As a health and wellness follower I love learning about all the fitness studios, superfoods and serums that promise to transform me into a dewy-faced cherub child plucked from the garden of Narnia. In LA there’s a lot to choose from and as a consumer it’s easy for me to get caught up searching for some thing to remedy an issue rather than accept I may already have the solution.
Meditation’s been suggested to me by just about everyone and yet I’ve managed to find every excuse not to do it; too much to do, can’t sit still, not enough time, blah, blah, blah. Meanwhile, flash to me sitting in my pajamas at 2pm pondering my life’s purpose and whether I should eat that Dove bar in the freezer. So, I’ve decided to give it a go and try one of the guided meditation apps.
After asking around and doing a little research I download Headspace’s free 10-day trial, but before I shave my head, commit to celibacy and don a hemp robe for all eternity, what exactly is meditation? Headspace states, “…Meditation isn’t about becoming a different person, a new person, or even a better person. It’s about training in awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective… without judgement.” Phew! I guess my Britney Spears moment can wait.
Headspace suggests picking a consistent time and place to meditate. The trial entailed ten minutes of meditation per day preferably in ten consecutive days. My initial thought was why would anyone pay for this when you can set a timer on your phone and sit still for a few minutes? Well, moments into my first session it was clear that I lacked a certain patience and I kind of love Andy Puddicombe’s voice from the Headspace app, he’s like a British Buddha. So here is day by day synopsis of my 10-day meditation challenge.
Day 1
I am JAZZED to get started! However, four minutes later I check the timer and am shocked I still have six minutes.
Day 2
I am ruminating on a particular thought. I tell myself to stop thinking about it and it actually works! For about 10 seconds but then I’m thinking about it again. UGH!
Day 3
The session starts with a Gumby-esque animated video about seeing thoughts as cars on a busy street, and instead of chasing them or trying to make them slow down I try to watch and let the thoughts come and go.
Day 4
7 minutes into my session I am restless and checking the timer. Ughhh, I have a lot to do.
Day 5
Andy likens the mind to taming a wild horse and finding a natural state of rest so I focus on my breathing and it actually keeps my thoughts from wandering! But then I start thinking, ‘what if thinking about my breathing is really just overthinking, and if so, then isn’t that just me thinking about overthinking?’ Oh god.
Day 6
I start with the regular body scan exercise, checking in physically from head to toe. I notice lower back pain, has it always been there? Or has meditation turned me into a hypochondriac? Andy chimes in that the point of the exercise is observation not diagnosis.
Day 7
Today is about seeing my mind as a blue sky and it makes a lot of sense! Because it’s pretty easy for me to see a tiny rain cloud and scream, “HURRICANE KATRINA!”
Day 8
I stop by a friend’s and realize (one margarita in) that I forgot to do my meditation! I sit down in her room cross legged but things are a little hazy. I do my best but conclude that mindfulness is probably more about quality than quantity and return to the party.
Day 9
Today there’s an animated video about accepting our thoughts in an effort to be less critical of ourselves and others. I have yet to master this but
DAY 10
It is still a challenge to get settled but it is becoming easier to do the full ten minutes.
So, did 10 days of meditation drastically change my life? Not yet, but I do see a positive shift in my daily awareness and acknowledgment of my feelings. I have a tendency to avoid, judge or want to change how I feel and guided meditation has revealed that this approach doesn’t just affect how I see myself but ultimately my outlook on others and my environment. I’m fairly certain it takes more than 10 days to undo 31 years of emotional patterns BUT this is definitely a step in the right direction.
By: Meredith Hurd, TSR contributor