Your Easy Three Day Brain Detox Day Two: Phone Fast

By Emily Fletcher, Founder, Ziva Meditation

Hi friends, welcome to day two of our Three-Day Brain Detox. Did you enjoy your new Balancing Breath Technique? It’s amazing what some alternate nostril breathing can do. If you haven’t tried it yet, I know it looks a bit silly, but close your office door and give it a go.

Day Two: Let’s Get Emotional

Today we’re going to examine how technology impacts our emotional lives. We live in an age of distraction. It’s a constant uphill battle to stay present. I’m a meditation teacher and I used to sit down to meditate and find myself twenty minutes later answering all those ‘urgent’ emails on my phone. That is, until I heard this story…

There was a college professor who gave a famous lecture on ping pong balls and sand. In it he said to imagine that you have a jar, a few ping pong balls, and half a glass of sand. Now imagine that you pour the ping pong balls into the glass, and then you pour the sand in around it. As long as the ping pong balls are put in first, there’s plenty of room for them and the sand within the jar. Now, if you were to start over, but pour the sand in first, the ping pong balls wouldn’t all fit back in the jar.

The ping pong balls represent the priorities in our lives. The things we want to prioritize. Getting enough rest, eating well, exercising, being productive at work, etc. What you’ll find is that when you prioritize the truly important things (the ping pong balls) and you put those into your life first, then you have plenty of time to incorporate everything else (the sand). There will be plenty of time for online shopping, scrolling Facebook and Instagramming.

The problem is, if you start your day with those non-priorities, then you will find that it will be quite hard to fit the important things in. Things like making sure that you eat well, get your work done, or get a full night’s sleep. And that is when life feels a lot less elegant.

This again is where psychodermatology comes in. Reminder: psychodermatology is a cutting edge field in the dermatology world that focuses solely on the connection between human emotions and the health of our skin. Think of it this way: it’s impossible to live a rom-com life when you have a horror flick playing inside your mind.

Day 2 Challenge: Phone and Social Media Fast

Saddle up, because I am coming for what may be your biggest addiction: your phone. For day 2 of your brain detox, I challenge you to use no social media during work hours, and when you’re off work (let’s say 6pm-8am) go ahead and turn your phone off.

That’s right, off. This may be hard to believe but phones do have a handy ‘off’ switch that many of us rarely use.

For extra credit: don’t bring your phone into the bedroom. Save the bedroom for sleeping and sex, nothing else.

Getting jittery? Already feeling withdrawal? I believe in you. You can do this.

“The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.”
—Steve Furtick

The world of social media is wonderful for so many reasons. We are able to connect with that teacher that changed our lives, or that friend from high school who moved across the country. But, after a while, the constant stream of information can start to mess with our minds. We start to compare the reality of our own lives to the highlights of everyone else’s. This can take you down a rabbit hole of compare and despair. The truth is that no one’s life is puppies and unicorns all the time, and in order to gain some perspective, it’s important to sometimes put the phone down.

Just do it. You’ll feel like a meth addict reaching for your pipe for a while, but push through. You are stronger than your phone addiction. Instead of connecting on a social network, try connecting with your actual human network. Get tea with a colleague, go to spin class with a friend, take a stroll with your partner. This is why we are on this planet: to connect, to learn, to share joy. I truly believe this, and we are all so lucky to be witnessing the people and beauty of the world around us.

You’re doing great. This is brave work. Once you are back online I’d love to hear about your social media and phone fast in the comments below.

Tomorrow is the third and final day of our Brain Detox Challenge, and I’m excited to share with you a very special gift that I created specifically for the Annmarie family. It will have some super strong effects and introduce you to the tool that reversed my gray and cured my insomnia. You’re not going to want to miss this one. See you tomorrow.