By Lauri Lee
Northside Economic Development Coalition

If you can breathe, you can meditate. It’s portable; you can take it with you. It’s not daunting to figure out how to meditate. You can slow down your breath, inhale and relax almost anywhere when you find yourself in a stressful situation. Taking time to momentarily stop will help keep things from escalating and remind you things won’t change by worrying about them. Meditation is for everyone; even five minutes a day can be beneficial for reducing stress.

The Meditate Madison studio opened in April at Cambridge Place, 621 N. Sherman Ave., Suite B11. Owner Deb Phelps has 38 years as a meditation practitioner and she’s a certified instructor. Meditation instruction, mindfulness, loving-kindness, guided meditation, singing bowls, meditation, labyrinth walking and workshops are offered at the studio. Traditional yoga is available, and chair yoga for those with mobility and pain issues starts in September.

The studio has a serene nature setting that is a safe and welcoming space where students can explore meditation and mindfulness for a calmer, more peaceful life. Meditation helps people be better equipped to deal with stressful situations and to be more openhearted and compassionate, with more self-acceptance.

Meditate Madison is a short and sweet call to action for people to try out meditation and see if they like it. Deb has a podcast called Meditation Pebbles: 5 Minutes to Inner Peace that can be found at meditatemadison.com. So take a deep breath, and contact Deb at 216-2805 to find out more.