Why You Should Start Meditating For 15 Minutes A Day

Meditation is one of those complex terms that is so hard to define in one sentence due to the words' history in cultures/religions and the way the practice has transformed over the centuries. The use of wisdom and techniques gained over the years has changed as society has modernised/become more fast paced. In the West we use meditation primarily as a tool to reduce stress and induce a state of relaxation as opposed to understanding the sacred and mystical forces of life. 

There are many misconceptions about meditation that need to be addressed before moving on:

1. Meditation and yoga in general goes against my religion because it comes from another - Nearly every religion, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, has a tradition of using meditative practices.
2. You have to be cross legged, still, quiet and close your eyes (say ommmmm) - This couldn't be further from the truth and if you stopped meditating because you felt tied to these conditions then another type might be more suited to you. 
3. Successful meditation is when your mind stays blank and thoughts don't pop up - While the aim is to quieten the mind in more advanced types of meditation it is deemed unhealthy to limit thinking at any stage and might be considered counterproductive; it all depends on you and the benefits you are trying to reap from mindfulness.
4. You will see improvement straight away - Nothing that's worthwhile is easy to master and expectedly requires consistency and time; undoubtedly you will experience bumps along the way. Most have a negative experience after the first time they meditate but that's not to say some won't have a positive one; it all depends on how you feel going into it and your outlook and self awareness afterwards.
5. Science has proven all there is to know about the benefits - The field of research in this area is limited and there is still so much to discover about the benefits. There are so many types of meditation and the studies in practice are very short term; scientists are still unsure of the long term benefits.
6. The benefits are limited to just reducing stress and anxiety - While these might be the main benefits of meditating they don't even scratch the surface of the deep psychological and physiological work it is capable of.

Tools you could use to enhance your meditation experience:

1. Tibetan Singing Bowls
2. Incense & Candles
3. Malas 
4. Chair & Cushions 
5. Music & Guided Meditations

* Check out our first #meditationmondays on the 6th March to see how and why you might use these tools *

Some types of meditation and their benefits; note that many types of meditations share the same characteristics:

1. Loving-kindness meditation - Aims to cultivate an attitude of love and kindness toward everything, even a person’s enemies and sources of stress; this entails deep breathing and sending spoken messages whilst using visualisation.
2. Mindfulness meditation - This can be carried out anywhere (sitting in traffic), inducing awareness and presence in the moment rather than dwelling on negativity in the past or dreading the future; this brings awareness to the breath and thoughts and how you can use them to control how we want to feel instead.
3. Progressive muscle relaxation - This is done to promote generalised feelings of calmness/relaxation and is very beneficial for drifting off to sleep; it is a process of tensing and then relaxing the muscles while visualising a wave, drifting over your body to release tension (start at one end of the body, usually feet, and work through to the top).
4. Breath-awareness meditation - Very easily tied to mindfulness they share many of the same benefits such as reducing anxiety and stress, improving concentration as well as increased emotional flexibility; breathe slowly and deeply, counting your breaths with the goal to focus only on breathing and ignore other thoughts that enter the mind (unlike mindfulness).
5. Mantra-based meditation - This can be done in any setting (home or at work) to achieve small to moderate decreases in anxiety, as well as small reductions in depression by redirecting negative thoughts; it involves the continuous repetition of a set of syllables, phrases, or words either aloud or silently. 
6. Guided meditation - Rather than an individual’s own mind directing a meditation, which a beginner may find challenging, listening to someone else’s voice may reduce time and does not require experience; available live or via recordings which makes it very accessible to listen to at home, at work, whilst running and can be in the form of videos, podcasts, apps, and audio recordings.

How to seamlessly fit 15 mins of this into your daily, ever growing, to do list:

• Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier in the morning and make it a part of your routine
• Set a reminder to designate time if you are very busy
• If it helps create a space you will want to spend time in, to do these meditations (plants, candles, crystals, incense etc.)
• Choose a day of the week that is non negotiable to start forming the habit
• Stay intuitive throughout the day and notice when you might benefit from the above types of meditation
• You don't necessarily need to find a space or fixed time; certain meditations can be done during small tasks such as walking or doing yoga or even eating
• Before sleeping finish your self care routine in bed 
• Reduce the time spent scrolling through your phone
• Shut down any doubt, try not to worry or think ‘am i doing this right?’ / ‘is this even working?’ 
• Choose just one type of meditation to focus on initially, it is easy to become overwhelmed, take it one session at a time

If you feel called to try meditation for the first time or maybe just want to switch it up and try a different style, then please check out our #meditationmondays challenge; commencing this march on our Instagram. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.