The #1 Supplement To Reduce Your Stress Levels Dramatically Stress is at an all time high these days!
Time is going faster than ever and there’s a million things to do. Add on the feelings of needing to make up for lost time from the past few years and the stress we experience is off the charts!
Chronic stress is terrible for every aspect of your life. Not only does it increase risk of heart attack and stroke, it takes down your immune system so you’re more likely to get sick. It also decreases your digestion while increasing your hunger so elevated stress hormones literally makes you fat! Increased muscle tension, decreased sleep quality… the list goes on and on! On top of these physical effects, the mental effects are even worse – negative mood & mindset, anxiety, depression, increased addictions (to substances, social media, or anything else).
Stress is overwhelming.
As a busy entrepreneur that manages 2 businesses, best selling published author, and a committed wife and dog mom, I know a lot about stress! Everything really got worse earlier this year when I was publishing my book. Not only was I racing to meet the due dates for the book, I was working through a laundry list of publishing steps, and doing a TON of marketing to get the message of my book out there (I went to 24 networking events in 30 days!). Sometimes it seems like no matter what I do there’s no way of ever catching up because the world is moving so fast! Not only was I living in a constant state of stress, every aspect of my life was suffering. I was hardly sleeping – it would take me hours to fall asleep and then I would wake up repeatedly in the middle of the night with my mind racing. I had no time for any relationships in my life. My husband had to take on a bunch of extra responsibility to support me, which made me feel guilty and stressed. Plus publishing the book was a financial stress because of unforeseen costs, I invested triple the amount I was expecting to. And my anxiety was higher than it had ever been. Pushing to meet due dates and balance my businesses, I was cutting corners on my self-care time (even though I know better).
One thing that reduced my stress by 75% in 2 days.
Add on the natural roller coaster of publishing a book, and it was a wild ride. On the good days I was riding super high and on the bad days I was lower than I’ve been before. After a while I noticed the reason WHY my anxiety was so high and I had been suffering so much. In cutting corners in my self-care time, I had stopped taking my probiotics! You see I have been taking Amare FundaMentals probiotics everyday for the last 5 years. These probiotics are a LIFESAVER in reducing anxiety, depression, and helping your body better cope with stress! After taking them for 2 days I noticed a significant difference! My anxiety was down by 75% (even though I still had the same amount of things on my to-do list, I felt more capable of handling them). The overarching sense of doom and fear that my book would flop went from crushing to totally manageable. I started sleeping better on the second night and stopped waking up with racing thoughts. I was kinder to my husband and started taking more time for my self-care because my stress was no longer crushing. Literally every aspect of my life got better because I felt better!
Scientifically Proven to Reduce Stress
The cool thing about Amare is that it’s not just me. This probiotic is specifically formulated and scientifically to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress.
Here are the results from the scientific study:
- Lowers tension by 45%
- Lowers depression by 55%
- Lowers anger by 54%
- Lowers fatigue by 64%
- Lowers confusion by 43%
- Increases vigor for life by 44%
Ready to reduce your stress levels?
Have you wished that there was a magical pill you could take that would dramatically decrease your stress levels to help you feel more calm? The Amare FundaMentals is it! These are the most incredible supplement I’ve ever taken, so I’ve joined the Amare team to help spread the word about the amazing benefits!
Don’t take my word for it, try them for yourself! One of the amazing things about Amare is they offer a one year money-back guarantee on all of the products (anything more than 60 days is unheard of with supplement companies). This is because they truly believe in their products and stand behind their effectiveness!
Place an order for these probiotics to start reducing your stress today! If you have questions or would like to chat with Kitty to find out if these are right for you, feel free to book a FREE 30 minute call.
Journey of Live an Empowered Life Now – Part 2
My dream of my book becoming a BESTSELLER on Amazon has come true! I am so proud of this accomplishment, it was definitely a bumpy road to get here.
