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!
Quick Self Awareness Exercise to Increase Happiness & Satisfaction
We spend too much of our lives living on autopilot, we are not consciously aware of our thoughts, emotions, and actions – they just seem to happen sometimes. We spend up to 95% of our lives in autopilot mode so the vast majority of our thoughts are not conscious. Unfortunately that means that most of our thoughts go unchecked and that’s where our limiting beliefs can negatively impact us. These thoughts are often insidious – the ones that are telling us we are not enough, the thoughts that are judging others and picking situations apart.
The best way to reduce the unchecked thoughts and limiting beliefs is by bringing conscious awareness back to our day. When we have awareness of our thoughts and emotions we can start to work on changing them to be more positive words and releasing our limiting beliefs. The best way to bring awareness back to our day is to notice what we’re noticing. Here’s an exercise that really helps with that!
“Notice what You’re Noticing”
Pause for 1 minute to ask & jot down answers:
What am I thinking about right now?
What am I feeling right now?
This is a quick exercise you can do a few times a day that dramatically increases your self awareness around your thoughts and emotions. There are a few ways to remember to do this exercise, and my favorite is to set a phone alarm to go off randomly throughout the day. When the alarm goes off, I take 1 minute to do this exercise. Another great time to do this is when you wash your hands and look in the mirror because this is a great time to check in with yourself!
Ask these questions with open hearted curiosity and without judging yourself where you are. Remember to show yourself some grace! This is a practice of self awareness and even the most self aware people will still find themselves experiencing negative thoughts and emotions. So any time you find yourself thinking or feeling something you don’t want to, instead of being upset with yourself that you’re feeling those things, take a deep breath! Thank yourself for noticing that you’re in a place where you don’t want to be and intentionally shift your focus to the thoughts and emotions that you do want to have. If you get upset with yourself, that is negative reinforcement, which only creates a situation that makes you want to stop doing the exercise. If you kindly thank yourself for noticing when you’re out of alignment, it is positive reinforcement to continue this journey of increasing your self awareness.
This simple exercise helps us increase our self awareness which helps us shift our mindset to be more positive, allows us to be more present, and increases happiness and satisfaction with life!
Self awareness journey has no destination so remember to enjoy the ride! And if you find yourself in need of more support around self awareness, thoughts, emotions, or limiting beliefs, feel free to reach out to Kitty for support (here is a link to a 30 minute complimentary discovery call)!
Tips for Mindful Eating
Mindful eating is key to starting healthy eating habits! It helps you focus your attention on your food and the experience of eating, and being more present while you eat will add more joy to your life. Here are some tips on mindful eating:
- Eat slowly, this will allow your stomach to signal your brain that it’s full
- Savor each bite, really enjoy the smells, tastes, textures, and sight of your food
- Chew thoroughly, chewing your food 25+ times allows you to absorb more nutrients
- Sit down to eat at a table, do not eat at a desk or on the couch
- Focus on eating, do not multitask while eating
Start practicing mindful eating today by really savoring the first 2 bites or sips of each meal and drink!
Dark Chocolate Meditation
Both dark chocolate and meditation improve your heart health and mental health! So why not combine them and get double the benefits!?!?!
Grab a piece of dark chocolate and give this chocolate meditation a try!!
Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners
While you read this, take a couple minutes to center yourself by focusing on your breath. Follow these steps below now, and every time you want to meditate.
1) Put your phone on silent or airplane mode.
2) Set a meditation timer with a nice alarm tone. That way you’re not tempted to look at a clock and you won’t need to worry about spending too much time meditating. You want to come out of meditation slowly, so don’t be in a hurry to open your eyes. Take a few moments to remain present in the stillness you’ve created. When you’re ready, gradually become aware of your body and surroundings.
3) Sit in a comfortable position. If you’re sitting on a cushion, feel your sit bones rooting you into the ground. If you’re sitting in a chair, place your feet firmly on the ground and feel your body weigh heavy in your chair.
4) Close your eyes, be still and sit up straight with your chin tucked in slightly. If you find that closing your eyes makes you sleepy, then softly stare at a spot on the floor. Maintain a small smile on your face as this helps you maintain a relaxed and peaceful experience.
5) Breathe deeply. Breath through your in and out through your nose deeply and slowly. Alternatively you can breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, letting your breath flow effortlessly in and out of your body. Don’t force your breathing here – just breathe naturally and observe your breath without thinking about it.
- If you’re having trouble focusing on your breath, there are techniques to help:
- count the time it takes to inhale/exhale
- count the number of breaths you’re taking up to 10, then restart
- say the word “inhale” so slowly that it takes the entire inhale to finish saying the word and repeat for exhale.
