Hello and thank you for tuning in to this recording.
Instead of a practice today,
I feel inspired to share my top five tips for establishing a meditation practice,
Perhaps into your daily routine,
But also just to set realistic goals for yourself of how to really start a regular practice.
So the first tip that I have is a tip that I would give for a lot of things that you begin and that is to identify your motivation.
So really sit with yourself and ask what is it about meditation that I'm interested in and why am I motivated to make this a regular part of my life.
Perhaps you've started to experience some of the benefits and some of the transformational elements of meditation and you're curious to establish a deeper and more meaningful practice in your life because of this.
Or maybe you are just curious,
You saw something online or a person that you know recommended something to you and you just want to see what it's all about.
All motivations are welcome and everything is good in this space.
So I invite you to maybe just have a little journaling session with yourself to really consider all of the various things that come up when you ask yourself why am I motivated.
And then when you have moments where you're not quite sure,
Oh maybe I would rather sleep in instead of meditate or oh what am I doing with spending five minutes a day on this,
You can look back and reflect on your journal entry and remember these reasons and remember that initial spark that inspired you to do this.
So that's my first tip is to really identify and articulate your motivation.
And the second step is,
In my opinion,
The most important one that I tell all new students and all people who ask me how to start with meditation.
And that tip is to start small.
One minute a day is one minute more of meditation than you would have done otherwise.
So all the minutes are beautiful minutes and I encourage you to start with a realistic goal.
So perhaps you would like to start at one minute a day and then slowly,
Maybe week by week,
Say add 15 seconds or 30 seconds and slowly see how that feels.
And then when it starts to feel overwhelming or you notice yourself falling off track or falling out of the routine,
You can just step back a little bit and remind yourself,
I started small and small is still good,
But I started small and look where I am now.
And this is okay.
It's okay to step back and just find your own path,
Find your own balance.
So highly recommend just start with one minute a day if you don't have a daily practice.
Absolutely.
And this leads right into my next tip,
Which is to habit stack,
Which means that you integrate this new habit that you're trying to form,
Creating a regular practice.
You integrate that into your daily routines that you already have.
So for instance,
Brushing your teeth.
Say you brush your teeth in the morning,
First thing when you get out of bed.
Then you can habit stack your minute or so,
However much you choose.
You can habit stack your meditation practice right next to that one that you already have.
So you can say,
After I brush my teeth,
I'm going to sit down on a chair,
This chair,
And I'm going to meditate for one minute.
And then you start to see how you've already ingrained this habit into your life by attaching it to another one.
I think it's just such a beautiful practice and it really works best when you have started small and you know why you're doing this.
And then I think in line with this is to find a balance between accountability and ease.
So that's really my fourth tip,
Is to not be hard on yourself and to really approach this task and this journey with so much ease and so much compassion for yourself.
And just know if you miss a day,
It's okay.
There's another day and another day.
And also,
Just because you missed your morning meditation practice doesn't mean you can't do it at night.
You can also get your minute on the train.
You can do a minute right before you go to bed.
It's absolutely okay.
So just be gentle with yourself.
And another thing that I really like about insight timers specifically is the use of the streaks.
So I kind of like this gamified version of holding yourself accountable for meditation because I felt a lot of pride when I earned my first star.
And as I continue to earn stars for showing up and being dedicated to my practice,
I feel really proud of myself.
And in order to maintain your streak,
You really just have to open the app and you can just set your intention for the day.
Or you can just spend a couple of minutes listening to an audio recording just like this one and really know that that's enough.
Showing up is enough.
And finally,
My fifth tip is to listen to your needs and work with the practices that support you.
So if you're feeling overwhelmed,
Maybe try to find a practice that's more grounding.
Or if you're feeling sort of like a little slow and you need some motivation to go out because there's something you want to do,
But your mind and body are just not quite connecting,
Maybe look for a practice that's a little more active.
And a meditation practice doesn't have to mean just sitting in the lotus seated crossed leg position,
Paying attention to the rhythm of your breath.
It can mean a walking meditation,
It can mean singing and staying in the moment and improvising a song.
It can mean contemplating a poem or mindfully eating a grape.
There are endless ways to meditate and be mindful.
And I think that it's such a beautiful way for you to honor your true needs.
So not only is this a tip to continue and to integrate meditation practice into your daily life,
But it's also a really beautiful way to develop and foster a deep relationship to your body and mind and your own needs.
And that is one of my favorite things about a meditation practice,
A regular meditation practice.
Yeah,
So thank you so much for listening.
These were my top five tips.
If you have any comments or questions,
Please feel free to leave them below this recording.
And you can send me a message if you have any questions or there's anything that you want to discuss further.
Also,
If there's any follow up recordings that you would like or any specific element you're curious about,
I'm more than happy to expand on that.
So thank you so much for your time today.
And best of luck integrating mindfulness practice into your life.
You won't regret it.
Trust me.
Okay.
Until next time,
Take care of yourself.
Shanti Shanti Shanti.
Peace,
Peace,
Peace.
