Meditation 101: My experience

Ok I am not a yogi, this is just what I have experienced since I started meditating on a regular basis.

Meditation is an exercise that a lot of people find challenging. The idea of listening to your breath for 10 minutes or more doesn't sound very appealing to most. In the fast paced environment that we all are living in, making a stop and dedicate time to your thoughts is perceived almost impossible. I often hear, and I myself believed this to be true as well, "How am I going to stay still for 30 minutes when I have so much to do?", "I can't listen to my breath for that long", "I get distracted with every single thing, I can't focus on meditation", etc. all misconceptions of what meditation really is, or tries to focus on. 

Meditation equals Mindfulness

Aside from the common thinking of meditation as the art of "listening to your breath", it allows you, through breathing and stillness, to discover sides of yourself that otherwise you wouldn't have. I discovered, while meditating, unresolved emotions and old thoughts that were buried deep deep inside, and that were still affecting me without me even knowing it. I discovered sides of me I didn't know I had, and a way to respond to difficult situations in life other than reacting and confronting. My relationship with myself, my body and others is different now. As I started to discover corners of my character that were unknown to me, I started to make healthier choices in all aspects of my life. 

The way I present myself to people and situations changed. I am more creative and passionate, and it is expressed in everything that I do. I am able to see more clearly other options, instead of focusing only in one exit. It's not that I don't get angry anymore (let's just say I have a very determined and strong character), but I don't react. My perception switched, and I am able to examine where the feeling is coming from and how to respond to it. It is easier to be said than to be done. Sometimes we solve the problems focusing on the ends, instead of the roots.

When we do it, the situation will happen again because we are not solving the issue from within.

Meditation is not only sitting still for 30 minutes. To meditate is to be in the present moment, with yourself and your thoughts. We often miss so much because we are either thinking what's next, or what just happened. Neither way we are actually paying attention to what we are doing at the moment. To dedicate those minutes of your day to meditation is the same as the time you take to do your makeup or blow-dry your hair. It will always add up to your day, it never takes away.

With meditation you start to notice what is cluttering your mind and keeping you from moving forward. 

And you adjust accordingly. I noticed how just switching my perspective about situations in my life would bring a whole new meaning to things I thought I knew, or updating old patterns of thinking would allow me to grow and learn more. So, some checkpoints ?

• Meditating doesn't have to be seated in a lotus position with your palms open, neither has to be half an hour or an hour. Try small periods of time, and increase as you go, in a comfortable seating, but be honest with yourself. If you know you are going to fall asleep if you lay down, choose another position. I started with 5 minutes using the app InsightTimer. They have tons of guided meditations
• Wash off all preconceived notions of meditation. The breathing exercises are just part of the meditation to bring you to the here and the now, to center your mind in the present. It is there, where you are going to be able to benefit from meditating, so eliminate the idea that you are wasting time on "breathing."
• Be consistent. It is not going to happen all in one day, but when you pay attention you realize your switch in perception. Consistency, like for anything else, is key to really see results.

I still have a long way to go, it's not like after two months I think I found Nirvana, but it is a life changing experience when you notice how you are seeing things differently, and realize we have everything we need within us to be and do whatever we want. 

Its working on what is inside, and everything else will align. That is the magic of it.

As always, all my favorites are linked below. 

Thanks for reading loves!
Xoxo,
Esther