Stress comes in many ways to many different people, and sometimes we just need to quiet our mind for a moment. Distractions like stress stop us from being aware and present in moment, limiting your happiness level to your brains capacity to handle stress. The purpose of meditation is to create a greater self-awareness level and appreciation for the current moment through breathing techniques. I can personally attest to the importance of meditation, as I have been using it for years after my near-death accident 2012 which sent me my holistic healing path, the most challenging points in my life. Although consistently adding it to my daily routine has become essential for me, I will admit that I did not have an idea of how to start meditating and then to bring it into my life without it seeming like a chore. Here are 5 ways that I used to incorporate meditation into my life.
- Less social media, more nature
Social media has become a large part of many people’s lives in the world today, and accessible from almost anywhere. While social media does have obvious benefits, there is no denying that there is a large percentage of time wasted on mindless scrolling, and even studies showing decreases in self-esteem with increased social media scrolling. A simple way to bring meditation into your life is to trade 20-30 minutes of that scrolling time into time spent in nature. Ecotherapy is an entire scientific area dedicated to this exact subject. Ecotherapy studies the relationship between the brain and nature and has found that even just the visual aspects of nature have a soothing affect on our minds. Simply spending 20-30 minutes each day outside and in some way appreciating the natural world is a great self-improvement tool for those with high stress levels.
2. Do it right before bed
A seamless way to add meditation to your daily routine, is to do it right before you go to bed every night. Meditation before bed is not only a natural sleep aid for you, but a way to reflect on the day that you had and put any negative thoughts behind you. According to a CDC study, 35% of adults sleep less than hours a night are a missing a crucial part of their mental fitness. Many of those people, as I have, have nights where you are lying in bed scrolling through your favorites social platform for a few minutes, and as you shut off the lights and prepare to get some sleep, your mind starts racing wildly. Perhaps a more beneficial bedtime routine might be necessary. Adding a meditation before bed will not only eliminate the negative effects of artificial light before sleeping, but give you a chance to calm those racing thoughts, reflect on the day that you had, and prepare yourself for a better night’s sleep.
3. Shower
Water is a purification element and is meant to wash away negative and unwanted thoughts. A water meditation does not have to be done in an actual body of water, you can actually do it in your tub or shower. An amazingly easy way to sneak in your meditation, is to do deep breathing in the shower as you hear the water and feel more focused. Personally, this is how I started to include meditation in my life and is something that I still continue to practice.
4. Yoga
This one seems kind of obvious doesn’t it? Even though there are more than 100 types of yoga practiced and taught in the world, meditation and breathing techniques are incorporated in all of them. Along with the physical benefits of yoga like injury prevention, weight loss, and cardio health, it is a great way to control and manage your stress. For the duration of the session, your focus is directed toward the various poses instead of those pesky negative racing thoughts.
5. Do that one thing that you love to do
We all have that one hobby that we love and immersing yourself in that activity is another great way to bring meditation into your life. Not only do you get to make specific time for your favorite hobby, but you will be able to increase your mental fitness as well. Whether it is hiking, fishing, exercising, running, or your own personal preference, becoming intensely focused on your activity allows you to become more conscious of the current moment. This in turn will draw focus away from unwanted brain activity and towards the current moment.
If you feel you have no time to mediate or you feel you can’t because your mind is so busy like us all with the pandemic, there is a very simple way to start
Looking at the waves in the oceans watching them hit the sand on the beach, even a ripple of water in a lake, any living water, yes that’s right you are meditating. See anyone can mediate that one of my favorite ways.