I am a mix of excited and intimidated about getting started this week. It's an exciting thing to envision a life of reaping the benefits of a regular meditation practice, but a daunting one to consider sticking to it every single day. My tendencies do not lend themselves to things like this, for an entire year no less, so I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a touch nervous about making myself stick to this.
In an effort to start simple (for myself and for anyone that might be following along), I chose Guided Meditation for this first week. Most people are familiar with it - there are apps, podcasts, YouTube videos, and life coaches offering recordings ALL over the place. Want to focus on a certain thing or event? There's a meditation for it, for sure.
My friends and I listened to a full moon meditation during my full moon party this summer, and it was great! It was peaceful and full of beautiful imagery, and doing this one outdoors under the moonlight was particularly satisfying. It might be my favorite guided meditation.
My husband uses Headspace, which is a very popular app (if not the most popular meditation app). Maybe this is petty, but I personally cannot stand the voice of the guy on that app, so I don't enjoy it myself. But I have tried Calm & Meditation Studio in the past. The beauty of this type of meditation is that there are so many options out there (something for everyone!) and being lead into this journey rather than stumbling around it trying to get our footing seems like a great way to get started.
Let's dig into this week's Meditation!
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This Week's Type: Traditional Guided Meditation
A Little Background: Any recording that guides you through a meditation process, completed as an individual or in a group. Guidance can be provided in person, or through text, video, or audio recording. Traditional seated meditation posture is usually recommended, but not always.
My Predictions/Initial Thoughts: For me, guided meditations are like "meditating lite". While I appreciate the imagery they can provide or the direction they can lead me in, I get really hung up on minor details like - the way the person's voice sounds, the words they choose to use or the way they pronounce them, how goofy some of their comparisons can be - all things that pull my mind away from awareness or focus. I feel like I need something a bit more subtle to really get a good feel in meditation. However, when I'm feeling like my brain is overloaded and maybe not capable of the focus it takes to really get into the zone, a guided meditation is enough to just get me to a slightly clearer headspace. So I think this will be beneficial, especially on busy days, but probably not as much as other types.
My Game Plan: I'm not an early riser, and when I manage to get myself up and out of bed early, I'm not capable of much. Sipping coffee and reading or journaling is about it. So my meditation practice will likely not be first thing in the morning like I assume it would be for many. Instead, I'm going to focus on the afternoon lull - after picking my boys up for school and before the evening craziness of homework and dinner. So maybe 3pm or so.
During this week, I'd like to do meditations from...
- The 10% Happier app (haven't chosen one yet)
- Something by Thich Nhat Hanh (this one sounds nice, but maybe this one because #3kids)
- Something by Tara Brach (maybe this or this)
- A Meditation podcast, probably from Meditation Oasis (haven't chosen one yet)
How To Play Along (if you want to): Pick any number of guided mediations from any sources or platforms that speak to you. You can do the same one every day this week, or a mixture of types and teachers each day, as I plan to. Feel free to use the sources I linked to above, or anything you can find that speaks to you! (Please do let me know if you find something wonderful!) Your guided meditations can be as little as 5 minutes or as many as 60 - it's up to you and what you feel comfortable doing. Try to find a quiet place where you can hear your meditation well while also minimizing distractions. If you have kids, like I do, do a little prep to make them aware that it's your quiet time. I'm going to put a "Mom's Meditating" sign on my bedroom door and give them a heads up to not bother me for 30 minutes. Follow your chosen meditation's advice for your posture or positioning and adjust it until you feel comfortable.
Good luck, and we'll chat on Friday!
In an effort to start simple (for myself and for anyone that might be following along), I chose Guided Meditation for this first week. Most people are familiar with it - there are apps, podcasts, YouTube videos, and life coaches offering recordings ALL over the place. Want to focus on a certain thing or event? There's a meditation for it, for sure.
My friends and I listened to a full moon meditation during my full moon party this summer, and it was great! It was peaceful and full of beautiful imagery, and doing this one outdoors under the moonlight was particularly satisfying. It might be my favorite guided meditation.
My husband uses Headspace, which is a very popular app (if not the most popular meditation app). Maybe this is petty, but I personally cannot stand the voice of the guy on that app, so I don't enjoy it myself. But I have tried Calm & Meditation Studio in the past. The beauty of this type of meditation is that there are so many options out there (something for everyone!) and being lead into this journey rather than stumbling around it trying to get our footing seems like a great way to get started.
Let's dig into this week's Meditation!
- - - - -
This Week's Type: Traditional Guided Meditation
A Little Background: Any recording that guides you through a meditation process, completed as an individual or in a group. Guidance can be provided in person, or through text, video, or audio recording. Traditional seated meditation posture is usually recommended, but not always.
My Predictions/Initial Thoughts: For me, guided meditations are like "meditating lite". While I appreciate the imagery they can provide or the direction they can lead me in, I get really hung up on minor details like - the way the person's voice sounds, the words they choose to use or the way they pronounce them, how goofy some of their comparisons can be - all things that pull my mind away from awareness or focus. I feel like I need something a bit more subtle to really get a good feel in meditation. However, when I'm feeling like my brain is overloaded and maybe not capable of the focus it takes to really get into the zone, a guided meditation is enough to just get me to a slightly clearer headspace. So I think this will be beneficial, especially on busy days, but probably not as much as other types.
My Game Plan: I'm not an early riser, and when I manage to get myself up and out of bed early, I'm not capable of much. Sipping coffee and reading or journaling is about it. So my meditation practice will likely not be first thing in the morning like I assume it would be for many. Instead, I'm going to focus on the afternoon lull - after picking my boys up for school and before the evening craziness of homework and dinner. So maybe 3pm or so.
During this week, I'd like to do meditations from...
- The 10% Happier app (haven't chosen one yet)
- Something by Thich Nhat Hanh (this one sounds nice, but maybe this one because #3kids)
- Something by Tara Brach (maybe this or this)
- A Meditation podcast, probably from Meditation Oasis (haven't chosen one yet)
How To Play Along (if you want to): Pick any number of guided mediations from any sources or platforms that speak to you. You can do the same one every day this week, or a mixture of types and teachers each day, as I plan to. Feel free to use the sources I linked to above, or anything you can find that speaks to you! (Please do let me know if you find something wonderful!) Your guided meditations can be as little as 5 minutes or as many as 60 - it's up to you and what you feel comfortable doing. Try to find a quiet place where you can hear your meditation well while also minimizing distractions. If you have kids, like I do, do a little prep to make them aware that it's your quiet time. I'm going to put a "Mom's Meditating" sign on my bedroom door and give them a heads up to not bother me for 30 minutes. Follow your chosen meditation's advice for your posture or positioning and adjust it until you feel comfortable.
Good luck, and we'll chat on Friday!
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