Hi, babes and happy Monday! I cannot think of a better way to start the week off than talking about meditation! Meditation is something I was really introduced to by my dad several years ago. Of course I’d always known what meditation was, but I hadn’t witnessed the positive effects it can have on someone until I started seeing my dad meditate. Over the past year I have started incorporating mediation into my daily routine and y’all, it has made such a big difference to my daily attitude.
It’s kind of crazy, but I feel like there’s a stark contrast in my personality and daily intention on the days I meditate compared to the days I don’t. When I first started out I was super overwhelmed, but as I began to learn how to meditate, I slowly realized that it is a process. It’s a process that takes time and patience, and it looks different for everyone. The time of day, where I sit, how I meditate, may look completely different from the way you do and that’s okay.
I was listening to a podcast several weeks ago on meditating, and one person shared a thought I found so insightful. The speaker posited that meditation doesn’t necessary make your life easier, rather it helps you become more balanced, resilient, and thoughtful in the face of stress or a crisis. I love this sentiment because it’s so true! Meditating doesn’t make life stressors disappear, but rather helps you wade through them. For me, meditation coupled with time in the word help
tips for mediating:
- find a comfortable place – meditation pillow find somewhere that is comfortable, but not too comfortable. You want to sit upright so that you can focus. I tried doing it in my bed, but it always made me sleepy. Now, I sit in my office chair with a blanket wrapped around me. Another option might be sitting your floor on a .
- pick a time – Learning to meditate can be a bit of a challenge. I highly suggest setting aside 5-10 minutes a day for mediation. Pick the time of day that works for you, and then be consistent. For me, I like to meditate right when I wake up before I start my morning routine.
- close your eyes – keeping your eyes closed helps you to focus your attention on your breath. It reduces distractions and is highly recommended.
- limit distractions – choose a time and place with minimal distractions. If I tried to meditate in my living room at lunch time with my girls running around, I wouldn’t be able to focus for even one second. I find that for me, meditating in the morning in my office before everyone wakes up lends the least amount of distractions.
- focus on your breath – more about this below, but the biggest tip as you begin to meditate is to simply focus on your breath.
how to meditate: breathing meditation
Breathing meditation is one of the simplest forms of mindful meditation. All you do is focus on your breath. You focus on your inhale and you focus on your exhale. You do this for 5-10 minutes. I will warn you that your thoughts will probably wander a lot in the beginning as you learn to focus on your breath. That’s okay. Accept that as part of the practice and don’t beat up on yourself. My advice is that when you lose focus of your breath and your mind wanders to what you’re having for breakfast, simply acknowledge your thought and then return your focus to your breath.
For me, I was finding that I was losing focus so much, that I looked for a guided meditation to aid me in my breathing meditation. The Calm App is what I landed on. The Calm App is an app that provides masterclasses on mindfulness, nature sounds and music to enjoy while working or sleeping, and so much more. But, my favorite part about the Calm App is that is provides a 10 minute daily meditation. There is a voice that aids you in relaxing your body at the beginning of the daily meditation and then it gives you the majority of the 10 minutes to focus on your breath. It ends with a thought or intention of the day and it always leaves me feeling calm and ready to take on the day!
Once you’ve got the basics down, you’d find that one of the biggest perks to meditation is that you can do it anywhere!
benefits of meditating:
- reduces stress
- controls anxiety
- improves self-awareness
- increases attention span
- improves mental health
- generates kindness (to yourself and others)
- improves sleep
one minute counts:
I will leave you with this thought – one minute counts. I heard someone say this about meditating and it’s so true. One minute of focused attention is better than no minutes of focused attention. So, if all you can give today is one minute to focus on your breath, go for it! I promise you won’t regret it!
