5 tips for building a meditation habit
Whenever someone asks me the most impactful “wellness” habit or hack I’ve found, without a doubt it’s meditation.
What I define as meditation and what you do might be different. It actually should be! There is also a wide range of types of meditating – mantra, visualization, and breathwork, just to name a few.
In terms of what meditating is…I think meditation is whatever you need it to be. I know people who turn on a playlist and zone out at the wall and just collect their thoughts. Oprah calls it getting still – she walks out to her garden every morning and picks fresh mint for her tea to have a moment to herself to visualize the day ahead.
The important thing to “do” if you’re trying to incorporate more mindfulness into your daily life is is build a habit of coming home to yourself and going within whenever things feel rocky.
benefits of daily meditation
- lower blood pressure
- Improved blood circulation
- lower heart rate
- less perspiration
- slower respiratory rate
- less anxiety
- lower blood cortisol levels
- more feelings of well-being
- less stress
- deeper relaxation
tips for building a consistent practice
let go of any expectations and just start
+ wandering thoughts are normal. the point isn’t to turn off your brain from having thoughts, when a thought comes up, just bring your attention back to your breathing.
+ use a guided app – I like open!
consistency is better than perfection
+ the HOW is usually more important than the what when it comes to building a new habit. you might even be telling yourself that you don’t have time to do this. you might be thinking, 5 minutes isn’t enough!
+ let go of not wanting to do something unless you’re perfect at it. When I started I genuinely began at 5 minutes 1x daily and now meditate for 20 minutes 2x a day. I built the habit, felt the impact, and came back to it.
get comfortable
+ scents are a great way to tell your brain its time. essential oils for your practice or even using a candle to signal to your brain that this is the time for this will help you create consistency and feel more comfortable stepping into this space
+ sit however is most comfortable to you. you don’t have to sit upright cross-cross applesauce. be comfortable. if you like lying down, seated, laying back, even lying in bed works if this is what gets you to do it.
create a routine
+ create a physical space – if you can dedicate a physical area in your home to this habit, it will be so much easier to just bring yourself there and do it. i am currently meditating outside on my patio after feeding my dogs their breakfast and it is so wonderful to open my eyes and be immersed in nature.
+ time – use it as your “commute” – there’s a lot of stress in sitting down at your computer (if you WFH) for your first meeting at 8:59 and going right into it. give yourself a chance to switch gears from home to work and have it on the calendar. if work starts at 9, maybe work really starts at 8:45 so you can get in a good meditation.
your practice doesn’t begin until you want to get up
+ when you start to feel anxious or want to go do all the things – i’m here to tell you that isn’t you. that’s your ego. your brain is trying to trick you into something “more interesting” or “more productive” but being able to sit with yourself and just be is a muscle you can build. if you set aside 5 minutes and feel anxious the first 4, that’s okay and means its working!
+ training your mind to be where you are starts with a simple 5 minutes a day practice that can lead. to a whole life of entering each day feeling grounded and centered.