6) Let go of your thoughts. Let go of things you have to do later today or pending projects that need your attention. Simply let thoughts come and go and be at one with your breath. Sometimes it’s tough to calm your mind down, but focus on your breathing and what your body feels like. You can imagine a relaxing picture in your mind like waves on the beach, or bring your attention to parts of your body. Don’t think or analyze, just focus on your breath or the image.
7) Continue to purposefully watch your breath, focusing your sense of awareness on its pathway as it enters your body and fills you with life. Imagine every cell in your entire body filling with air, from the top of your head down to your toes.
8) Then watch with your awareness as it works its way up and out of your mouth and its energy dissipates into the world.
9) Smile when you’re done and give yourself a high five! Be grateful that you had this time to yourself, that you stuck with your commitment to meditate, that you showed yourself that you’re trustworthy, where you took the time to get to know yourself and make friends with yourself. That’s an amazing two minutes of your life.
The Power of Gratitude
Consciously thinking about what you are grateful for improves your physical and mental health.
Thinking about the many blessings in your life is a healing process and there’s no better place to do this than your yoga mat. Yoga makes you slow down and focus on the here and now. It naturally brings to focus the little things to be grateful for, like your breath and your body.
Try out these yoga practices that cultivate gratitude
A Strong Mindset for Strength Training
Mindfulness and strength training go hand in hand! Meditation through movement is easy, you just move mindfully and focus your attention on your body movements. Counting the repetitions in your lifts can be calming and meditative, similar to focusing on your breath. Try of these suggestions the next time you’re lifting weights:
– Focus on your breath. Pay attention to the air going in and coming out of your lungs.
– Have a mantra. Create a mantra to say with each repetition or each inhale/exhale. You’d be shocked how much having a powerful mantra can boost your workout!
Make your own mantra or try these out: “I am enough,” “I am strong,” “I am powerful,” “Yes I can,” “I’ve got this.”
– Concentrate on the movement. Move your muscles slowly and really think about the muscle groups you’re using. You can focus on any aspect of the physical movement you like. Some examples are focusing on your form or thinking about what the muscles feel like as you move them.
A Successful Workout Mindset
The right mindset is the most critical element to making an exercise routine work for you! Here are some important steps to getting the right mindset:
1) Set Realistic Expectations: It’s important to set a goal, but start very small. By making a large goal, you make it difficult to achieve. Instead of setting your goal to run a mile everyday, start with a goal to run 15 minutes 3 days per week. Once you hit your goal, increase it to slowly over time.
2) It doesn’t matter what you do … just do something! It doesn’t matter what you do, just get your body moving. You don’t need a gym membership or weight set to get healthy. Walk the dog, or run the stairs in your house for 5 minutes, anything that’s easy and attainable for you. Doing anything is better than doing nothing!
3) Make it fun! Pick an activity that you enjoy doing. If it feels like torture, you’re less likely to do it. Taking a fitness class or joining a sports league or dancing to a zumba DVD, whatever sounds fun to you!
4) Remember why you’re living an active lifestyle: When you’re working out, remind yourself why you’re doing it. Even if working out seems like a chore, adopting a grateful attitude and appreciating your ability to more your body will make every workout more enjoyable.
5) Get an accountability partner and schedule your workouts: Both of these tips help you get in the mindset of working out and inspire you to keep going. Scheduling your exercise around an existing habit is great trigger to also get you into the exercise mindset, so try to schedule at the same time so that exercise becomes second nature.
Meditation Through Exercise
Many people avoid meditation because they don’t like to sit still. But mindfulness can be an active process that happens through movement! Meditation during exercise can increase your satisfaction from workouts. Read this article for more ideas about how to bring mindful meditation techniques into your workout!
Holiday Mindfulness Tips
The holidays are full of joy but they can also be stressful. Here are some techniques to help make your holiday more joyful!
1) Take a walk. Pay close attention to the sounds, sights and smells. Really appreciate the scenery around you. Walking is an excellent way to decrease stress and boost your mood!
2) Take 3-5 minutes to meditate. Meditation is a great way to center yourself. It’s easy – simply find a quiet place to sit for a few minutes. Focus on your breathing, deep calming breaths that fill your lungs. If your mind wanders (which is natural), gently come back to focusing on your breath. The goal is to be present in the moment.
3) Be kind to yourself. Take a bath or a nap. Call a friend. Go to the movies or play a game. Anything to reminds you of the joy this holiday season is filled with!
