Struggling with Meditation? Try This

Almost everyone I know and meet who does meditation has at some point struggled with it.

Whether it's the struggle regarding the actual sitting still and trying to clear your mind, finding time for it in your daily life, or mental blocks and struggles regarding personal perceptions around meditation at some point we have all been there.

If you are struggling as a result of mental illness and more specficially PTSD I suggest you read my post here about what I wish I had known as someone with PTSD who jumped into meditation head on.

For everyone else here are a few things that I have noticed have really helped me (and others) in various aspects when struggling to get in that meditation headspace.

Set a Daily Time

For me my time to meditate is after I shower after my workout in the morning. I workout first thing in the morning, come home, shower in a cold shower, and then go straight into my morning meditation sometimes before I even get dressed for the day. My morning meditations are usually 10-15 minutes. They don't have to be long. The important part here is to have some level of consistency. I personally feel that doing it when I'm not tired right before bed is the most effective and least likely way that I will fall asleep. Maybe for you it's between classes, when the kids are napping or on your break at work. Whatever works for you as long as you have some level of consistency in the time length of your meditation and/or the time that it occurs in your day.

Seek a Meditation Teacher

There are A LOT of free meditation teachers online. You can find them through apps like insight timer or aura or on youtube or just by searching on your preferred search engine "meditation teachers." These teachers will provide guides and helpful hints and tricks for you as well as guided meditations to help you focus. My favourite online meditation teacher is David Ji but you will find your own favourite that will resonate with you in time. Explore and have fun with it. Don't let it stress you out. This is a journey not a destination.

Guided Meditations

Guided meditations I find can be one of the most helpful tools when you are starting out. A lot of people are under the assumption that in order to meditate your mind has to be completely blank and this isn't true. It's just that you are in control of what is coming into your mind and how it is impacting you. It is unrealistic for your mind to be entirely blank but this is where a guided meditation can come in super handy because guided meditations give you something specific to follow and focus on. There is literally a guided meditation for anything your heart desires whether it is just a morning meditation practice, clearing your chakras, releasing stress...there are so many options so sit and see what resonates with you and what you need that day and go from there. They can also be great when you are starting out and struggling to do things such as visualisation as they walk you through these processes.

Ambient Mixer

A few months ago I found this great site called ambient-mixer.com. If you haven't read my review about it on my general blog here I suggest you check it out. I've since recommended this site to many people and all of them have commented about how helpful it is for so many different situations. In short this is a site where you can have ambient sounds of all sorts from movie or television inspired themes, to nature themes, to library or cafe themes...the list is endless. I know people that have used this for concentration, for studying, to aid in meditation, for music when they're driving on stressful roads, cooking and so much more. You can have a lot of fun with it and you can even sign up and save your favourite ones (by "voting" for them) and make your own if you want! I highly recommend you try this out in a variety of situations and see if it helps you.

Go For a Walk in Nature

I know this probably seems pretty simplistic but let me explain. There is this misconception that meditation can only be done when you are sitting crosslegged, on a pillow, in a private room in complete silence. This simply isn't the case for many people. You can meditate by being aware of your surrounding and the energy in them as you are walking in a forest, along a river, a beach or taking your dog to the dog park. Meditation isn't always a one way fits all all the time thing. The purpose of meditation is paying attention and bringing awareness to your present moment and the little things that you typically will miss. So for many of you the issue is simply that you have your phone in your hand all the time. So drop it and take your kids to the park. Sit on a bench and watch them. Take your dog down a new trail. Hike a new area. All of these things can aid in meditation and help to remove blockages you may have in your mind.

Set an Intention

This is something that many don't think of doing but something that I have found helpful in the past when I'm just too mind boggled to be able to do anything straight. Set an intention. If you have to speak it out loud or write it down in your journal. "This meditaion time will be spent to release stress." Boom. Now you have a goal you want to do and an intention set for youself already planted. Brilliant. No go forth my meditation machine! Don't think too hard on this. Just think of what you need in that moment and voice it and jump in.

Take a Bath

Water is incredibly powerful and healing and a highly underrated element in todays day. There are so many things that you can do with something simple like a bath. For one it takes you away from the struggles of the day. It helps to cleanse you physically and energetically. You can go to the dollar or pound shop and pick up some tealight candles and give you that spa vibe. Add an essential oil and some epsom salt to help set the mood and boom you are drifting away. It doesn't need to be long. It just needs to be effective. I find that baths are especially good for visualisation meditations where you are struggling to clear yourself of old energy or heal your aura.

These are just a few ways that you can go about trying to kick yourself out of that meditation hump that many of us get stuck on. Experiment with them and see what works for you and what doesn't or get creative and come up with some new ideas and concepts of your own.