How Vision Made This Happen
The first step I took that helped me reach this goal was getting clear on what I wanted. It had always been my dream to write a book and I kept saying to myself “Someday I will write a book!” In September 2022 I felt the nudge to turn someday into “Why not start writing my book today?” Once I decided to write my book I incorporated it into my vision. My vision helped me get crystal clear on exactly what I wanted to accomplish from launching this book. I spent time visualizing what it would be like to have the book completed, what it meant to me, how I wanted to serve others, and what would be included in this book. Thankfully all the resources I needed came to me and it was easy to get started. Like most goals there were some bumps along the way. Regardless of the speed bumps that came up, I was clear what I wanted which helped me maintain focus and keep working towards creating what I wanted. As soon as I wrote this book, I knew that it would be an amazing tool to help others achieve their biggest dreams and goals. The more I got into the process, the more excited I got and also the more anxiety came up! What if people didn’t like my book? What were people going to think when I shared my story? What makes me think I’m an authority on the subject enough that people want to listen to me? All of these self-defeating thoughts came up and instead of resisting them and pushing them down, I just sat with them and let them be. I realized that my subconscious was creating self-defeating thoughts to keep me safe from potentially feeling rejected and judged. Now matter what came up, I stayed focused on my goal of launching this book and having it rise to the rank of best seller!
Believe It Can Happen
Throughout the entire process of writing, designing, and creating the book, I kept having to remind myself that this was really happening. It felt kind of like a fairy tale. I didn’t yet identify myself as an author, so there were elements of this process that just didn’t feel real. it wasn’t until I had the book in my hands that I actually realized, ” Wow I’m an author!” Even when doubts came up even when we hit the roadblocks I kept doubling down on my belief that this book would be a bestseller and change people’s lives. Even though the book only launched a week and a half ago, I have had multiple people reach out to me to tell me how much this book has impacted their lives and how grateful they am that I wrote it. In the first week it launched, I was impatiently waiting for it to be a bestseller. I ranked #1 New Release in five categories and still and seem to be stuck at number #2 Best Seller in a couple categories. There were a few moments where I questioned whether or not I could make it and to be #1 Best Seller. When those moments came up, I paused and spent a couple minutes visualizing what it would be like to celebrate when I hit #1 Best Seller. I never let go of my dream and I kept believing it was possible. Even when doubts came up I just doubled down on my belief that I had the power to create what I wanted.
When Your Dream Comes True
Three days ago my book hit #1 Best Seller and I was so excited. My heart is just bursting with gratitude and love! With the support of my friends, family, and community that helped share the message of my book, I reached my dream and became a bestselling author! I immediately started planning how I was going to celebrate. It’s so important to celebrate your wins and really bask in the glory of everything you created. I popped a fancy bottle of champagne and took the night off to relax and reflect. I also scheduled a happy hour with my best friends to celebrate. I think celebration is one of the often overlooked parts of our goal and it is so easy to forget how important it is to celebrate.
Never Give Up On Your Vision
No matter what happened, I never gave up on my vision of becoming a best selling author. Even when life threw me curveballs, I stayed committed to what I wanted to create. I am so grateful to have achieved this major life milestone and I hope sharing this story was inspirational for you to go after your dreams too!
Journey of Live an Empowered Life Now – Part 1
Launching this book was a journey of MANY ups and downs!
The first challenge was back in November 2022 on my book writing retreat in San Diego. I went out to dinner and our rental car was involved in a hit and run accident while we were in the restaurant and I lost half a day of my 3 day writing retreat dealing with police, rental car company, etc. As you might expect there were many unforeseen scheduling conflicts that came up during the writing, editing, and publishing process.
The most recent challenge was Amazon fighting me about book categories. There’s no real rules (we checked) on category placement for what was happening, it seems like it’s based in someone’s personal assessment of fit. Each time I reached out to customer support, I got a completely different answer of why it’s not working out (6 radically different answers). We were down to the wire & it was an emotional rollercoaster this week. They have arbitrary guidelines about what categories (apparently self-help and psychology books can’t co-exist). Last week I went back and forth with them and got nowhere. My vision was to get #1 best seller and one of the categories they were fighting me on was one that fit the book well that would make it an easy best seller.
I STAYED 100% COMMITTED TO MY VISION OF THIS BOOK BEING A BEST SELLER! I quadrupled down on my visualization. I kept mental chatter in check and flipped the “what if (negative thing)” to “everything is going to turn out the way it’s meant to be!” I kept singing “just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming” in my head on repeat for hours. I choose to release my fears and bring out my inner cheerleader!
