I have friends whose whole lives revolve around wellness, fitness, nutrition etc. and for a while my whole life did too. When I was competing in pageants I worked with a trainer Katie Boyd. I learned how to eat right, how to work every little muscle in my body but the most important thing I learned from Katie was how to meditate.
I am not a wellness blogger! I rarely post about wellness and fitness because it’s not something I’m an expert on. But as I’ve taken inventory of my life recently I have realized how important meditation is. I mentioned in a few other posts that I have been having a lot of anxiety recently. When I sat down and tried to determine what was the cause I realized my anxiety got really bad when I stopped meditating. I didn’t really make a conscious choice to stop, life got busy, I had to write a paper, picked up extra hours at work, decided to go out instead etc etc.
There is a Buddhist proverb that says “if you don’t have time to mediate for 1 hour everyday then you should meditate for 2”. I love this because it is so true. My laptop broke last week and I was without one for 3 days. I literally cried, I was so tapped into my technology that being unplugged for 3 days was a nightmare. This is so unhealthy! We all get too plugged in sometimes, and I’ve talked about intentionally unplugging from time to time. But being forced to unplug, not on my terms, was unsettling and forced me to confront my technology addiction.
My solution? I am going to start meditating again. Meditation is a learned skill that requires consistent practice, it is not like riding a bike you can’t jump in and out of it. But I promise you anyone can learn to meditate! I will be starting with 15 minutes a day and working my way back up to an hour everyday. I like to meditate first thing in the morning, instinctively the first thing I do when I wake up is reach for my phone to see what I missed but I am really trying to change this habit. I was very fortunate to have someone teach me how to meditate. But there are plenty of online resources to help you. I have put some of my favorite resources and guided meditation below, please check them out and hopefully they help you as much as they have helped me.
The Chopra Center: Articles, guided meditations, classes etc
Louise Hay: Guided meditations and daily affirmations
The Book of Awakening: Link to buy it on amazon! This book was really helpful when I was learning to meditate
Katie Boyd ‘Miss Fit Club’: My trainer! I went to her to get in physical shape but she really changed my life by focusing on spirituality, mental health, and physical health! Check out her website and show her some love on Instagram!
Have you ever tried meditation? Do you find it helpful? What wellness goals are you setting? Let me know in the comments below!