Daily life is chock full of crazy schedules, never-ending deadlines, and stress. Lots of it.
How many times have you found yourself stuck and overwhelmed by all the daily tasks you have to complete? Loads? Yep, me too.
Fortunately, with the right tools we can face all these challenges head-on and actually start to feel calm and content amidst all our daily stressors. To clarify, I’m not saying I have all these tools or have mastered them. Sorry if I got your hopes up there! However, I have found some methods that help and one that I find particularly useful is meditation.
Why meditation? And how meditation can be useful?
Meditation changes not just the way you relate to yourself, but also how you relate with the outside world. This can, and will, aid you daily. Believe me. Once you are into your meditation journey you will have the proper tools to slow down when you need to, to really begin to understand how to deal with stress and to face that pesky anxiety that can creep up at a moment’s notice. You know that anxiety that stops you in your tracks? Yep, that one.
Meditation is a gift to yourself.
Through a good meditation practice you will be able to give yourself the best gift you can: a peaceful moment to yourself. A moment that is all yours, a moment in which you can calm down, relax, focus on how you really feel, and then peacefully move forward. In this age of constant connectivity and crazy daily routines, we often forget to make time for ourselves. (And I’m not talking about time for ourselves where we are Netflix binging, though that can be therapeutic in its own way.)
How to embark on your meditation journey?
To some it seems simplistic to others it seems ultra daunting. In my experience it is neither. First, please don’t think that meditation is simply closing your eyes while being awake. It’s so much more than that. You have to believe in the journey you are about to start and you have to take baby steps, especially at the very beginning.
Read about it.
I started my journey by reading Mindfulness In Plain English. This was definitely helpful, though not necessary.
Guided Meditations.
If you have never meditated you likely don’t even know where to begin. Totally normal! Don’t panic. Guided meditations to the rescue!
When I first got into meditation I found it so useful to use guided meditations. I was lucky enough to have a meditation studio (that I loved!) a couple blocks away from my apartment in NYC. I would attend guided sessions and always left with a spring in my step.
You can easily find guided meditations online. If you try one and it’s not for you, look for another. It’s the same with meditation teachers – I found one I really connected with in NYC, but have encountered others that I felt weren’t for me.
Make it part of your daily routine.
Try to add some meditation practice to your daily routine. For example, wake up and try to meditate first thing in the morning, or meditate while taking a bath. But, if it doesn’t come naturally don’t force yourself or judge yourself! Start with these three simple steps:
- Create a safe (QUIET) place to meditate.
- Find a comfortable seated position.
- Close your eyes and focus on your breath.
Commit.
As I’ve stated, mediation can seem daunting. It may feel weird or even useless at first; for some it takes time to get into it. Start with three minutes of meditation practice. Then four, then five, and so on…
You know the old adage “if at first you don’t succeed try try again” it totally applies here. Meditation takes PRACTICE. Lots of it. Don’t give up.
