Meditation is the apex of mindfulness practice. It is where we express our skills at presence and awareness and acceptance. For many people, however, meditation is intimidating. It doesn’t need to be.
Meditation takes many forms. From transcendental to Zen to simple breathing, meditation is a practice like anything else. Just like lifting weights or bettering nutritional choices it requires practice. And also like the aforementioned skills, building consistency in small doses is more important than going all in and quitting a few weeks later.
For me, a big roadblock has always been my own perfectionism. I felt that meditation had to be done first thing in the morning (because that’s how it’s portrayed). Well, I take my dog out first thing and then drink my coffee. I also write early. I can’t be expected to meditate. And if I can’t do it first thing it’s clearly useless.
In reality it’s just about quieting the mind and practicing presence. You can meditate at lunch or before bed. I even have some clients who have started to meditate before they head home from work, knowing that food triggers often begin in that time period.
Start small. 10 minutes a day. Build consistency. Make it easier on yourself by using an app like Headspace or Insight Timer. Guided meditations will make it easier if it’s new to you.
Most of all, just start. Meditation has the potential to help mitigate maladaptive stress response. There are a myriad of benefits and no negative potential side effects. What else can you say that about?
