We’re living in a fast-paced world, no matter what phase of life you’re in. Whether you’re in school, career-driven or building a family, it can feel challenging to find the time and space to take a moment just for yourself. Meditation is an excellent place to turn to help us cope with the amazing highs of life — but one that can also help keep us centered and reduce stress when times are tough.
The thing is, once you accomplish one hard-won goal or achievement in your life, it doesn’t just suddenly become easy-peasy from there! Life constantly has its ups and downs — and navigating both is how we grow as humans, figure out who we are and how we want to show up in the world at large. This is why it’s so important to carve out that time for yourself to simply be still and reflective.
Here are my top 6 reasons why practicing meditation will help you manifest change in your life:
It will give you more space.
Life can be a balancing act between the things you need to get done and your desire to work on your fitness. It’s easy for things to get overwhelming! If you lose your motivation and mindset, it will be easier to throw in the towel and enjoy that dessert or extra drink.
It will improve your focus.
If you find you’re trying to tackle too many things at once, or that there are a million things on your mind, meditation will help you relax how you’re feeling and allow you to simply be. Gaining control over your thoughts will help you focus on the task at hand.
It promotes clearer thinking.
Meditation helps you ground yourself and notice when you’re feeling reactive. Recognizing when you’re reactive allows you to shift your mindset and focus on being proactive.
It encourages weight loss.
When you start paying attention to your mind, you start to learn to identify cues from your body. Are you really feeling hunger, or are you experiencing thirst, boredom or stress? Being mindful allows you to navigate your hunger cues and use your inner guidance system to eat the things that you need versus eating things you simply want.
It can help give you a better night’s sleep.
Practising meditation before bed can help you let go of the difficult, stress-related thoughts you may have at bedtime, encouraging an easier and more restful sleep.
It helps you become in tune with your body.
When you learn how to read your body’s cues, you can learn when to push and when to back off. You become a master of knowing how your own body operates, and can identify when to challenge yourself to the next level, whether in a workout or in a situation in life that makes you uncomfortable. You also learn when it’s time to take a break. You’ll naturally decrease comparing yourself to someone else when you’re in tune and accepting of how your mind and body work best for you.
It encourages self-love.
The more time we devote to spending time with ourselves in a way that allows us to just be, the easier it is to be compassionate with ourselves.
There’s no right way to practise mindfulness — it can look different for everyone. I recommend trying a few different ways of practising so you can learn what feels best for you. Here are some quick and easy ways to start!
- Download an app like Headspace and follow along their guided meditations for 10 minutes a day.
- Carve out a time whether it’s first thing or before you go to bed and sit quietly for 10 minutes. Makes sure you disengage from any devices!
- Eat a meal distraction-free, and simply enjoy the flavours and experience of what you’re eating.
- Start a daily journal where you write down everything that you appreciate. It doesn’t have to take more than 5 or 10 minutes!
- Take a walk in nature.
- Try a yoga or meditation class.
I invite you to give a few of these a try this week! It doesn’t have to be more than 10 minutes a day to get started. I’d love to hear how it goes for you — don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know your thoughts, experiences etc. Leave a comment below or DM me on Instagram.
Have an amazing day and Namaste!
Emilia
