Meditation should be a part of your daily routine. It is a great way to start the day and ground you for the stress that will be coming once you get out into the world. Meditation has a calming effect and is scientifically proven to lower blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety.
During times of stress or anxiety, your breath tends to quicken. It becomes shallower and faster. If you can focus on your breath by taking long, deep inhales and long, slow exhales it will help you to become calmer and more at peace. The practice of placing your focus on your breath alone helps you to turn your attention from the stress and anxiety you are feeling.
Meditation practiced regularly is a form of training for the mind. Meditation improves your focus and helps when you are under stress. There are different avenues you can use to achieve a state of Meditation.
The easiest avenue to achieve a state of Meditation for beginners is to listen to a guided meditation. A guided meditation is a process where you sit or lay down and listen to the voice of the guide who instructs you on what to do every step of the way. This form of meditation creates a visual scenario that helps you to place your focus on the visual scenario being narrated. You can listen to my “31 Days of Magic” mediation to get you into a habit. It is a short 5-minute meditation. Listen here:
My favorite guided meditation gurus are The Honest Guys. They are professional guided meditators and have a variety of subjects to choose from on their YouTube channel. You can listen to one of their meditations here:
For more seasoned Meditators, the art of intentional focus is practiced. Basically, you find a sound and you place your focus there. As thoughts enter your mind while it is slowing down and focusing more intently, you just let them drift through and float away bringing your attention back to the sound you chose to focus on.
The length of meditation can be short or long. It is up to the person who is meditating. Setting a timer, in the beginning, is a good idea, especially if you have a specific amount of time that you want to meditate. I recommend starting out with a 10 or 15 minute guided meditation and work your way up to longer meditations.
Starting every day with meditation will be a wonderful and healthy wellbeing habit. It will set you up to navigate your day grounded and able to bounce stress off of you in a positive way instead of a stressful day. You can also end your day with a relaxing meditation which is very helpful if you have a hard time falling to sleep. Start your meditation practice!
