my business cannot be in massive growth mode doing amazing things in this world and. You know impacting millions of women while I'm also being a very present very active, very intentional mom like that is a very widely held belief by many many people out there and it's sort of out there in the ether. And that was one limiting belief that I was very aware of that I would have to constantly rewrite and so and in doing that it's it's interesting because in doing that there's some realities to it like I am freaking exhausted trying to do all of these things right? I I have brought myself to burnout more times than I cared to admit this year in particular.

20:29.45
Katie Krimitsos
Um, and I refuse to believe in I refuse to believe in that belief I I have to find a way where I can do both and I will continue to practice how to do that better and better every single time so that really has been the biggest most. Um.

20:34.50
karagoodwin
Are.

20:47.51
Katie Krimitsos
All-encompassing challenge that I've had is is wanting to do this really great work and wanting like it's painful for me to stop working because I I'm like ah gonna go pick up the kids and um and I want to be with my kids.

20:56.26
karagoodwin
Yeah.

21:01.39
Katie Krimitsos
And I want that time with my kids and so I refuse to work 80 hours a week 100 hours a week like those days don't exist for me anymore. Pre-kids sure thing but like not no like I barely you know even 40 hours a week feels like way too much. So um, you know it it is that dance is a constant conscious daily.

21:06.22
karagoodwin
Yeah.

21:21.32
Katie Krimitsos
Taking inventory making decisions based on my values and and and dealing with the consequences of those decisions as well.

21:30.40
karagoodwin
Yeah, thank you for sharing all of that. it's so it's so relatable because I feel just the same. My kids are older. They're 15 and 12 but it seems like yesterday they were 7 and 3 Um. 7 and 4 was it 7 and 4 um that's one of the places where I think meditation helps so much because it's like through meditating we're practicing our focus right? So we're like learning how to continue to bring our awareness. Back and that to me has is I'm realizing more and more even at this stage in my journey like how important that is outside of meditation because I can get so distracted in in what I'm doing and and you know I may have like. You know four or 5 huge like chunks of important things you know which is like family is one and the podcast is one and then my you know business is one and and so on and um, different things that require. My focus and it can be very easy for me to butterfly from one to the other and then stop what I'm doing and go and butterfly at the next thing and okay, let me stop that because I just remembered that I have to do this thing and I can just do it really quickly and just get that off my list but then I'm like.

23:01.79
karagoodwin
Constantly dividing and diffusing my energy and so that ability which is a skill that I'm still honing and it's so funny because it's so linked to meditation but I haven't been living my life that way and I'm like oh. Practical application to focus you know and it's like when I'm focusing on the podcast just do the podcast and just edit the whole episode like in one go and stop stopping and Answering. You know the email that just came in or all the different ways that I. Get myself out of that flow. Um, but it's such a you know it's so relatable because I think we're all we all have multiple um, multiple things that we want to focus on multiple things that are important to us and and equally important you know and um. So. It's just it. It's it's inspiring to see you know how you're how you're dealing with that.

24:05.58
Katie Krimitsos
It's it's real too I mean I don't always I don't do this perfectly. But um I have had to come up with you know Efficiency Hacks Energy Hacks like ways to be able to streamline energy.

24:08.38
karagoodwin
Warra.

24:21.60
Katie Krimitsos
You know people talk so much about time management which I kind of halfheartedly believe in for me, it's more of energy management. How am I managing my energy at any given moment and for me that has to show up on my calendar like okay if I know that this time block is for.

24:27.38
karagoodwin
Who.

24:39.77
Katie Krimitsos
Even on the basic if this time time block is for work then I'm working and if this time block is I'm you know for kids and home I'm not working I don't like and I am notorious for not you know if my if anyone on my team or anyone needs to get a hold of me.

24:46.70
karagoodwin
Um, yeah.

24:57.50
Katie Krimitsos
During kid kid times or you know when I'm mommying. Um, yeah, you're not hearing from me until after the kids go to bed and maybe not even then because I'm exhausted by that point. Um, so it's like um I don't turn my business brain back on until whatever time and then you'll hear from me. So um.

25:05.91
karagoodwin
You all? um.

25:13.22
Katie Krimitsos
You know and if you want to even go deeper into even those time blocks. It's like okay, for example, there are 2 types of kind of work energy that I have 1 is writing or creation like writing these scripts and that takes a very unique energy and then there's sort of administrative. Ah, energy right of like doing the things and then there's more like business growth strategy Ceo level growing type of things and so I'm even very cognizant and and I you know I'm not so perfectionist to perfectionistic to need this on my calendar but like.

25:47.95
Katie Krimitsos
Like if I know I need writing I can't do those other things and they're so sexy to do. They're a lot more fulfilling because I can check those things off my list pretty easily but writing is like it's what it's the most painful thing that I do in my business and yet it's the most fulfilling because I can.

25:54.98
karagoodwin
Right.

