(see below for some of the benefits of meditation).
My mom has been a regular meditator since I was in my 20s and she has always sworn it makes you more calm and happy.
When I was ready to start really paying attention to my health I was already in my late 30s. Meditation was not really on my radar because I was more focused on figuring out to nourish my body food-wise.
However, over the past 8 years or so, I have become more and more clear on the deep value of meditation.
Meditation is a very, very powerful way to improve your health.
If you are stressed, tired, irritable, anxious, worried, or overwhelmed, meditation can seriously make things better.
So I’ve been recommending practicing meditation to my patients and clients for about as long.
However, for myself, I have always struggled.
It’s not for a lack of interest or appreciation for how effective meditation is for optimizing your health.
Rather I believe it has been because I think I’m really bad at meditation.
I sit, close my eyes, and I try and try to clear my mind. But my mind still races like crazy. I have tried all kinds of cool techniques and sometimes they actually do work but more often I feel unsuccessful.
I love the imagery stuff. One particular activity that has helped me focus is to imagine love and energy pouring out of the major chakra areas in my body (don’t ask how I even know what or where a chakra is).
Chakras are concentrated areas throughout the body that have spiritual power. Or something like that. I’m sorry, I don’t claim to be an expert in Chakras but I’m sure they exist because I can feel them.
Every time I concentrate on imagining energy flowing in and out of the Chakras I feel something really powerful. I’ll leave it at that because I don’t really understand it.
Anyway, even though I have this Chakra thing going on, I otherwise, have been pretty “bad” at meditating.
My mind always wanders.
This led me to a great little book called “10% Happier” by Dan Harris.
This book is not only a fun and entertaining read, it also completely changed my view on meditation.
So, I started using the app and leaving it to an expert to guide me through my meditations. It’s awesome by the way!
Yes, to some it may seem like a cop-out but I have found that most of my clients are happy and probably are secretly relieved when I tell them they can use an app.
Why not!?
What I have learned is that really there is no such thing as “bad” meditating. Just like what I teach my clients in their health journeys, it’s not about the end-goal, it’s about the process.
Same goes for meditation.
It’s the act of noticing your mind is wandering and then making some kind of effort to be present and focus on one thing like the breath that makes it meditation.
No one gets a gold star for being better at meditation than someone else.
For those of us that are striving to be our best selves and need willpower sometimes, this is a huge bonus!
And we get a few precious seconds (if we’re lucky) of being fully present in the moment. And that, my friends, as far as I’m concerned, is the true meaning of happiness.
So, I’m not going to try to be a good meditator or a bad one. I’m just going to turn on the app and not feel guilty or somehow insufficient because I need the app.
Maybe someday I’ll be able to meditate on my own but for now I’m going to take whatever moments of being in the moment that I can!!
Overall improved health (3,4)
Improved cardiovascular health (5,6)
Reduced stress, anxiety, and depression (7, 8)
Reduced binge eating (9)
Weight loss benefits (10)
Improved sleep quality (11)
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