Welcome to The Slow Newsletter, your weekly dose of dazzling, aha-moment-generating Vedic wisdom. The Slow is where we break down teachings on meditation and consciousness to inspire easy, abundant living—even in the most demanding times.

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💬 Quote of the Week

After a rejuvenating week of R&R with friends in Wisconsin, I’ve realized that most of life’s lessons can be found in the simple joys of lake swims, collaborative cooking, and spirited game nights.

My friend and colleague Cindy Wu nailed it after an intense evening of Monopoly Deal and Dominoes. Her words highlight a sweet truth: You either win, or you learn. There is no losing if you’re open to the lesson.

📚Knowledge Sesh: Effortless Strategies for Consistent Meditation

Forget the myth that you need an open schedule, a small army of helpers, a benevolent boss, or the luxury of a sabbatical to stick to a regular, daily meditation practice.

You don’t need any of that.

What you need is a STRATEGY to get them into your schedule.

1. Knock out a morning meditation as soon as you wake up.

​Morning is our golden window to prioritize what truly matters. Once the house stirs and emails flood in, our time isn’t really ours anymore. Meditate first thing in the AM. If you’re on a twice-daily program like Vedic Meditation, you’ll be halfway done with your daily practice by breakfast. For those with small children, aim to meditate after drop-off or whenever support allows you to sneak away for 15-20 minutes.

2. Schedule your meditations in your calendar.

​”The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen R. Covey

When meditation is on your calendar, you’re far more likely actually to sit down and do it.

3. Move your second meditation earlier in the day.

This tip has been a game-changer for the busiest meditators I know. Try meditating as early as 2-3 pm, especially if your evenings are packed with social activities.

4. Find a practice you enjoy and see real benefits from.

​This is the one-two punch for a solid meditation practice! If you love it and see great results, staying regular will be as easy as doing something you love. Trust me, there’s a practice out there that you’ll adore.

5. Find a meditation buddy or accountability partner.

​Sharing your intentions makes sticking with them easier! Simply telling a friend, coworker, or partner that you’re trying out meditation can be enough to keep you motivated.

We dive deep into all this—and so much more—in my signature Learn to Meditate course. I have a few spots left for my Los Angeles course starting in a couple of weeks. Click here to book a call with me to learn more!

💫 The Vedic Spin: Decoding Anxiety

My therapist of over six years told Pete, my husband, when they first met that I was a “Class 5 Catastrophizer.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. Dr. Reiner has always had a knack for telling it like it is. 😂

We all had a good laugh about it—the “pre-meditation” version of Susan.

It’s this highly anxious version of my former self that propelled me to become fascinated and motivated to help others who may be experiencing similar anxiety…

So, imagine my delight when I read that last year, the Surgeon General in the United States issued a directive for all primary care physicians to screen for Generalized Anxiety Disorder during annual exams.

Physicians are now recommended to ask their patients to rate on a scale from 0-3 how often in the previous two weeks they felt the following symptoms:

0 = Not at all
1 = Several days
2 = More than half the days
3 = Nearly every day

1. Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge
2. Not being able to stop or control worrying
3. Worrying too much about different things
4. Trouble relaxing
5. Being so restless that it is hard to sit still
6. Becoming easily annoyed or irritable
7. Feeling afraid, as if something awful might happen

This is a huge step for our medical system—acknowledging anxiety as a serious health issue. Raising awareness can only help us move forward in feeling calmer and more relaxed as a collective.

But here’s the challenge: there’s a gap in this approach. The identifiers of anxiety—feeling nervous, anxious, not being able to control worrying thoughts, etc.—aren’t just symptoms of anxiety, per se…

They are symptoms of STRESS ACCUMULATION.

When we treat symptoms on the level of symptoms, we’re just playing whack-a-mole with our health. The real game-changer is addressing the root cause. Get to the core, and the anxiety symptoms will be gone for good.

General Practitioners can identify the symptoms, but it’s up to us to find a sustainable solution to eliminate the root issue of stress.

This is where Vedic Meditation comes in, as it can work hand in hand with whatever stop-gaps our doctors are putting in place.

​Click here to learn how Vedic Meditation can be your anxiety-busting superhero.

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Note: The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.