There are lots of different techniques for meditating and there is no one size fits all. Our minds and bodies are individual to us so what works for one person, may not work for someone else. As part of our month of self-love, let’s focus on how you can use meditation to improve your well-being.
When we think of meditating, the stereotype that is often associated with it is the classic sitting in a dark room with our legs crossed making ‘ommmm’ noises every couple of minutes. That ‘omm‘ noise is actually a deep exhalation through the nose which isn’t quite as dramatic as the movies make it out to be
Deep inhalations and exhalations are a critical part of meditation. They encourage better blood flow around your body. This benefits your heart, lungs and brain. I like the technique which I found through ‘Headspace’, a mediation app. It emphasises imagining those deep inhalations and exhalations moving around the muscles in your body. The idea is to start from your toes and work your way up to the crown of your head (or vice versa).
But sitting or laying very still doesn’t work everyone. As meditation is designed to encourage blood flow, it’s important to remember those critical deep inhalations and exhalations with whatever activity you choose to do.
Alternative techniques for meditating
- walking, running or cycling – especially excellent if you can do this outside.
- cooking – those deep inhalations will fill with delicious smells!
- yoga – not only is the deep breathing good for meditation but the extra oxygen will help your muscles with each stretch.
When should I meditate?
Now that I’ve told you different techniques for meditating, it’s time to think about making time to implement these techniques! It could be useful to try different techniques at first. You might find that you like having a variety of different ways to meditate, or you might decide that you just want to stick to one.
Having an idea of when you want to meditate is good place to start. You could pick one day a week when you know you won’t be disturbed. Some people like to meditate every day, either to start their day or end their day.
Once you get into the swing of meditation, you’ll be able to identify moments of stress and use it to take a step back.
What to do next:
Tell me how you meditate in the comments below and Pin this for later for when you need some meditating inspo!
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Thanks for writing this great post. I’ve been trying to get into a habit of meditating for years but always get distracted and loose interest. I enjoyed reading your post and am going to try again as I think it is a really healthy thing to do. I really love your blog and have followed you on Twitter. x
Thank you so much! I’m so pleased you found this post inspiring to try again with a habit!
This post is so useful because sometimes it is easy to forget that you don’t have to ‘ommmmm’ for hours like some perceive! I find that I like to change the time when I do it, in the summer I like early mornings and in winter evening time. Thanks for sharing Charlotte and hope you are enjoying skiing!! 🙂
Thanks Millie! Skiing was wonderful and we managed to fit in some relaxation time too! I’m definitely way more motivated in the summer. Now that the mornings are getting lighter again, I can feel my energy coming back!