Keeping up with my Be Happy Be Healthy series and all the little things I am doing to stay on a positive vibe track, I wanted to tell you all about my meditation journey. Up until a couple of months ago and despite knowing all the amazing benefits that come with shutting down my brain for a few minutes every day, I couldn’t meditate. Not for the life of me. No matter how much I tried, I felt lost and unable. It felt scary.
One of my excuses for not meditating was I have no time for it. As a mum of three, you can imagine how busy and noisy our home can be. So meditation? Pfff, are you fucking kidding me? I barely have time to drink my tea while it’s still hot and I rarely go to the toilet without an audience so meditating, blocking the thoughts, the to-do lists and all the feelings that come with being a mother and a human just seemed like an impossible feat.
One of the first things I did when I felt I really needed to give this whole meditation thing a go was find a good app. Weird right? But it’s actually the most convenient way to go about it. I went with Headspace. Do you know it? I signed up but didn’t pay for a subscription as I wanted to be sure I could commit. It’s an amazing application, well-designed and easy to navigate. Lots of freebies including a whole course for beginners and sounds that lull you to sleep like rain and waves. What I immediately loved about it though was the timing options; you can try anything from a two-minute meditation to a 30-minute one. I started at two minutes and gradually worked my way up to 10 minutes which I do almost every day now.
So when do I meditate? It’s always after the kids have gone to bed. Only then can I find the time to switch off. In August, after the heat had subsided and I began my two-minute meditation sessions, I would sit outside on the veranda, put my headphones on and just lie down. That’s another thing that always scared me or put me off meditation: Do I have to sit up straight with crossed legs? I have that image in my head, which is probably the same one you have, of a completely tranquil and perfect being sitting in utter peace. So uncomfortable if you ask me so it’s a no on sitting! I prefer to lie down and you know what? It’s fine, it’s ok, do it in whatever position makes you happy and above all, relaxed. Realising that took a huge load off my shoulders. Headspace and any other meditation applications you may have heard of, like Calm, are basically guided meditation, which I found immensely helpful rather than just sitting in an awkward silence and forcing myself to be still. There are loads of guided meditation videos on YouTube too if you prefer that.
What changes have I noticed since I started meditating? They are subtle, minor changes in the way I react to certain situations which yes could be down to a number of things as I am on this Be Happy Be Healthy journey and have been taking in a lot of information on mental health over the past few months. But I feel generally more relaxed. Don’t get me wrong, I have my moments, often, but nowhere near the amount I used to have. One change I definitely noticed and I know is due to meditation is in my sleep patterns. I have been meditating right before bedtime lately. After I complete my skin care routine, which I have also tried as a kind of meditation, my comfiest pyjamas go on, I slip into bed and hit the play button. Sometimes I might listen to a guided meditation and other times I prefer to listen to a 45-minute rain track -because I love the rain- and will easily drift off within minutes.
I kept resisting meditation in the past, I felt it was too much for me, that it would be hard because my expectations were too high, because I couldn’t understand that the idea I had in my head did not have to be MY reality. I wanted to do something and I found a way to do it. If you want to make space for some meditation in your life – and I strongly suggest you do – start small, like me, start at bedtime, start when you’re overwhelmed and feel like you’re drowning. Take two minutes. That’s it.
—————-
More Be Happy Be Health tips:
And on doing yoga everyday.
