This week marks a full year of non-stop daily meditation, according to my Insight Timer app. However, I started flirty with the idea of meditation in 2018 and later made it one of my New Year’s resolutions to meditate regularly in 2019 which I accomplished! I’ve been on-and-off meditating since 2019 but in 2021 I wrote a post where I shared my experience of meditating and doing yoga together for a year and another post later that year where I shared my guide to meditation. I have definitely missed days within those 5 years but I would say that I meditated more than not.
WHY MEDITATE?
Studies have shown that meditating for just a few minutes a week can help lower stress levels, help you relax, improve your focus, help you manage your stress, increase compassion, reduce negative emotions, reduce the feeling of pain, increase patience, lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, and help you sleep. There is also research that supports that meditation can help reduce certain illnesses such as chronic pain, heart conditions, high blood pressure, cancer, insomnia, anxiety, and depression to name a few. However, you shouldn’t use meditation as a replacement for any medical treatment.
MY MEDITATION ROUTINE
I use meditation to cope and help me manage my stressful thoughts and tense feelings. Life can get hectic and I have high levels of anxiety anything that can help ease my worried mind is a win-win for me!
I start my day by meditating for 12 minutes every morning. After I finish working out for the day I will end with a quick yoga routine and will then lay on the yoga mat and meditate. I use the app Insight Timer to track my meditation progress. Insight Timer is a free app where you can choose from thousands of free guided meditation audio that you can use to relax, sleep, or just meditate. They also provide a timer where you can choose the duration of your meditation practice and add ambient sounds and bells, I use this timer to track my meditation progress.
MEDITATION TIPS
– Start off slow. Maybe start by meditating for 2-5 minutes and slowly work up the time duration. Use a timer to keep track of the time.
– Make it part of your routine. The main problem people have with meditation is not having enough time to incorporate meditation into their busy schedules. So, make it part of your routine! Try to find some time before you get out of bed in the morning or before you sleep at night.
– Lay down. When you think of mediating you probably imagine sitting in a crossed-legged position but you don’t have to, in fact, I normally meditate laying down on a yoga mat!
– Take in the stillness. I’ve heard so many people say things such as going on a walk or washing the dishes is meditative in itself and that’s great if doing one of those tasks can relax and calm you down. However, you probably get distracted whilst doing those tasks which beats the purpose of mediation. I personally believe to get the most out of a meditation practice that you should sit (or lay) in stillness with your eyes closed. I mean, if you’ve tried meditating before chances are that you were distracted so imagine how many distractions you get when you are aware of your surroundings and doing a chore or task.
– Listen to background music or a guided meditation. I recommend Insight Timer but there are millions of guided meditations or music that you can find on YouTube for free. Just do a quick search and find something that you find relaxing.
– Focus on a point. If you don’t like having your eyes closed when you meditate then keep your eyes open and passively focus on a point in front of you instead.
– Meditate because you want to. Meditation isn’t for everyone and that’s okay! If you’re interested in the benefits of meditation then try it and if you realize that it isn’t for you then stop meditating. Meditate because you want to.
Have you tried meditating before?
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