Meditation has tremendous benefits – science proves it. However, not many people are actively engaged in meditation. Work pressures, home responsibilities and other social obligation keep us from taking a much needed break to reconnect with our inner-self through meditation.
Meditation reconnects us with our inner self and provides the much needed opportunity to inspect our thoughts and engage into deliberate relaxation to rejuvenate and regrow with more vigor and enthusiasm.
If you are a busy person or someone who is totally new to meditation, here are six simple ways to include meditation into your daily routine:
1. Start small and slow
We all are busy and meditation requires time to practice and get used to it. Masters always ask their disciples to start small and start slow meditation. Selecting a specific time of the day and using that time to do meditation will make your brain to start accepting the new routine.
Start with simple breathing exercises during the day i.e. during lunch hours, right after you wake up or before the sleep, you can easily integrate meditation in your daily routine just by doing focused breathing exercises for just brief period of time.
2. Be easier on yourself
You cannot force meditation on yourself. If you do, you will never be able to meditate properly. Your mind chatter will never simply vanish if you force meditation on yourself so make sure you are fully convinced on the benefits of meditation.
Meditation is your relationship with yourself so surrender yourself in this relationship and be more open to yourself to experience new realities through meditation.
3. Body Scanning
Another way to integrate meditation in your daily life is to scan your body and do gradual relaxation meditation. Start with simple shift in focus on each part of the body right from your scalp to your toes.
Slowly and gradually start scanning your body and start counting backwards from 100 to 1 while continuing to focus on each part of the body.
4. Working with your feelings and sensations
Focusing on the feelings and sensations of your body can also be a good start for meditation. Welcoming the feelings, sensations, sounds and pictures you experience in your daily life can help you pause and feel at peace with yourself.
Welcoming of all the feelings and sensations makes you accept things as they are and will further calm you down. Stop resisting your feelings and welcome everything. In time, you’ll be able to experience the complete benefits of meditation just by doing this.
5. Find a community
If you are busy or not sure how to start meditation, it is also a good option if you can find a friend or group – online or otherwise – to support you in integrating meditation in your daily life. An accountability buddy or community participation is a great way to keep you committed and motivated to routine engagement in meditation.
Online Facebook groups are also your other option to engage with other like-minded people and learn from their experiences. Once you start to interact with others, you will feel more confident about yourself and more comfortable participating in meditation on a daily basis.
6. Use wearable technology
There are many apps that can help you learn meditation or force you to do breathing exercises. There are also wearable technologies that help you do the same. The new Fitbit Charge 2 is a device designed to help you do breathing exercises. By using its internal timer and alarm features, you can follow the on-screen instructions on your Charge HR2 and easily do some breathing exercises.
Meditation has its benefits. The above-mentioned methods are simple things to help you make meditation a routine activity. Commit yourself and you can be on your way to living a stress-free life.
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