Dr. Gala Meditation is an excellent habit of adding to your daily routine. Not only does it relax you, but it helps with nearly every other part of your life as well. Your focus will improve. Your appreciation for all the positive things in your life will increase. You’ll get more done. You’ll sleep better. The list of beneficial effects is practically endless. It creates a strong mindset.
There are many forms of meditation. Rather than tracking down the perfect method, we’re going to focus on simply making meditation a daily habit. In a month you’re life could be vastly different!
Follow these strategies to make it easy to incorporate daily meditation into your life:
- Keep it short, at first. The perfect way to fail is to start trying to meditate for 60 minutes. Meditation is a lot of exercise for your mind. Start with 5 minutes or less.
- Have a schedule. The schedule doesn’t have to be set in stone. Something more general like during lunch, or in bed after you wake up is fine. Pick a time and stick to it.
- Find a good spot. You’ll need to find a time and place that are conducive to being able to concentrate. Quietness and solitude help but aren’t required.
- Sit down. You don’t need a special position, clothes, pillow, or anything else. What’s important is that you can sit comfortably without having to move throughout the meditation. A chair or bench is fine. You might even find it helpful to sit on the floor with your back against the wall.
- Progress slowly. Three minutes a day is great. You can do five minutes next week. You’re not trying to prove to yourself that you can do it for 30 minutes; you’re trying to introduce meditation into your life in a way that will result in it becoming a daily habit. Take a month to six weeks to work up to 30 minutes.
- Focus on your breathing. While you’re sitting, simply focus on your breath and your breathing. Your eyes can be open or closed; it’s entirely up to you. Count your breaths and when you reach 10, start over again. See how long you can go before your mind wanders (and it will).
- When you catch yourself thinking about anything except your breath, simply return your attention back to your breath. It will be a struggle to maintain your focus at first, but your ability to do so will improve with time.
- Do it every day. The key to establishing positive habits is to do them daily. It won’t take long before your meditation habit is as much a part of your life as brushing your teeth.
You might be asking yourself what sitting down and counting your breaths will do for you. If you can learn to focus completely on your breathing, you can learn to focus on anything else, too.
Eventually, you’ll reach the point that when you’re working, you think about nothing but work; you’ll be much more effective and efficient at work. When you’re spending time with your family, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the joy of being together. During dinner, you’ll think only about the dinner experience.
You essentially eliminate all stress from your life, because you’ll always be thinking about your present experience. You can only be stressed when thinking about the past or projecting into the future. Meditation allows you to live your life fully.
Start meditating today. You don’t need anything except a place to sit down and a few minutes of your time. But the benefits can last a lifetime!
Thanks for sharing this very interesting post on meditation.
You certainly have changed my understanding of it.
I certainly think that it is wise to start with just a few minutes and build it up. The thought of not thinking about anything other than my breathing seems a difficult task for me, but it would be well worth it if it trains me to be able to concentrate solely on the task at hand and not have my head wondering all over the place, as it does now.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Geoff!
You nailed a super important point, which sometimes makes us doubt meditation and its impact; that is, controlling our thoughts. Our mind will constantly produce thoughts because that is what it does. It is probably best to be aware of those, and when your mind wanders, turn your attention to the subject of meditation, such as the breath, and let your thoughts pass by.
When we are distracted by those thoughts, we tend to believe them or counter negative thoughts, thus, producing more. That takes us away from the purpose of meditation.
A possible solution could be to become an observer of your thoughts, and let them pass like clouds, and bring our attention back to what interests us.
Again, I am grateful for your time visiting my blog and for your comment.
Hello Dr. Angela,
This is quite interesting to land on your website and I am really excited
about meditation.
I have been doing this for a long time and most of the time before my
bedtime at night and upon awakening.
It does really help a lot to focus and get settled more especially if I do
have a lot of work to be done for that day.
Deep breathing also helps me tremendously when I am in pain and I make sure
that I am aware of my whole being when I am doing it.
You have such a gentle and heartwarming approach to your meditation
strategies and I love it.
Thank you ever so much, Dr. Angela and I do appreciate you.
God bless you!
Elizabeth
Aw Elizabeth! Thanks for your kind message. I can see in your words that meditation is part of your life, and you enjoy its benefits. Meditation, as you point out in your comment, should be incorporated into our daily routine. It helps us reconfigure our energy, prepare for the day, reconnect with the present time, be aware of our emotions, let them be, and take control of our reactions. Building a conscious life begins with meditation.
I am delighted that you loved my site, and I hope to see you here often.