This Is How to Start Your Meditation Practice
Over the next few weeks, I will take on the Lifehacker Fitness Challenge by developing a healthy meditation regimen for mental and physical well-being. The idea of meditation actually causes me a lot of stress, so trying to clear my mind (which is constantly racing) has always been anxiety. In fact, I’ve never been good at coping with stress – even when traveling, I try to give myself an intense route of forced relaxation, defeating the goal.
But when I heard more than once that continuous meditation has benefits, ranging from increased productivity to reduced anxiety and improved physical health, I decided to face the stress face-to-face by setting myself the goal of trying it for 30 days.
The beginning slowly diminished my initial anxiety
There is Zen, mantra, self-meditation and much more, but finding a new routine has never been a problem for me; stay consistent and overcome obstacles. To overcome my bad habits, I decided to use guided meditation as a starting point. I downloaded Headspace , which has been recommended by friends and currently has a miniseries on Netflix, and bought a $ 12.99 monthly subscription after a seven-day free trial.
I wanted to start slowly, just three minutes before the start of the work day. I chose the beginner track and used noise canceling headphones to keep out of distraction and sat in my IKEA Poang chair setting up the app on my phone. Headspace has a great feature that allows you to choose a mediation guide and I chose a woman named Dora who was the lead teacher on the beginner track.
First seven days
After seven days of meditation, I found myself looking forward to three minutes of controlled silence. I forced myself to follow a routine of waking up, registering at work, making my bed, and then sitting and meditating in my cozy corner. I did not allow myself to start the day without three minutes alone and listen carefully to Dora.
To begin with, she instructs you to sit up straight with your feet on the floor and start breathing without taking your eyes off, and on the third breath you close your eyes. A friend of mine is doing spiritual work of decolonization and always encourages me to take the form ready to receive, that is, open palms and open chest, so I also included this in my daily routine.
Each session of the Headspace beginner course uses a different metaphor to introduce you to the root of meditation. Sometimes inner thoughts are referred to as movement; sometimes clouds or a stormy river. After a week, I didn’t feel 100% calm and collected, but I learned how to start my process and the idea of meditation was no longer stressful. I’ve found it to be a productive way to start your day and manage your fast-paced mind.
Next week on my journey, I plan to increase the meditation time to five minutes, change the time of day, and see if midday meditation feels different. I hope to strengthen my meditation practice in a month, I hope to reach 10 or even 15 minutes a day. And who knows, maybe over time I will forever integrate meditation into my daily life.