Do you meditate? When I used to get asked if I meditated my answer was no for years, but I really ‘should.’ My response was often followed by feelings of guilt, shame, and embarrassment. My feelings and beliefs around meditation were that there was no freaking way I could first carve out the time to meditate on top of my busy schedule. There was also no way I could just turn OFF my over-active AF brain. And truthfully, if I couldn’t be ‘perfect' at it or ensure I was doing it ‘right', what was the point in even trying, I'd just fail.

I had this vision of what meditation ‘should’ be in my head — sitting uncomfortable in a cross legged seated position for 20+ minutes in a luscious setting and shutting your brain off. To be honest, this vision couldn’t be further from the truth.

First off, I acknowledged that I can carve out time for ANYTHING that I make a priority, and so can you. Secondly, I learned that meditation not about sitting uncomfortable for hours on end, PHEW. Lastly, meditation is not about turning off your brain, but more about making the time to sit still and pay attention to what’s going on. Yes I know, scary AF.

So now that we’ve established that, how do you know if you’re practicing meditation ‘right,’ or ‘wrong’? You’ve intentionally carved out the time to sit and be still, but maybe you feel like you’re staring at a blank screen. How do you know if it’s actually working?

According to Light Watkins, meditation is more about the benefits you experience outside of the practice itself even if it feels like you’re just staring at the back of your eyelids like:

1. You feel more energized afterward. Gone are the days where my energy was thriving. Getting older is tough, and I can feel that I have to work even harder to make sure I’m fueling my body with lifestyle habits that support my energy.

2. You’re less needy and controlling. I’m a Virgo and there’s nothing like getting my way and feeling in ‘control,’ of things. But let’s face it. We can’t control every aspect of our lives, that is part of life, it throws us curveballs.

3. You’re sleeping better. There’s nothing quite like getting a solid night of sleep and waking up feeling refreshed in the morning. Sleep is so essential to our overall wellbeing even though it is oftentimes overlooked. It affects everything from our metabolism, hormones, mood, and overall wellbeing.

4. You’re more adaptable to change. Life is change. Change is life. And of course change is something that can be really challenging for many of us. Learning to be more adaptable to change is key to our overall wellbeing in both your personal and professional life.

5. You stop identifying with your ego as much. How often to you catch yourself doing something from your ego as opposed to your heart? If you’ve come to one of my yoga classes before you’ve probably heard me say move from a place of kindness and compassion as opposed to ego. Often times we feel the need to compete with others, or even ourselves. Learning to live from your heart as opposed to your ego is key to living a more meaningful and purposeful life

6. You’re more fearless when it comes to following your heart. Speaking of following your heart, you’ve heard the saying trust your gut. There’s a lot of truth to that. How often do you find yourself doing things because you think you ‘should’ do it? I lived a life following ‘should’s’ for years and it led me to a life that I thought I wanted, but it didn’t actually align with my heart. There’s nothing quite like learning how to trust your intuition and pursuing the dreams that align with your soul’s purpose.

7. You’re able to see the silver lining in so-called bad situations. Life happens for you, not to you. Repeat. Life happens for you, not to you. Learning to shift your mindset and see the silver lining in so-called bad situations is key to your happiness. When something doesn’t go your way or your caught in a ‘bad’ situation, ask yourself, what can I learn from this?

Thanks to meditation teacher and friend, George Peterson, I was referred to this life changing book Bliss More, by Light Watkins which changed my approach and belief system around meditation and made it more accessible for me to make it a part of my daily ritual.

It’s amazing how many holistic modalities there are to help support our health and happiness. So I hope this post serves as an inspiration to get curious about what might be holding you back from trying meditation.