I never stopped believing in myself! Because I didn’t let fear get the best of me, I was able to come from a place of creative problem solving. If the one way to my goal wasn’t going to work out, I would find a new way. I stay committed to my dream and found new categories to put it in that were also appropriate.
AND GUESS WHAT?! The new “replacement” category I added in on Saturday landed me on the #1 Best New Release list on Sunday!
What an amazing reminder: there are many different ways to reach your vision. When you’re committed to your vision and the first way you try doesn’t work, find a new way that does… and it might turn out even better than you expected!
Practice Self Love
Self-love is the practice of treating yourself with kindness and grace, nurturing your growth, being respectful of your thoughts and feelings. Overall, self-love is accepting yourself for who you are!
Self love is so important! How are you showing up for yourself on a day to day basis and practicing self love? Practicing self love helps us increase self-confidence, resilience and authentic joy.
Having strong self love will literally change how you show up in the world. You’ll create better relationships, have more self confidence, you will set boundaries to protect your wellbeing and will become the best version of you.
Our level of self love has a profound impact on how we see and treat ourselves – which has direct correlation to our success in life! Regularly showing yourself love by doing nice things for yourself, having nourishing daily self care routines, giving yourself some grace when needed, and saying nice things to yourself are extremely important for your mental & emotional health! They also impact how you interact with everyone around you!
Here are a few simple ways you can practice self love:
- Practice gratitude daily with a gratitude journal.
- Give yourself compliments and focus on a positive internal monologue.
- Get outdoors more and move your body in ways that feel good.
- Put down your electronics and unplug for an hour every day.
- Spend time daily meditating and reflecting.
- Pamper yourself with activities that bring you joy.
- Drink more water and eat nourishing food.
- Invest in yourself with personal growth or mental expansion exercises/courses.
- Make a list of 100 things that you love about yourself.
Want to bring more self love to your life?
Are you looking for a way to bring more self love into your life? My Empowered Living Membership may be the perfect fit for you! This supportive community is a place for people who are working towards living their best life where you can let your dreams and authentic self shine! We learn to make our goals a reality and I provide support and accountability to help you become the best version of YOU. If you join us in February you will receive a FREE signed copy of my book which will directly support you in your journey to Living an Empowered Life NOW!
Want to learn how you can train your brain for success to tap into your true potential? Sign up for my FREE webinar – How to Live Your Dreams Now! https://youbeyou.as.me/liveyourdreamnow
The Traveler’s H.E.A.R.T.! Podcast Episode!
Check out episode 17 of The Traveler’s H.E.A.R.T.! podcast that I was recently on.
This podcast was such an incredible experience and it shifted something deep inside of me.
If you have been dreaming about hiking along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, then there are things you need to know before visiting this mystical and sacred place!
In this episode my husband Guthrey and I chat about our ayahuasca and hiking experience in Machu Picchu. This journey provides an excellent opportunity to witness an extraordinary place and initiate inner spiritual healing.
Here are the things to expect in Episode 17
- Why do people choose to walk the Inca trail?
- What is the purpose of taking ayahuasca?
- How does spiritual healing work?
- Why do people visit Machu Picchu?
- And much more!
I realized something amazing while listening to this podcast.
I’ve always HATED the sound of my own voice. I have recorded countless meditations and podcasts for years and I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never listened to one of them because it bothered me so much to hear the recording of my voice. (I have a lot of trauma from people telling me I’m loud, I talk too much, etc over my entire lifetime, so I’ve always been subconsciously ashamed of the sound of my voice).
UNTIL NOW!
Guthrey played this podcast the day it was released and for the first time ever I joyfully listened to every word. At no point did I cringe or have a negative internal dialog about the sound of my voice. I loved every minute of it and I’ve listened multiple times since then.
What an amazing experience it was to record this podcast with the incredible host, Julie Zolfo!
And what a phenomenal shift that happened as a result, I’ve experienced spontaneous healing of decades old trauma! And today I voluntarily listened to a meditation I recorded and actually enjoyed hearing my voice. It was such a beautiful experience it brought tears to my eyes. The gravity of this transformation really just hit me today.
This is the transformation that’s possible when you live with the Traveler’s H.E.A.R.T.!