26:04.25
Katie Krimitsos
I can come out of it afterwards and be so proud of that poem that I just wrote that I'm now going to create into a meditation and and deliver to your ears so that you can really be. You know, touched and it can really hit your heart like that's amazing. But like there's time that needs to be dedicated to that and that time it needs to be. Um, needs to really be honored and um and cared for so that I'm not letting all of this other administrative or you know check things off the list energy come in and I've over the years I've learned to marry that with time. So like. There's no way I'm going to have writing time on Mondays that just doesn't work on Mondays I'm raring to go I'm like boom boom boom I'm like in like most of us on Mondays are just like boom. Let's go. Let's get the week started right. So that's not writing time for me I want to check things off a list I want to go go go and then by Tuesday or Wednesday I'll be more into like a writing space. So my brain will need a break from the administrative stuff. So like that's energy management and if you can. Be aware of that and the way it comes down to meditation is that you I am knowing myself I am being hyper aware of who I am in any given moment so that I could see how I can align energies with tasks so that I can get the most out of any given day.

27:24.65
Katie Krimitsos
Same with my kids like they're they're sort of the opposite actually needs to happen. There are some days where there's sort of things for us to do together and it's more of like you know we're going here. We're doing this. We're doing these things together and then there are days where it's just like I just want us home to have unstructured time. And that needs to be it and I have to turn off the brain that wants to do and and complete things and accomplish and um and so even that is knowing even the days of the week okay like by the end of the week I absolutely don't want to go and run around town with the kids like I want to be at home I want to chill.

27:56.82
karagoodwin
Um, mean, um.

28:01.10
Katie Krimitsos
Maybe we'll even have a girls movie night. You know if Daddy's away like so um, like all of that is just this incredible awareness of self that I have that that is very practical in its application for how I want to maximize. Who I can like what I can create in this world and who I can be in this world like that's very practical to me, but it's incredibly powerful.

28:26.23
karagoodwin
Yeah, absolutely and I love how you talk about because earlier you were talking about the seasons for the life and the seasons for a ah woman's life and I love how in tune you are with not only the energy that's required for each task but the type of energy. That you hold at different times so you know that is so introspective and so and it's it's so practical. It's very introspective but it's like man how much more can you how much more productive can you be or how much more efficient can you be. Meeting just like not that like to your point about I don't need to work 80 hour days like that's not going to do or 80 hour weeks that's not going to do it certainly not 80 hour days for sure, right? but.

29:13.30
Katie Krimitsos
Ah, it would be a little much.

29:17.33
karagoodwin
The way that it's it's working like more efficiently and more with the the season that you're in or the you know the the strength of you know do I am I in a creative flow like not just am I in a flow but am I in a creative flow or am I in a task managing flow Or. Um, am I am I tired and I need to just do something that's like more rote and mundane and I don't need to like put creativity into it. Um, it's it's working smarter you know and and not just working but also with you know, applying that to every facet of your life is so.

29:55.42
Katie Krimitsos
On.

29:55.92
karagoodwin
Important I Love it. That's Great. So You talked about how you're an athlete and that you don't always rely on meditation to kind of connect you with yourself. So. Can you can you talk a little bit just a little expand upon that a little bit more in terms of um, ways that you sort of get into a meditative state without actually sitting down to meditate.

30:27.62
Katie Krimitsos
Yeah, great question. So it's probably worth noting that if you were to ask me how I define meditation I would define it as a pause. Um for the purpose of sort of that detachment from thought that we talked about before right? but it's it's a moment of pausing.

30:33.47
karagoodwin
Um.

30:43.76
Katie Krimitsos
And so if you if you can see that broad of a definition then all of a sudden at a lot of different things that perhaps you're doing in your life. You can see now as like oh that's that's a meditation. Oh that's a meditation or that's a that's very meditative for me for me. Um, probably the number 1 that is ah you know apart from actually sitting down doing a guide to meditation or sitting down and and you know being quiet for x amount of time is being out in nature. Um, often most often moving in nature. So my husband and I go on walks. every single weekend. um every single weekend my kids have a sleepover at their at their grandma and grandpa's and so you know we get this downtime of you know about 24 hours to just actually like breathe look at each other reconnect. It's really beautiful. Um, and that.

31:30.54
karagoodwin
Oh.

31:37.66
Katie Krimitsos
I'm not alone I'm with him and we are walking in nature Sometimes we're super quiet the whole time and sometimes we're just most of the time we're yapping on about the life that we dream of and um, you know what's going on in our lives or challenges that we're having and all these beautiful deep and profound conversations. That is a very meditative experience for Me. It's very cathartic the being in nature for me whether I'm with him or alone has this incredibly beautiful effect of allowing me to remember that I'm simultaneously. The only. Person just like me in the entire universe.. There's no one else like there's no other me I am so special and I'm this teeny tiny little speck in this massive. Ah totally like Beyond Comprehension universe and that.

32:25.87
karagoodwin
Um, one.

