I was talking to my oldest friend, we call each other FF (first friend), about meditation a few months ago and she swore up and down she would not meditate but after some convincing and once she understood you don’t have to be perfect at it, yes, your mind can wonder, and that there are so many benefits to it, she gave it a try and now does it daily. Just last week, when we were talking, she asked me “how many times a day or how often do you meditate?” and I never really thought about it until she then.
I am a buys mom of two boys who play all the sports and have a corporate job as well, so I too have a limitation on time, and I have learned to use my time intentionally when it comes to mediating. And since I hear this a lot “I don’t have time to meditate.” I thought I would share with you not only how I find the time, but the type of meditations I do, and the benefits of mediation so that you can find the time.
First let’s talk about the benefits of mediating. I believe the greatest benefit of mediation is learning now to be present, we are so caught up in the busy of our lives we don’t even know how to be present. Other huge benefits are that it helps you control anxiety, decreases depression, improves sleep, improve attention span, decrease blood pressure, increases blood flow, decreases muscle tension, and so much more.
When do I find the time and what type of meditations do I do?
Believe it or not I meditate about 4 times a day. I know when I say that out loud it seems like a lot, even to me. But I want to share with you just how I do it.
I have a pretty disciplined morning routine (that’s a whole other newsletter LOL) but part of my morning routine is that after my workout I have 12-15 mins to do a meditation before the rest of my family wakes up.
This meditation is what most people would think of as “meditating” I go into my quiet area, I actually lay on my infrared amethyst mat in the dark to mediate. I set a goal for myself that I would practice visualization this year so this mediation is for that. Insight Timer is the app that I use and absolutely love. Here is one of my favorite visualization mediations. It is 10 mins long so perfect for busy people! https://insighttimer.com/melissaambrosini/guided-meditations/manifestation-meditation
My second meditation for the day is actually in the shower. I take a 2–3-minute cold shower at the beginning of shower every morning and I meditate during it. Cold showers have so many benefits and then being in a meditative state just boosts the benefits. This meditation is the same every single day, it’s an affirmation meditation from a podcast that I love, Manifest with Sarah Prout. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Ft0ewRy9PtRI4RYfbRKj5
My third mediation I do at different times depending on my day, I will either do this mediation in the car on the way to work or on my walk with my dog. This is probably one of my all time favorite mediations and I think it starts your day off in the perfect way every day. I will admit I will do it at anytime of day not just in the morning. This one is the “when the time is right” meditation and it’s not what you would think of when you think of mediating because I am either driving or walking. If you just starting to meditate I think this one is a perfect one to start with. This one is 12 minutes long. https://insighttimer.com/amandasellers/guided-meditations/10-morning-affirmations-to-live-your-best-life
The last and final mediation of my day is when I go to bed. Every night when I turn the lights off and am ready to go to sleep I find a meditation, this one can be either music or guided to fall asleep to. This meditation changes every night depending on how my day went or if the next day is particularly busy, has a challenge, or I am anxious about something. I do try to find mediations that rebalance my energy from the day so usually it’s a charka healing or balancing type meditation.
Chakra balancing https://insighttimer.com/corycochiolo/guided-meditations/best-chakra-clearing-meditation-ever
Deep Sleep https://insighttimer.com/mellisadormoy/guided-meditations/deep-sleep-and-total-body-relaxation
Music Only https://insighttimer.com/owennaturesounds/guided-meditations/nature-sounds-the-ocean
I hope that after reading the different types and times you can mediate has opened you up to “finding” the time to have a mediation practice. I never would have imagined I was a person who meditated but it has been a part of my life for a the last few years and it truly is life changing.
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