Give this incredible podcast a listen asap! Be sure to subscribe to hear more fantastic stories of the transformation that’s possible from world travel! Please like/heart this episode and write a review to help Julie share these incredible stories with a wider audience!
Listen on the following platforms:
Words are POWERFUL! Use them to maximize your mindset!
Did you know that you can maximize your mindset to improve your health?
Your mindset is created by the words you’re using. These are the words you say to yourself and out loud. Your thoughts are just words in your head, so what you say to yourself internally is just as important if not more than what you say externally!!!
Your words are powerful!
Did you know that you can affect your body’s physiological reactions with your words? This means your words can increase or decrease the health in your life. I learned this first hand 14 years ago. I injured my ankle but because it was a soft tissue injury that was non-surgical, there was no clear path to healing it. Doctors basically put me in a cast and said “good luck.” Because of that uncertainty in my prognosis, I started to think the worst – “What if it never heals?”
I spent 14 month in a cast, boot, or brace because my fear and negative mindset communicated messages from my brain to my ankle that literally stopped the healing process. The words I was using and thoughts I was thinking about my injury literally stopped the blood flow to that leg. Thankfully through divine intervention, someone helped me identify that this was not a physical issue but a mindset issue. They gave me exercises and I magically started healing again.
Let me repeat that again – I literally stopped and started healing my ankle simply by changing my mindset and the words I was using! That’s crazy, can you even believe that is possible? I was blown away at how powerful my mind was!
So what are your words doing for you?
Are your words empowering you or disempowering you? Increasing your health or decreasing your health?
The best way that I have found to eliminate disempowering words from my vocabulary is to create a “swear jar” where you have to pay in money every time you say that word. It has to be enough money that it evokes an emotional response, so I recommend $1-$5 for each time you say it. The more money you pay to the swear jar each time you say the word, the quicker you’ll remove that word from your vocabulary.
And trust me, these words are costing you much more than whatever money you’re putting in the swear jar. The sneaky thing about the words we’re using is that we’re often not aware of the words we’re using. And unfortunately the words and phrases that slip by unnoticed are often the insidious ones. The words that are judging ourselves or others, picking apart situations and destroying our happiness. In order to effectively employ the swear jar technique, you need to ask the people in your lives to hold you accountable. Tell your family, friends and everyone you communicate with to point out when you are saying those words. Trust me, your kids will LOVE pointing out each time you say these words!
If you want to maximize your mindset, then remove the disempowering words you’re using! Here’s a list of the words to remove to maximize your mindset:
- Words are Powerful
- Can’t → Can
- But → And
- I Will Try → I Will
- Should → Could
- I don’t know → Let me think about/look into it
- I am old → I am blessed to have been around many years
I was honored to speak at Celebration, the Polka Dot Powerhouse National Conference!
Being chosen as a speaker at the Celebration, the Polka Dot Powerhouse National Conference, was an incredible honor that left me humbled and grateful. As I stood before a room filled with inspiring women, I couldn’t help but reflect on my five-year journey as a Dot and the profound impact that being a dot has had on my life. Polka Dot Powerhouse, with its unique approach to connection and empowerment, has been a guiding light for me, and I am excited to share my experience with you.
I want to express my deepest gratitude to the Polka Dot Powerhouse for selecting me as a speaker at this event. The opportunity to speak to a room of like-minded women, who strive for positivity and action, was truly a privilege. Throughout my journey, I have witnessed the transformative power of this incredible community, and I am grateful to have been a part of it for the past five years.
For those unfamiliar with Polka Dot Powerhouse, it is far more than just a networking group or a professional organization. It is a Connection Company that strives to bring together the world’s most remarkable women, fostering lifelong friendships and business relationships. As a Dot, I have experienced firsthand the incredible support, encouragement, and empowerment that this community offers.
Procrastination & Other Ways We Self Sabotage
Procrastination is a form of creative avoidance, which is one way we avoid working towards our goals. This desire to put off what we are working on is caused by our sabotaging identities, a subconscious part of us. These sabotaging identities are designed to keep you the same as you’ve always been because even if you don’t enjoy feeling those emotions associated with the way you’ve always been, these emotions are familiar and it identifies everything that’s familiar as safe.
Where do sabotaging identities come from?
