Meditation: Why I'm Giving It a Second Chance

Photo by Keegan Houser on Unsplash

Every health blog you read suggests meditation. It seems as though every productive and healthy person meditates. Meditation is such a buzzword. I have to be honest with you, I was never a fan of meditation. I could get behind a good sweaty yoga sesh or some other kind of moving meditation, sure. I can also understand why breathwork is important too. Put me on a seat though, in silence for even 5 minutes with my own thoughts, no thank you.

I forced myself to revisit meditation recently. I was stressed, over-committed, run-down, and feeling like I was hitting a wall. What would help? I had a friend point out to me, "your thoughts are all over the place. You need to get those under control. Start with positive affirmations." She is right. Give me two hours alone, and I can figure out any possible bad outcome. I can revisit every action I took that day and analyze it down to the millisecond. My brain can be like the wild wild west with no off-limit thoughts. I must be exacerbating the stress all on my own.

Enter meditation. I downloaded Headspace, set my alarm clock three times a day, and got comfy. I set a low bar only working through 5-minute sessions. After a few days of that, I noticed there were nightly visualizations available on the app. I tuned into those as well, starting it once I turned out the light at night. I spent time at the lake, traveled to Italy, ran through fluffy snow, and had many other adventures. I peered into every nook and cranny. I felt free to explore and live with wild abandon.

It struck me that I was missing a crucial piece of meditation, visualization. It was in these moments that I felt the most relaxed, my mind the quietest. My body was actively letting go of the day’s tension, abandoning the to-do list. Just the simple ask at the beginning of the visualization to consider the day’s work complete, allowed me to transition away from my to-do list. I will leave you with those thoughts for consideration. Tell me if you incorporate meditation into your life.