Breathe in, stress out

Certain individuals believe meditation can help bring awareness to the present moment. At UTRGV a philosophy professor and alumnus give their thoughts on the benefits of meditation. 

Mariana Alessandri, assistant professor of philosophy, explained meditation is about staying in the present moment with one’s thoughts and accepting whatever arises when meditating.

“I think probably a majority of us are just not as present in any activity that we do, like right now I’m being interviewed, but I’m thinking about the next thing and last thing … we’re always somewhere else,” Alessandri said. 

She said breathing is important for most meditators because breathing is what brings the individual back to themselves. 

According to Alessandri, there are different breathing techniques when it comes to meditating. There is the original inhale and exhale method; there is also the box breathing, which is to breathe in for four seconds, breathe out for four and hold for four. 

“I think the point is to be able to be centered and not get carried away by the everyday worries about life,” she said. 

UTRGV alumni student, Emiliano Galindo, said when meditating he focuses on breathing in and out, which makes it easier to let go of thoughts that appear. 

“It makes me feel more calm, like whenever I have to face a difficult situation, I feel I can handle it quicker, faster and with better ideas, instead of thinking about how big the problem is,” he said. 

When thoughts arise while meditating, Alessandri said instead of knocking them down or brushing it off, accept the thoughts that appear because it’s trying to help understand the individual’s emotions.

“The best thing we can do is give the [thoughts] an audience,”she said. 

 Galindo said he meditates by sitting down on the floor with his legs and feet crossed and puts a timer on his phone for five or six minutes. In those minutes, he closes his eyes while being in a quiet place and concentrates on his breathing by inhaling in and exhaling out. 

While doing his breathing exercises, Galindo said, “the reason for my meditation is for me to just see my emotions, see my thoughts, see my ideas and make sure to just let them go and … focus on what I have to do right now, which is the present moment.”

He added, the more an individual meditates, the more it changes your brain in a good way. 

He said meditation lowers down the dopamine threshold. According to Galindo, dopamine is an addictive desire molecule that requires the individual to stimulate it so more dopamine can be released. 

“The reason why meditating is so good is because it does not create dopamine, it basically lowers down your dopamine levels by oxytocin, which is the happiness molecule,” he said. 

Galindo got into meditating during the pandemic. He would play video games everyday and he noticed a shift in his behavior, such as being more impulsive, reacting quicker and getting angry. 

“I got to a point where I was like, I needed to change something … so I looked for information on videos like on YouTube, what could I do to have a more peaceful mindset and be able to control my emotions … and that’s when I heard about meditation,” he said. 

Galindo said he feels meditation is helpful in breaking bad habits. For example, someone who meditates in the morning may experience a sense of calm and mental clarity.

However, immediately scrolling through social media or watching YouTube videos afterward can introduce overstimulation, potentially disrupting the peaceful mindset they developed during meditation.

“So then what you have to do is first get rid of the bad habit … so that good habit can start shining through,” he said.

Alessandri said, being in the present is important because it’s the only time people recognize that they’re  alive. She said existentialist philosophers say humans are always trying to run away from life and death.

“If we sit still for a moment, we’re going to remember we’re going to die and so we’re so afraid to remember we’re going to die that we get really busy with all of our little tasks that don’t mean anything,” she said.