At one point in your life (under the age of 7), these identities were actually helpful for you. For example, my primary sabotaging identity makes me think I’m not good enough. When I was 3-4 years old, this was beneficial because it kept me striving to be better and pushing myself to learn more and more. This identity is the reason why I could read at a 3rd grade level on my first day of kindergarten – it gave me a high level of motivation to be a better person. Over time I have grown more and more but that identity has stayed the same. Fast forward 32 years and this identity which used to be beneficial is now holding me back because when I am working on things, it has become the voice of my inner critic telling me that I’m not good enough or I’m not smart enough.
This is the same for all six of the sabotaging identities – what used to help us is now holding us back. When you know what your particular sabotaging identity is, you can start to work with it so that it’s no longer running you! Besides identifying which sabotaging identity is holding you back, it’s important to recognize the ways you’re holding yourself back. When you recognize these patterns, you can use them as a cue to understand when your sabotaging identity has taken over!
In addition to procrastination, other common ways we self sabotage include:
- Chronic worrying: People tend to get stuck in a cycle of chronic worrying because it gives a sense of control over a situation. When something is out of your control, worrying can give us the illusion that we can do something about a certain situation. This in the end causes more harm than good however, causing more stress and anxiety than is needed.
- People pleasing: Sometimes we make decisions based on how it will make others feel. This can be self sabotaging as when we are in this mindset we aren’t making decisions or doing things based on what we want and we are holding ourselves back based on how we think this will make others react to us.
- Confusion: This is the sneakiest way we sabotage ourselves! By going into confusion and telling ourselves “I don’t know how to …” we are preventing ourselves from having to make a tough decision. Sure there are times that we don’t actually know, but it’s often that we use this as an excuse so we don’t have to move forward on our goals.
How can we reduce our self sabotage?
- Join my Empowered Living Membership! I will teach you all about the six sabotaging identities, how to spot them when they’re holding you back and what you can do to reduce the amount of self sabotage you’re experiencing. Plus so much more! Join now!
- Tap into your “big why:” Think about the deeper meaning for why you want something and return to that often. Your why is very important because it’s the motivation for everything that you do in life! When you recognize yourself in a self sabotage pattern take a step back and read your why statement to get tapped back into your power and take action.
- Connect with your higher self: Your higher self already has all of the answers. We can tune into our higher self by getting quiet and going within. Tap into that through meditation, walking in nature, journaling, or practicing gratitude. Any way that you get connected with your inner knowing is a great way to receive the necessary information from your higher self!
- Balance Your Masculine and Feminine Sides: Everyone has a dominant masculine or feminine nature. Masculine nature is active, external and often action taking. The feminine nature is more passive, thoughtful, creative and feeds internal energy. It’s important that we balance both of these energies so that one does not overpower the other. It’s very common in our culture to get stuck in masculine action taking mode and we get the best results when both of these sides are balanced. So ask yourself what feminine actions are you taking and how can you use them to support you in reducing your self sabotage!
Mirror Work Works!
Mirror Work Works – How to Improve Your Self Love!
Self love is an essential key to living a happy life. One of the most effective tools for increasing your self love is mirror work. Mirror work is a very simple concept – it involves looking at yourself in the mirror and saying/thinking nice things about yourself. Although it’s a simple concept, it’s not always an easy practice. I highly recommend doing these exercises if you want to improve your self love and acceptance.
How Does It Work?
When you look in the mirror, your emotions about yourself are reflected back at you. Whatever you are saying to yourself in your head is visible in the emotions on your face. If what you are saying to yourself is not very nice, this can be a challenging exercise at first. Thankfully it clearly shows you what thoughts you will need to shift if you want to improve your self love and live a joy filled life. And that’s the beauty of mirror work, it helps you become much more aware of those background thoughts you are saying to yourself, which is the first step at increasing your self love and the first step at shifting your mindset! The great news is that once you get into the habit of doing this regularly, it starts to become fun and you’ll learn to really enjoy this exercise!
Mirror Work Exercises
I recommend trying these exercises everyday for 21-30 days to dramatically improve your self love!
- Start off by smiling: this is one of the easiest places to start with mirror work. Stand in the mirror and close your eyes. Think about something (anything) that makes you really happy. Feel those happy feelings in your body and allow yourself to have a big smile from these feelings of happiness. Now open your eyes and keep smiling at yourself in the mirror for 1 minute. Notice how beautiful you are when you are smiling.
