Zen and the art of commuting: Make those long minutes better

Commuters are sentenced to spend part of each day stuck in cars, buses, trains or a combination of the above just to get to work. That time can be stressful, full of other drivers' raging honks or crammed-in strangers' blaring phone conversations.

But it doesn't have to be. In fact, if you can believe it, some say it should be a time of Zen.

"We can say, 'OK, I'm going to be in the car for an hour, what can I do to improve my quality of life during that hour?' " said actor Jeff Kober, who teaches meditation in Los Angeles.

He suggested that we resist the urge to relinquish that hour to an inner monologue of traffic complaints, work worries and snide glances at coughing riders. Instead, treat it as a time to incorporate more contentment, either by becoming meditative or creating an internal oasis.

"Because we're essentially captive, why not make it into something really productive?" said Maria Gonzalez, who teaches mindfulness meditation in business as founder of Argonauta Strategic Alliances Consulting in Toronto.

She doesn't mean productive in the sense of pulling up work e-mail. Being productive can mean relaxing physically and mentally — focusing on your breath, rearranging your posture, giving your shoulders tiny massages while waiting at a red light.

It also can mean taking time to refocus thoughts, which can influence your workday — and your life.

Here are some tips to getting the most out of your commute:

First, build an enjoyable space for yourself. If you drive, try to choose a car that you're comfortable in. Try to keep it clean.

"Become conscious that a car itself is a destination," said New York spine specialist Dr. Kenneth Hansraj. "Realize you're spending all the best hours of your life in this machine."

Then, think about how pleasant your commute can be.

"If we could just allow it to be what it is, we have an opportunity of being able to enjoy it sometimes, if the right song comes on the radio or somebody smiles at us from a car," Kober said.

"The intention that naturally exists: 'My intention is to get done with this commute,' " Kober said. "So I've just doomed myself to an hour of discomfort, because my intention will not be met until I get out of the car."

A goal can be to simply become present: paying attention to your surroundings in a way that acknowledges what's around you: clouds in the sky, the feel of the seat or your hands on the steering wheel.

Kober said that if you can focus your thoughts even just three times — at the very beginning, middle and end of a commute — you've accomplished something.

Those traveling by bus or train can listen to guided meditations. (They're available on apps, on YouTube, just about anywhere online.)

"See what the world looks like before you do the guided meditation; see if anything has changed [after]," Kober said. "See if it's a little brighter."

"Take three mindful breaths," advised Gonzalez. "Be aware that you're right there right now, as opposed to, 'I wonder how long it's going to take me today.' 'I wonder how many meetings are going to be on my calendar.' "

Cultivating awareness can help your mind to slow down and curbs the mind's natural wanderings toward the past ("How long was the commute yesterday? Will today be better?") or the future ("I really don't want to go to lunch with my boss today").

Focus on one thing that relaxes you, and return to that if you're distracted. So whether music, a book or even perusing social media makes you happy, focus on it. And if you get distracted, return to that thing.

"Just come back to what you're reading, because how many times have we started reading something and we say, 'Omigod, I've read this paragraph 10 times,' " Gonzalez said. "The mind did not stay focused."

Keeping focused on a topic helps calm your brain, she said. And training it to focus can carry over into other moments.

Effects of a commute can linger after you've settled into your cubicle chair or your living room sofa.

New York masseuse Dot Stein crafted car-focused massage techniques. Designed to ease pain in the head, ears, jaw, neck and shoulder, they're targeted at places that tense up while traveling.

For example, she said, during driving, stress can tighten the scalp. After your commute, or even during if you're on a bus or train, slowly massage your temples. Grip small handfuls of your hair and tug, she said.

And the ears also need comfort. Honking horns, wailing sirens and screeching tires take a toll. Squeeze earlobes as if you're ironing out the folds of your ears with your fingertips, Stein advised. Place a palm over each ear, and use your hands to move your ears up and down.