32:34.80
Katie Krimitsos
Reminder is incredibly humbling and always puts into perspective. Whatever big drama or you know troubled you know or issues or challenges I'm having at the time it always puts that in perspective in the sense that it reminds me like okay, what's really important Katie. You know, like okay so let's say worstcase scenario happens really are you really is it? Okay, are you really going to be okay, you're gonna be okay like is the world coming to an end. No, you're okay, you know you're gonna be okay, you've got people who love you Everything's fine like you just so being in nature for me is massively important. Um. And um, again, that could be a walking kind of walking meditation being in nature sitting in nature and just watching the birds listening for all the sounds like seeing and observing life that you don't normally see because you're moving too fast so that to me is very incredible. So and. Then I also work out just about every day and I work out outside and so that in and of itself sort of hits that in the fact that you know like when I'm you know down on the floor doing whatever you know pushups or you know crunches or whatever I'm looking up at the sky I'm watching the clouds go by I'm listening. The cardinal I'm trying to find the cardinal that I'm hearing you know? So um, so that's big the being and then you know the the being in your body I've heard a lot of athletes talk about when they're working out. It is this very spiritual experience of of being in your body and being so in the moment.

34:05.56
Katie Krimitsos
And I think that's what all of these practices can do that are not your typical sit in you know, sit and meditate in the lotus position doing dishes doing you know, gardening like these very mundane activities. The power of them is that they allow you to. They amount they allow your mind to clear because you're so focused on just this 1 thing that you're doing in any given moment so that your mind can't think about anything else and it's incredibly calming. Um I wish dishes were on the list for me but I hate doing dishes. Um, but like I've gardened before and.

34:40.59
karagoodwin
Um.

34:43.20
Katie Krimitsos
Um, you know, just all these sorts of things. So if there's any sort of mundane activity that you have I would consider that a a form of meditation and the fact that you get a chance to pause from the normal spinning. You know things move it in your mind all the time and that pause is refreshing and it feels really good. So there's a gazillion other ways that you can practice meditation outside of what that what that typically might look like.

35:07.13
karagoodwin
Yes, Yes I Love that I mean I and you're so right? if there is that mundane kind of task. It's It's the practice also of just being like. Okay, let me reengage with it because we can find it so easy to kind of do it in the background and be like well I'm going to solve this other problem while I'm washing the dishes for example, but it's like okay practice. Let's like practice. What is it like to be with the dishes in this moment. That's that can be like hard.

35:32.57
Katie Krimitsos
Yeah.

35:38.88
Katie Krimitsos
Very and I think really what it is is this coming to deep presence with what is and for me, that's what the pause then leads to so you know I call these I call these little moments mini moments of mindfulness. So if you're in the shower you know instead of thinking about the 8000 things you need to do.

35:40.69
karagoodwin
Yeah.

35:46.44
karagoodwin
War.

35:58.69
Katie Krimitsos
You can instead sort of zone that out and just really concentrate on you know the beads of water hitting your back feeling the water sort of trickle down feeling the warmth and temperature of the water and that sort of quickly graduates to a sense of gratitude for that like.

36:04.25
karagoodwin
Rain.

36:15.85
Katie Krimitsos
Not everyone gets a warm shower every day and Wow How amazing this is like Wow I'm so grateful for my house I'm so grateful for this water you know, cleaning me right now you know taking excuse me taking.

36:19.25
karagoodwin
Um, when or.

36:23.40
karagoodwin
Array.

36:32.84
Katie Krimitsos
Ah, couple of minutes before my goodness excuse me. Um.

36:37.96
karagoodwin
Don't worry.

36:45.80
Katie Krimitsos
Okay, sorry um, you know instead of you know, coming getting out of the car. As soon as you pull up to your house taking a couple of moments just to sit in your car and take 5 conscious breaths like counting.

36:47.80
karagoodwin
That's okay.

37:03.17
Katie Krimitsos
All the way to 5 every you know for every single breath. You're counting one count and just becoming aware of that breath not because you want to accomplish anything but because you're giving your mind an opportunity to to really focus in on something so that you can then come into full presence with it and.

37:20.40
karagoodwin
Yeah, or.

37:22.81
Katie Krimitsos
I Think that's really you know the desire of meditation is that you can come into full presence with what is therefore you're not thinking about the future. You're not thinking about the past you're fully present. You're fully in the moment and that's where that stillness that's really where that space then.

37:40.81
karagoodwin
Yeah, oh that's beautiful. Thank you so Katie can you tell people how they can find you and how they can find your your help.

37:41.99
Katie Krimitsos
Arises.

37:52.45
Katie Krimitsos
Yeah, So if you go to women's meditationnetwork.com you can see all of our shows there or you can go search in the podcast player that you're listening to now just type in meditation for women. All of the podcasts that I have have that in the title. Whether it's sleep meditation for women morning meditation for women daily affirmations. Um, So there's a ton of them there for you to grab and you know listen to all for free and um, you can you know, just kind of. Move your way through the giant library of Meditations and sounds that are available for you.

38:27.66
karagoodwin
Wonderful! Well this was so much fun I'm so happy to have connected with you and thank you for your contribution. You were the very first meditation Mondays in the series. So and it was a beautiful meditation on gratitude.

38:44.38
Katie Krimitsos
And.

38:46.67
karagoodwin
But I'm so happy to be connected with you and I'm going to meet you in person at the end of January so I'm very excited for that. So thank you so much. Katie.

38:51.10
Katie Krimitsos
Yeah, me too. Kara thank you so much. This was so much fun.