- Compliment and love yourself: this is the next step in building onto your mirror practice and can be added on after doing the smiling exercise. It’s very simple – look in the mirror and give yourself compliments out loud or in your head. They can be any kind of compliment (about your physical appearance, your personality, etc). Just spend 2-3 minutes complimenting yourself and saying “I love you” to yourself. Look at yourself as you would your best friend and simply be kind to yourself with your thoughts and your words. If you notice yourself having a not so nice thought about some part of you, be sure to find ways to compliment that part of yourself. The trick to this one is to look yourself in the eyes and say I love you to yourself so much that you actually believe it and the reflection of you says “I love you” back.
- Gratitude for your whole self: this is the most advanced type of mirror work. I strongly recommend working through the first two exercises before even attempting this last one. Again, the idea is simple – look at yourself in the mirror and give yourself compliments and be grateful to yourself for how amazing you are for 5 whole minutes. The catch? This exercise is to be done while you are standing in front of the mirror naked. Looking at every part of yourself in the mirror means that you can’t hide your negative thoughts about your body from yourself, they’ll be reflected back at you. Each time you notice yourself saying something negative, find a way to compliment that part of yourself. Although this may be the most difficult exercise, it’s definitely the most powerful and transformative.
Show Yourself Grace
Mirror work can be very tough in the beginning but the rewards make this exercise worth doing. Remember that like anything else, this is a process and it’ll get much easier with time. Even practiced people like myself can have negative reactions to looking at yourself in the mirror. Heck, I’m a mindset coach and I still catch myself occasionally saying negative things about myself when I look in the mirror. But I know firsthand how much this works! Fifteen years ago, I noticed that I never looked in the mirror. I would go days, weeks, even months without so much as glancing in the mirror and when I did I would grimace and say terrible things to myself in my head. After doing mirror work, not only do I now look at myself in the mirror, the vast majority of the time my first response is to say something nice to myself in my head. This exercise has helped me learn to love myself inside and out!
Benefits Of Mirror Work
The way you do one thing is the way you do everything. So if you’re saying negative things about yourself, you’re probably saying negative things about others and the world around you. So the benefit of loving yourself more will show up in every area of your life! Practicing self love daily will help reduce your overall stress and anxiety, boost your confidence and self esteem, increase your happiness and satisfaction with life, allow you to start living your full potential and so much more.
How else could your life improve when you increase your self love? Try it yourself today and find out!
How Meditation Changed My Life & Tips To Make Your Meditation Habit Stick
Meditation is a powerful tool that can totally change your life! I know because I am living proof of this – I wouldn’t be a coach today if it wasn’t for meditation! Read on to learn more story and tips on how to make your own meditation habit stick!
My Story:
I had heard from dozens of people “you need to meditate!” I was high strung, very stressed out and having regular anxiety/panic attacks. I decided that I didn’t want to live my life medicated any longer, so I went off my anti-anxiety meds and started looking for natural alternatives. After trying out many things, I found 2 things that worked and made a BIG difference: probiotics (read more here) and meditation!
The probiotics helped get my gut bacteria balanced out (there’s a lot of research showing link between microbiome imbalances and anxiety). The meditation helped me quiet my mind and unlocked many different doors that got me where I am today! At the time I started meditation, I was honestly afraid to be alone with my own thoughts. I was constantly overwhelmed and on the verge of falling apart. I had just experienced some significant health challenges due to a long term leg injury and gained 50+ pounds as the result of my inactivity. I was depressed, anxious, and desperate to find a way out.
I had just met my husband, an avid meditator for years at that point, and he saw that it was obvious I could use support in quieting my mind. He encouraged me to meditate and I told him I had already tried and it didn’t work. Although I had tried, I had the incorrect expectations and understanding around meditation, which made it a painful process. I would sit quietly and attempt to stop all my thoughts, and if you’ve ever meditated, you know that’s when your thoughts come loud and fast like a fire hose. I would sit there, struggling to stop my thoughts, getting frustrated at myself and feeling like I was wasting my time. This lead to more anxiety and I always came out of the meditation more stressed out then when I sat down. After more than a dozen attempts, I decided that meditation just wasn’t for me and wrote it off entirely.
