Episode 53 – 4 Easy Steps To Build A Meditation Practice
Are you thinking about building a meditation practice? Good for you! You’re only four quick steps away from living a healthier lifestyle. In this post on the 4 Ways To Build A Meditation Practice, I’m going to guide you to developing the tools you need for creating this powerful daily practice.
Are you thinking about building a meditation practice? Good for you! You’re only four quick steps away from living a healthier lifestyle. In this post on the 4 Ways To Build A Meditation Practice, I’m going to guide you to developing the tools you need for creating this powerful daily practice. Starting a meditation practice may be one of the best things you can do for your health. Taking a daily pause can reduce your risk of chronic illness and improve your work-life balance. Meditating can also help you lose weight — and even improve your productivity, sleep habits and self-confidence.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a state where you are contemplating and reflecting, but yet with a very clear mind. Learning to meditate with a mantra is the perfect starting point to getting you to free your mind, and feeling happy and healthy. By repeating a mantra, you focus your brain activity on something outside of the typical mind-chatter. You learn to “zone-out” the interfering thoughts/stressors/interruptions while you reach a state of deeper and higher concentration. Notice how I emphasized the “learn” piece? Yes, meditation requires practice to truly understand what the mind is doing and how to achieve those deeper states of consciousness.
A Few Key Benefits of Meditation
In the Episode on The 5 Myths About Meditation, I briefly touched upon the health and wellness benefits that mantra-style meditation provides. You may also want to listen to episode 33 on the 5 Interested Facts About Meditation. Having the facts will enhance your “why”.
When you learn to meditate properly, you can develop a super mind; one that is boosted with creativity, and productivity while being at rest and peace. Dr Norman Rosenthal wrote an entire book on the concept of building a super mind through meditation. Check it out here on Amazon. You may or may not experience or perceive these results right away…until you actually miss your meditation. But this pause actually rejuvenates the brain and the mind goes to work for you, instead of the feeling you get after a nap…sometimes you can feel sluggish.
How To Build A Sustainable Meditation Practice:
1. Consider Your Meditation Goals
In episode 15, on creating a meditation space, I discussed the importance of knowing why you’re meditating. You want to figure this out in order for you to build out the proper space. The “Why Factor” is really important to reflect upon when you’re about to embark on any new behaviour.
Do you want to learn new things about yourself, or is this a new skill you want to obtain strictly for stress management?
Refining your meditation goals will help you maintain a meditation practice when don’t feel like meditating. When you consider why you’re doing something…the practice has the potential of lasting you a lifetime. This will become your go-to system forever.
By carefully considering your meditation goals, you have a better chance at building a sustainable meditation practice. I’m talking about a health practice that will provide you comfort in the worst of times – as opposed to a habit you let slide when times get tough. This is a habit that will take you through the birth of your child and the death of your spouse. Yes, I said it, the death of your spouse…or someone you love the most in the world. That’s how much I believe in the word, “sustainable”.
2. Question Your Motivations
To be honest, this is probably the most important part of developing a long-term meditation practice. Above understanding your goals, knowing what motivates you to actually learn this technique can help you improve your process. The important thing is to do what suits you best and to have fun with it.
When you meditate regularly, it instantly creates better health and balance (it’s even proven!). That means that meditation is healing and can provide you with longevity.
Is health & longevity a motivating factor for you to learn this style of meditation?
Are you struggling with sleep and need to set yourself as a priority?
3. Create A Balanced Meditation Routine
The best way to create a balanced routine is to schedule it. You also want to avoid being rushed.
Once you make that commitment to yourself and you have your meditation in your schedule, you need to live in integrity and follow-through with that routine. If you follow-through each day, with ease and persistence, you truly elevate your standards of living – based on values of health and balance.
With a balanced routine, the important thing is to go easy on yourself – but not let yourself off the hook. You don’t want to be rushed to get your meditation in. You want to feel balanced and whole. But again, by scheduling this as a part of your day, you know that you’ll be able to do this one activity at the best time in the day for you.
When you build a meditation practice that’s consistent, and balanced, it’ll feel good to do this each day. You’ll want to set it as a priority, just like making your coffee in the morning or running a hot bath at night. I tend to meditate each night around 6pm, when my daughter is winding down for bed. I know the house is calm and she won’t need me for anything. My morning meditation is less consistent but I’m flexible enough and fit it in when it’s best. You should do the same.
4. Work With A Meditation Coach
Now you’re ready for action. In order to begin, you’ll want to learn from a mentor with enough experience with meditation and with teaching. For me, meditation is not just the “flavour of the month”, a quick and easy strategy that I teach my clients. I’ve spent a lot of time refining my course and how I teach it to offer my students the best experience.
Meditation has the potential of offering you life-altering daily experiences that can take you from surface thought to deeper thought. It can also take you from deep thought to a space of peace, bliss and eventually enlightenment. Wherever you want to go, meditation will take you there – and this is a lifelong journey that I’m grateful to be a part of. Having said that, you want to work with a meditation coach that’s experienced enough to take you through this journey. The mind is a powerful thing, but it also has the ability to be faulty.
I’ve been meditating for over 20 years. I’ve still not cracked the code to the almighty powers of enlightenment, but I know that when I take my last breath, I will have lived a deep and enriching life – as a direct result of my daily meditation practice (one that was build on the foundations of sustainability). Let me guide you towards a deeper and more enriching life too! Head over to the Mantra Studio to find out more. We run groups, and a new digital program is coming your way soon too.
If you liked this post, share it, and go ahead and leave me a comment about what you’d like to get most out of a meditation practice.
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