My goal with this blog is to give you real life tips and tools to help you live your happiest and healthiest life.  I have been studying and testing out different modalities for years now and they have helped me so much in finding contentment, reducing my chronic unhappiness and feeling so much better in my body.  

Meditation has been one thing I come back to over and over again as it has helped me on this healing journey so much.  When I am practicing this daily, or at least a few times a week, I notice a reduction in my anxiety, stress and restlessness.  It helps guide me to make better decisions by giving me clarity, improved sleep and it’s easier for me to make better decisions about how I am feeding and nourishing my body.

Meditation has even been scientifically proven to help in so many areas of your life.  I will dive in and discuss these at a later date but for now just get started and notice the positive benefits it brings to your own life! After all, results are the best, and most convincing, way of understanding how this modality works for you.

Having trouble getting started?  I’m here to help.  Here are my five steps to easily starting your meditation practice:

1. Schedule it!  Pick a time of day to meditate and stick to it. This one is big because most people never get started because they believe they don’t have time. If it is scheduled you already know when you are going to do it and so you are less likely to forget or skip it.  This really sets you up for success when starting the practice.  Maybe you plan it right after you wake up, or after you brush your teeth or maybe it’s in your car before or after lunch.  Anytime is good just commit to incorporating it into your day.

2. Pick an amount of time to start with and a goal time to build up to. I recommend you start small and slowly build up over time.  You set yourself up for success when you start small and you are less likely to talk yourself out of it.  If it is just one minute you can easily find the time so maybe that is the best place to start.  A great goal is to slowly work up to 10, 15 or even 20 minutes.  I prefer 15 minutes twice a day but with two young children sometimes one 10 minute session a day is even tricky to fit in so you can play around with it and figure out what works best for you. The key, whatever you will actually do is the best amount of time.

3. Sit quietly and comfortably and close your eyes. Pick a place and get comfortable.  You can either sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground or sit on the floor with your legs crossed.  Just try to get your spine straight. Next, close your eyes.

4. Bring awareness to your breath. Start to notice your breath.  Take long deep breaths in and out through your nose.

5. Don’t attach to your thoughts. The goal of meditation is not to have no thoughts at all but to not attach to them.  When thoughts come into your mind just let them drift on by.  Don’t try to figure them out, break them down, or start thinking about your to do list.  Just acknowledge they were there and let them know you will get to them later if needed. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people say they can’t meditate because they can’t stop their thoughts so this should clarify for you that it is okay to have thoughts. It is normal to have thoughts. You can recognize all the chatter, sometimes referred to as the monkey mind, and see it for what it is just thoughts floating by. If you are having thoughts, know you are normal and you can meditate!

There are many types of meditation but for ease of starting out just follow the tips above.  By making something complicated we find excuses not to even start.  So my best advice for you is JUST START!  

Follow the Bliss!