The Turning Point:
My husband heard my struggles and supported me in understand that meditation isn’t simply about stopping your thoughts. It’s about being present in the moment and letting your thoughts float by without being attached to them. He taught me about mindfulness meditation which is about focusing on your breath as an anchor and place to put your attention so you don’t get wrapped up in your thoughts. Knowing that I still was having trouble with that, he started me off in a much better place – active meditation. Active meditation is simply doing a task that requires to conscious effort so you can get into a zen-like meditative state.
I started off with meditative coloring, crafting, nature walks and I loved it. When I was physically doing something, I found it easy to get to a calm place in my mind and let go of my thoughts. I practiced active meditation as much as I could and really enjoyed it… my mind had been changed about how great meditation can be! Then I graduated to short guided meditations (5-10 minutes). I would sit and listen to soothing voices as people narrated my meditation experience. It was so easy to get into a meditative state and I felt amazing at the end! They were so enjoyable that I found myself listening to longer and longer meditations and eventually working my way up for 30+ minutes! I started to notice immediately that I was a lot less stressed, less reactive to things that used to trigger me and was genuinely enjoying life more!
Finally I had found my groove in meditation! After months of this, I finally moved onto quiet self guided meditations. These are more advanced techniques, so if you can do this, give yourself a pat on the back! I would spend 10-15 minutes each day of quiet meditation. At the time many things in my life had improved, however I still found myself searching for answers. My job wasn’t bringing me any joy but I had no idea what my next step would be. My health challenges and extra weight left me feeling disempowered and doctors had literally told me I was “broken,” so I was sad about that. All of my answers came through my quiet meditations!
During my meditation, I would hear these divine whispers pointing me in the correct direction. I was really sick of feeling “broken” and one day a giant lightbulb clicked: I wrote million dollar grants for the National Institute of Health and did research for a living… why had I not looked at the research to address my personal health struggles?! I threw myself into deep research and went deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole, loving every second I was researching about health. Long story short is that through research I solved all my health problems, completely changed my life and inspired me to become a health coach to help others. Meditation had turned me onto my new life path that I had been longing for!
Why you should meditate too:
There is TONS of research out there sharing the amazing benefits of meditation. It helped me completely change my life path and the more I looked inward for guidance, the more clear it became where I was going in my life.
So many people I have talked with say that they don’t have time for meditation. I think you don’t have time to NOT meditate! Taking a few minutes per day to meditation has shown to increase your productivity and mental clarity throughout the day, which helps you be significantly more effective. Turning inward for guidance helps you focus on what’s important instead of wasting your time on things that don’t matter to you (like what I was doing in my dead end job and the bad habits I was doing to escape my terrible job). Meditation gave me hours back everyday and made me a much better, happier person!
I’ve made a compelling argument of why it’s beneficial to add meditation to your self care routine. However, sometimes it can be hard to start a new habit. The next trick is making the habit stick!
Here are some tips for how to get your meditation habit to stick:
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- Start with active & guided meditations!
- Active meditation is easy! It is doing things that get you into a relaxed meditative state. Coloring, nature walks, doing the dishes, crafting, anything where you zone out and lose yourself in an activity that doesn’t require your mind.
- There are thousands of guided meditations available for free that you can use! Check out youtube or one of the many meditation apps for more guided meditations.
- Start small = 2-5 minutes is enough to start!
- Many people think that you need to meditate for 15-30 minutes per day. While that’s a great place to be, it’s often not accessible for someone starting out a meditation habit. As little as 2-5 minutes done every single day make a big difference in your life!
- Be consistent = meditate daily!
- Just like any other habit, consistency matters much more than duration when you want to establish a new habit.
- Establish a daily routine!
- Creating time in your calendar for a daily meditation routine is a huge key to success! Remember that doing things in the morning is the best way to ensure that they’re getting completed each day.
- Identify yourself as a meditator!
- Identifying yourself as a meditator is a great way to trick your brain into making it easier to establish a regular habit!
- Start with active & guided meditations!
By following these tips you’ll be able to easily form a meditation practice that benefits you without feeling like you don’t have the time!
