Making Meditation a Habit: Overcoming Everyday Excuses and Building a Sustainable Practice
Actually, it’s very easy to ensure sustainability in meditation because it is as easy as raising awareness during the day and focusing on the breath and the body when needed. Although the mind is quite skillful in terms of going back to old habits, we can always spare a few minutes of the day for ourselves, at home, at work or on the road.First of all, it’s important to notice the thoughts, which prevent us from practicing. Most of the time we associate discontinuance of the practice for various psychological reasons. So what are the real thoughts preventing us from working out the brain muscles?
- I’ve been very busy recently, can’t find time for it.
Days are passing by very fast with work, home errands, social life. If you have a careful look at the activities, for which you spare time during the day, you’ll notice that actually, 5-10 minutes is a very short period of time. And when it comes to a time frame; which will be spared to train the mind and to create a stress-free, anxiety-free, clear space for ourselves; it becomes invaluable. That’s why we need to focus on creating time, not finding the time. Please try to spare this time for yourself, while you’re sparing time to everybody around you. As the first step, you may practice the short meditations as the first thing in the morning after you wake up and also you may create 2 to 3 minutes of breaks during the day just to focus on your breathing. You might be at home, at work or on the road but you can always softly close your eyes and put your mind away from all the distractions of the external world and be alone with your inner world. Just be witness to your thoughts.
- I keep forgetting to continue to my practice, couldn’t regularize it, yet.
You want to utilize which part of the day for meditation practice is totally up to you. Generally sparing 10 minutes of your morning time for meditation helps you make a fresher and calmer start for the day. In order to ensure a continuous practice, you may set a Meditation Alarm for yourself.
- I can’t do it, I don’t understand how I am supposed to practice.
Yes, we do get stuck with the question of how meditation is practiced but actually, it’s just the time that we spare for ourselves in order to discover the self and to rest the mind. That’s why don’t get stuck with the things that are “supposed to” happen during meditation. This is your own experience and the only thing that you need to do is to sit and close your eyes for a while to focus on your thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Initially, you need to get the habit of sitting down. That’s why just spare the time for you without getting stuck at any thoughts and judgments.
- Meditation is not for me, I can’t even sit still.
The muscles of the brain are just like our body muscles and you can consider meditation as the gym for the brain. Just like you couldn’t lift up the heavyweights at your first time in the gym; at your first time at meditation your brain muscles won’t be ready but you’ll progress day by day and you’ll observe the change in you. Since the mind is not used to practicing, during your initial experiences it might say “it’s not for me, I can’t do it” or might try to postpone by saying “I’ll do it later, I guess it’s something necessary”. Please do not get caught up on these and just try to focus on your experience. When you can’t meditate, just try to focus on your breaths for a couple of minutes.
- I haven’t observed any impact of it.
According to the scientific researchers, meditation decreases levels of insomnia, stress, anxiety and chronic pain and increases the levels of concentration, happiness, and inner peace. But for this, first, you need to ensure sustainability. When you sit for meditation with a good intention and wish, you can see these impacts immediately. According to the researchers, by the end of an 8-week-practice, the grey matter in the brain changes considerably and the part of the brain that is related to stress, anxiety, and reactions starts to shrink. So, meditation really changes the brain!
- I already feel very well, I don’t need it.
Meditation is not a painkiller. It’s a space, which increases our awareness, calms the mind and gives us a clearer vision regarding life. The more frequently we meditate, the better we can manage our thoughts and the further we push ourselves away from the unpleasant things and situations.Now, would you like to practice meditation? Download “The Meditation App”.If your reason isn’t any of the above-listed ones, then what is it? Can you please write us a comment?
