Ahh, meditation.

What can I say? My meditation practice has literally been life changing for me. It has been an absolutely integral component of my happiness, general wellbeing and spiritual growth.

I first started a regular meditation practice a little over two years ago at the suggestion of my good friend, Danielle, who accredited meditation with helping her get pregnant with her twins. I was going through a rough time. I had just broken up with my longtime boyfriend and was taking some much needed time away from the veterinary world to figure out what the heck I wanted to do with my life. While I knew in my heart I was making the right decision to move away from a stressful job and a relationship that had run its course, I was also feeling extremely anxious, scared and totally lost. I felt like my entire world and everything I knew had been ripped out from underneath me. 

I can recall sitting down to meditate for the first time. I wasn’t really sure what to expect (and to be honest I felt a little awkward) but I was desperate for anything that would make me feel better at that point, so I gave it a go. I sat on the floor at the foot of my bed, cross legged with my eyes closed and took a long deep breath in and out. After just a few repetitions of my own breath I felt a shift. My face softened, my muscles started to relax and I felt more at peace. After a few more minutes I was overcome with an emotion I hadn’t felt in a long time – relief. That night I slept better than I had in months. That was all I needed to become hooked. I returned to my meditation spot the next evening and I have continued to come back every day since.

Meditation offered me a welcome reprieve from the chaos that was swirling around in my life at that time. No matter what was going on in my external world, in my meditation I felt safe, grounded. It was the one constant I could always come back to. In a way, meditation became almost addicting for me. I couldn’t wait to cozy up in my meditation spot each night before bed and connect to that peaceful, inner feeling.

My meditation practice has evolved over time, but it never ceases to provide me with exactly what I need. I feel so strongly about the benefits of meditation that I recommend it to all my coaching clients. (Ok, maybe it’s more like a requirement 🙂 ).

For me, the biggest benefits I have received from a regular meditation practice are:

It keeps my anxiety in check. This is HUGE for me. Adopting a regular meditation practice is the single. best. thing. I ever did for dealing with my anxiety. Meditation helps us center into our spiritual practice and connects us to our true inner self whose essence is peace. In the presence of peace, anxiety simply melts away. For anyone else who struggles with feeling anxious all the time, I cannot recommend meditation strongly enough.

It keeps me grounded and connected to my inner guidance system. We encounter so much noise and chaos in our daily lives. This external noise drowns out the voice of our own inner guidance, which always knows best. When we take time to get quiet in meditation, we can more easily tune into our inner guidance system. Whenever I’m feeling uncertain about something I sit myself down, close my eyes and listen. I have had countless breakthroughs and ah-ha moments arise just from sitting in the stillness of meditation.

It has literally transformed me into a different person. Well, it’s actually made me more of who I really am. I said before that meditation connects us to our true inner nature which is peace. The more I connect to that peace the more it permeates throughout all areas of my life. I don’t worry as much anymore. I don’t stress out not over constantly feeling like I don’t have enough time. I’m not as hard on myself. My life simply has more flow. All of those things just seem to fade away over time when you commit to a daily meditation practice. It truly is amazing.

New to meditation and ready to give it a try? Here are some tips for beginners! 

1. Start with a guided meditation. You’ll feel less pressure to try to ‘figure out’ what you should be doing during your meditation. Some of my favorite guided meditations are from Gabrielle Bernstein and Heather Waxman.

2. Stick with it! Just like trying anything new you’re going to feel awkward and and you will feel resistance but don’t give up! Make a commitment to stick to your meditation practice for at least 40 days, even if it’s just a few minutes per day. (If you’re not hooked by then, come talk to me! 🙂 ) The real benefits of meditation come when you commit to it as a daily practice.

3. Go easy on yourself. Let go of your expectations. Know that your meditation practice will grow and evolve over time. Let it be whatever it needs to be for you.

xoxo

Kristi

Talk to me: Do you have a regular meditation practice? If not, are you going to give it a try? Let me know! 🙂