What is meditation exactly? Simply put, it is a technique that uses breathing exercises, mindfulness, and focusing on the mental status. Meditation can help to calm the mind and body, center us to better handle tasks at hand, and can help alleviate anxiety, depression, and possibly even pain. The common misconception is how difficult meditation is. Anyone can reap the benefits of meditation with a little consistency.
So! What have you heard about meditation? Maybe you have heard that meditation is a wonderful way to alleviate stress. Or perhaps meditation is beneficial to clear the mind. How about a few of these common and biggest misconceptions; meditation is difficult to learn, it takes years to master, you must sit still, no movement, you must completely shut the mind down, meditation takes 30 minutes to an hour to get full benefits. Meditation is possibly one of the easiest things you can add to your daily wellness routine, that can help you maximize the benefits! Time should not restrict you from starting a meditation practice, or learning how to practice. Once you establish a routine with your meditations, it really is that easy!
The thought or idea of adding something else to your already busy days can certainly seem overwhelming. However, meditation truly is one of the easiest wellness tools you can add to your daily routine. Meditation does not have to take an hour to achieve a particular goal. If you can set aside 5 minutes, yes just 5 minutes, you can have a beautiful and beneficial meditation practice added to your day! With 5-minute meditations, think of it just like you are hitting a big reset button to your nervous system, more specifically to your sympathetic nervous system. You know that awesome flight or fight response we get, heart racing, panicky breathing, sweating, sensory overload feeling? Yup, just a short five-minute session can truly reset the mind, calm the body, and help you tackle any task at hand!
What other time increments are “good”, or “normal”, should you want a longer, deeper state of relaxation or clarity? ANY!!! Time towards meditation ultimately comes down to you as the practitioner. If you are just starting out, and meditation is new to you, it’s a battle against your own mind. Those pesky thoughts, a to-do list, a project due at work, the next PTO meeting at school, that guy that cut you off on your way to work, all these things may come into focus as you start to quiet your mind and relax. It is important that you remember that when these thoughts are flowing, it’s OKAY!! Accept those thoughts, acknowledge they are trying to get your attention, then send them to the back of your mind. Just DO NOT GIVE UP!! Starting your practice with a small amount of time is something that you know you can achieve when you start adding your meditation practice into your routine! One of the greatest things I heard during my educational path to becoming a meditation facilitator is, “Meditation is NOT a sprint, it IS a marathon, a beautiful marathon!” It will take time for your mind to quiet, and those thoughts to slow, and even a senior practitioner still must remind thoughts to ‘shhhhhhhh’ at times.
A few basic tips for successful mediation practice are time, patience, and a good routine. Your meditation practice is not going to become successful overnight; it will take time. You will have a lot of personal growth within your practice, and that growth will take time. Your personal growth will also require patience. Give yourself grace, give yourself the time for growth. Accept that there will be restarts and setbacks, and trust that you will get to where you want to go with your meditation practice. Establish a healthy meditation routine at the start of your meditation practice. Build that practice to best suit your needs. Over time you may even find yourself creating a safe space within your home or office. A space that suits all your meditation needs with a pillow, maybe a singing bowl, a gong, incense, candles, flowers, music, or whatever you put in that space that holds meaning and helps create that sacred space.
Remember, it’s not a sprint, meditation is a marathon. Your session time will grow as you practice more. Your mind quiets more as you grow in your practice and learn how to manage your thoughts. Take the time to develop a routine to help your meditation practice to be successful. There is no right or wrong way to meditate. There are no meditation Gods that will strike you down if you deviate from the traditional seated pose. Your meditation is by you, for you, and about you! Stay positive and meditate on!
Connect with Brandi
Facebook: Brandi Turner Watts
Instagram: @branditwatts
