For 8 days, I checked in with over 20 incredible humans who committed to meditating for 8 minutes daily. From people who had never meditated before to others who wanted to add more meditation into their life, we learned together and supported each other. In the process, I noticed a few common themes (and excuses) that made it a challenge to continue a meditation practice.
Think of this as your no bullshit accountability call out.
Beginning a meditation practice is challenging for a lot of reasons, particularly because it’s hard to change our routines to incorporate it into our lives. The smallest of blips on the journey to create more mindfulness can easily divert your best efforts. Luckily, it’s easy to overcome those challenges.
Here’s how:
You felt “distracted” during a meditation. - This is a common theme. I feel you! I often follow a rabbit hole of a thought during my meditations. I used to judge myself for not being more “focused”. But where we go when we are “distracted” is actually teaching us something. If your mind is consumed by a thought, take note! There’s wisdom there.
Pro tip: Keep a journal handy. After you’re done meditating, write down any thoughts that kept coming up. It could be your to do list, something worrying you or something you’re excited about! Look back a few days later to see if there’s a pattern. Sometimes you will come up with a solution to keep yourself from letting it take up your brain space.
You “couldn’t” or “forgot” to meditate. - You know what’s cool? The days you didn’t meditate, you noticed. It wasn’t an earth shattering mistake, but you noticed. You know what else is cool? THAT’S FUCKING MINDFULNESS! You don’t have to sit on a cushion to be present. It’s helpful for all the reasons we’ve been chatting about, but the goal is to be able to take that presence off your cushion into your daily life. So many of you have also noticed other things about your routine and choices on a daily basis. This is the point.
Pro tip: If you normally meditate in the morning and forget, schedule another time for yourself later in the day. If you meditate in the evening and find yourself unable to one night, no sweat! If you notice you’re skipping consistently, choose another time! As much as I would love an evening meditation routine, I know that I prioritize other activities at night, like playing with Mosby or unwinding with a book. Structure is good, but it’s up to you to determine how much supports you versus cramps your style.
You can only meditate with guided meditations. - From apps, to guided meditations to sitting in silence, it’s all good! But I challenge you to consider why you’re choosing what you’re choosing. Do you really believe that you need someone to guide you through your breath to stay “focused”? Look underneath that belief. What is driving your decision? You could find that actually, you’re able to sit in silence but you feel more “distracted”. ;)
Pro tip: Meditation teaches us to stay present so you can be mindful with all of your decisions, including the type of meditation you practice. If you find yourself making a “I can/want to only meditate like this” statement, reevaluate your thought process. Or better yet, challenge yourself to try something new for a week! This is a never ending practice and giving another style a go will at the very least teach you something new!
I didn’t set out to create a meditation series, but here we are. I didn’t “plan” the meditation challenge. I just spent 1 day asking humans if they were interested. And we texted, IG messaged, FB chatted and emailed our way through the 8 days together.
Many of these conversations have brought tears to my eyes as I read about their growth. I was reminded of something that’s easy to forget as a teacher in the social media age where it’s all about content creation.
You’ve reminded me how much this work matters.
Not just as a teacher, but as individual practitioners and as a community. These minutes you choose to sit quietly, impatiently and imperfectly add up to some of the most important parts of our lives - the connection to ourselves and how we are all connected.
With deep gratitude,
Alex
P.S. If you’re interested in meditation basics, check out the first post in the series here.