Creating Space…For Daily Meditation

As a yoga teacher, one of the most common questions I get asked is, “do you have any tips for starting mediation?” I LOVE LOVE LOVE this question. As someone who is also very fitness-focused, I love when the focus shifts to finding mental fitness. Meditation is so much like working out. Meditation allows you to build a mental muscle that has the ability to entirely transform your own experience. Keep reading for a few ‘why, when, where, and hows” to help you get started, or maybe to add to your existing meditation practice.

Why?

You may be wondering - “so what’s the big deal anyway?” Meditation has so many positive health benefits from helping to reduce stress and anxiety to helping to improve sleep, and an overall sense of well-being. What’s also pretty incredible is that a consistent meditation practice helps to train the brain to more effectively respond to the constant stressors of daily life. Meditation teaches the brain to pause, to notice the trigger, and then choose the response. When you are seated in a posture and your nose starts to itch, meditation teaches you how to make a choice - ‘scratch, or let it pass?’ - that truly does translate to managing the impulses found in day to day life. I wish I could tell you that when I’m meditating I’m immune to the random itches and sensations that choose to creep up while I’m trying to sit still, but that would be a lie. I am not 100% still each and every time I meditate. I will say with 100% confidence though, that meditation has taught me to pause and notice where the sensation is coming from, and then choose how I want to respond. That way, the next time someone cuts me off in traffic, I’ve also built the strength to pause before responding and letting some colorful language fly. And that moment of choice, is exactly what meditation is all about.

When?

One of the things I hear pretty often is, “I would love to meditate, but I just don’t have the time.” I get it. Life is cray cray. but in some ways meditation possess this special power in which it can actually create the feeling of having MORE time, not less. Meditation helps increase focus and productivity, which means you can actually gain time, by gaining efficiency. And going back to the idea of promoting calm and reducing stress - Tell me if it’s just me, but I find that when I am in a mental frenzy time seems to race by. However when my mind is calm and at ease, the pace of life also seems to slow down. And while we are on the topic of time - it’s really important to mention that your daily meditation does not need to be a 30 minute long commitment. Maybe it is for some, and maybe that works well for them. However, the beauty of meditation is studies show that spending as little as 2-5 minutes in meditation a day can have significant benefits on your mental health and overall well-being. I believe that what’s more important than how long you meditate, is that you find a consistent time of the day that works for you, and that you can generally commit to. For example, maybe you are able to get up just 10 or 15 minutes before the rest of your household wakes up. Or maybe you have a designated break or lunch at work and you can carve out a portion of time there. Any time of day that you can practice consistently is a great option. Be like Nike and Just Do It. Cheesy, I know, but it’s real.

Where?

Ok, so maybe you are starting to buy in to this idea of building a daily meditation practice, but MAYBE you still have SO MANY QUESTIONS - Like “Where should I practice - do I need a special designated space or sanctuary?” The answer is - it depends. If you have the space AND it’s easily accessible, great, but if you find that the front seat of your car (parked of course), or sitting upright in your bed, or even seated comfortably in your dining room chair are going to give you the greatest access and the least amount of interruption - then that’s your place! Similar to the question of ‘when’, my advice is - wherever it makes it easiest for you to do it consistently.

Ok, I’m In - Tell Me How.

The beauty is, similar to yoga, meditation is a practice. You don’t have to already know how to start. And even once you become more and more familiar with meditating, it remains a practice of noticing when your mind has wandered, and beginning again, and again, and again. The key things to note are, you just need to find a space in which you can rest comfortably, but alert. Laying down is Ok, but people often tend to fall asleep. Technically, sleeping is not meditating. Lol. The most commonly recommended position is seated comfortably where you can sit tall up top, and your seat, or feet, are firmly grounded to the floor, or space beneath you. You’ll want to close your eyes, or relax your gaze. And from there, there are many styles or approaches to the actual meditation such as focusing on your breath, gazing at the flickering flame of a candle, or reciting a mantra. One of my favorite resources for meditation currently is Simple Habit. Cory Muscara is one of my favorite instructors on there. Ive also been really enjoying the Whil. app lately. Both have lessons you can follow for a few days or weeks, as well as sounds of nature or other prompts if you are looking to explore various approaches. There are many other apps like Calm or Headspace and I invite you to try any and all of them. However what it really comes down to I think, is just making the decision to give it a try. Dedicate a few minutes of quiet to yourself each day. Even if you simply recite an affirmation to yourself. Over time, you’ll explore other approaches, but the most important thing, is just to start.

I’m wishing you all the best on your meditation journey. If you have tips or approaches that have worked really well for you, I’d love to hear about them. Feel free to share below. And if you have any questions or if i can help in any way - share that too!

Namaste…

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Creating Space…For Daily Meditation

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