Beginner's Meditation Challenge

On Day 1, we set the tone for this 21-day experience, reminding ourselves that comfort is key when we meditate and that we deserve this small slice of time. In our practice together, we will explore a science-backed breath practice for slowing down and relaxing.

On Day 2, we acknowledge the importance of taking small moments each day to break the trance of autopilot and come into our breath and our bodies. In our meditation together, we practice a body and breath tool that is scientifically proven to release stored stress and tension from the body. If it’s possible, you might like to sit in a chair for this practice.

On Day 3, we explore how our physical body stores the busyness of our lives. We sit for long periods of time at our computers and feel tense in our necks and shoulders. Our mind moves from thought to thought, sometimes resulting in headaches. We feel the overwhelm or worry in our bellies or our gut. That’s why today’s guided meditation is an opportunity to offer our bodies some TLC through a deliberate body scan.

On Day 4, we explore how when life feels too much, when we are juggling too many responsibilities, it’s easy to move into either a heightened, anxious type of state, or a feeling of flatness. In our practice together, we explore a science-backed tool that is super helpful for bringing us back into a state of regulation when we are feeling too much or not enough.

Today, we celebrate your commitment to taking the time to meditate and explore science-backed tools for living well in challenging times. In our meditation, we explore a practice called containment, which is designed to help soothe anxiety, overwhelm, or stress.

On Day 6, we explore how when we are super busy, it's easy to get caught inside our head, replaying conversations or planning tomorrow. From here, we lose touch with our bodies. Similarly, if life feels too much and we move into a feeling of flatness or shut down, it’s also common to lose connection to our bodies. Today’s practice is a great one for reconnecting with your body. I call it turning the volume up. It’s best done sitting in a chair.

On Day 7, we continue to experiment with different ways to come down from our busy and often critical thinking mind into sensations in our body, and the present moment. In our practice together, we place all our awareness on the outside of our bodies and notice the increase in sensation.

On Day 8, we challenge the stereotypes about energy, that it is woo-woo, or that only certain people, like healers or clairvoyants, can feel energy. Instead, we open to the possibility that energy is life, and we can all feel it, even those of us who don’t identify as being spiritual. Today’s practice is simple yet powerful. The intention is for you to get a feel for energy and the way it can help us in our everyday lives.

On Day 9, we explore the importance of finding balance in these fast-paced and challenging times. In our meditation practice, we use breath and body awareness to cultivate a sense of balance in our physical bodies and in our lives. It’s perfect for anyone who has been feeling a bit hyper, anxious, or overwhelmed. Or for those of us who have been feeling flat or tired.

On Day 10, we reflect upon arriving at the halfway mark of this 21-day meditation challenge. We get curious about any benefits that meditation may have on your everyday life. In our practice together, we reflect upon a time when we felt relaxed, at ease, and connected. Amazingly, when we take the time to connect with these past experiences in meditation, we are sending a message to our nervous system that we are ready for more of these moments in our everyday life. Pretty cool.

Day 11 is about feeling grateful for our bodies. It’s an opportunity to break the cycles of negativity and criticism we often direct to our bodies. Instead, we shall drop deep into the truth that our body is miraculous, supporting us day in day out. And sometimes, it feels good to thank it for all the ways it empowers us, helps create meaning and connection in our lives.

Today, we celebrate that you have passed the halfway mark of this 21-day meditation challenge for busy people keen on personal growth. We explore how our relationships often feel the strain of our overscheduled and busy lives. We take our practice as an opportunity to shift this dynamic by feeling grateful for the people and pets in our lives.

Today, we explore how, in our busy lives, most of us live in our minds. We replay, rehearse, plan, judge, and strategise. We make decisions from our rational mind. But the truth is, sometimes it’s good to connect to the wisdom of your heart. In our practice together, we connect with our hearts through the lens of curiosity and gratitude.

Today, we explore how, as busy adults with lots of responsibilities, it’s so easy to move through life all serious. We tell ourselves that we’ll take the time to relax, have fun, and do the things we enjoy on the weekend or the holidays. But in truth, we can learn to weave small moments of lightheartedness, of fun and pleasure, into our everyday lives. In our meditation together, we learn how.

On Day 15, we explore how when we are busy, striving to get things done, our physical posture changes. Maybe you’ve noticed that your head tilts forward, your neck gets tight, or your shoulders feel hunched in. In our meditation together, we practice the posture of wholehearted confidence as a way to help you feel less hurried and more open and at ease.

On Day 16, we discuss how it’s so easy to spend our days moving from one thing to the next, reacting rather than choosing where, and what we want to be spending our time doing. In our practice, we explore discernment as a way to focus our attention by getting clear on what we want more of and less of in our lives.

In Day 17, we reflect upon the voice inside our head that tells us we aren't’ good enough, that we need to get more done in the day, to be more patient with family, more thoughtful with our friends, more organised at work. In our practice together, we let go of some of these thoughts so that we can reconnect with the part of ourselves that is already enough.

On day 18, we explore the possibility that meditation allows us to pause and learn to treat ourselves more kindly. In our meditation together, we practice developing this sense of friendliness towards ourselves.

As you enter day 19 of this meditation challenge, you are getting a sense that meditation is less about reaching a place of calm and more about circuit-breaking the forward momentum, busyness, and autopilot so that you can see yourself and your life in new and liberating ways. Today’s practice is designed to help with this by helping you feel more spacious.

On day 20, we expand our awareness and open to seeing ourselves and our lives in new ways. In our meditation together, we connect with the energy of the sun to help us imagine a bigger, bolder life for ourselves.

Day 21 is a celebration of your commitment to meditation and getting to know yourself more deeply. We reflect upon how taking just a few minutes each day to be with yourself can have a powerful ripple effect. In our practice, we get curious about what gift meditation has given us.