Ciao tutti!
I know I’ve been a little MIA on the blog lately, but I’ve had a lot going on with my work lately and unfortunately, spending some time writing on here had taken a backseat for a couple weeks. But I’m back and ready to talk about my interesting experience doing a 20 minute guided meditation for 21 days straight.
I’ve meditated on my own at home for a few years now, but I don’t usually make time for it everyday to be honest. I often view certain moments of the day as mediation like my quiet time in the shower and my unwinding moments before bed. Even if it’s just for a few minutes, I think any time can be considered meditation if you are able to relax your mind and that pesky inner dialogue and align your mind, body and spirit. I wrote a whole post about meditation a while back too.
The daily experience
Some of you may have heard of or even practiced this particular mediation, but about a month ago, I signed up to do the Oprah and Deepak Chopra guided meditation series, “Shedding the Weight”. It’s a 21 day set of meditations regarding shedding weight or stress on all levels (not just the physical). Each day they would send an email in the morning with that day’s meditation and each meditation would have a centering thought and a unique mantra. (You can actually purchase this mediation now here.)
The structure of this meditation worked really well for me because first Oprah would talk about the centering topic of the day for a few minutes, then Deepak would share his thoughts, introduce the mantra, and then they would leave you to soft music for the last 10-ish minutes. I really enjoy and prefer guided meditations because it’s hard for me to dive right into relaxing my mind with just silence. I definitely need at least a little soft music to get me into the groove, but I really liked the different discussions of the centering thought as an opener.
I started to look forward to seeing each new day’s meditation in my inbox and hearing what new information it had in store for me.
Takeaways
Practice, practice, practice :: This 21 day set of meditations reminded me that meditation is called a practice for a reason. You can lose your habit, and the only way to keep up is to practice on a consistent basis. I found myself getting better and better at easing into the meditations as the days went on, but it made me realize that I was a little rusty and it’s just like any other skill.
Discipline :: The biggest takeaway for me was committing to practicing every single day. I hadn’t done a daily exercise like this in a very long time but it felt good to commit to it and stick to it. I didn’t miss a single day, though certain days got crazy at times and it felt like I couldn’t fit in an extra 20 minutes of anything. I heard on a podcast a while back something like 1% of your full 24 hour day is only about 15 minutes. (Don’t quote me on that math, but it was something like that.) And if we choose to dedicate just that 1% of every day to a mindful practice like meditation or yoga, we can make big shifts in our lifestyle with pretty minimal effort. There can always be an excuse (I’ve used them all on myself too) but thinking in terms of this little 1% helped me change my mindset.
Peace :: Even on days —and there were many— where I wasn’t able to fully clear my mind and thoughts, I felt a sense of peace from just taking those 20 minutes to be still. I don’t think peace or inner peace come on their own, and you have to work to foster that like anything else. Even if I was only fully at peace for two out of twenty minutes, it was still an amazing break my constant stream of thoughts and I felt great knowing that I dedicated that time to myself.
Continuing to Practice:
I have a lot of meditation downloads and CDs even from back in the day, but the Chopra Center is always a great resource online, they have some free meditations on YouTube and I really like Louise Hay as well.
Often times, I just search “guided meditations” on YouTube and try new ones out too.
To my meditators out there: which meditations do you love and why? I’m always open to finding new gems!
A presto,
Amanda ❤️
Very interesting, I think it’s time I start mediating, I think it’s definitely worth trying out 😊
Author
Thank you! I think it doesn’t have to be an intimidating, super long activity to count as “meditation.” That’s why I love the guided ones too!
I think I’d prefer guided meditations too
Author
It makes the whole activity a lot “easier” and approachable for sure.
I never used to think I could get into meditation and that sort of stuff, but I used hypnosis while in labour with my first baby and it was incredible, got me through many hours of contractions that didn’t bother me much thanks to the hypnosis.
Recently I’ve also started a hypnosis app that sounds a bit similar to yours, to help with losing weight. I find it so relaxing to listen to before going to sleep at night.
Author
So interesting. I tried hypnosis a couple times, and it didn’t work for me unfortunately. But yes, I love meditating before bed and it helps me calm down every time! xo
Love this! I’ve recently been using the headspace app and it’s been great. Definitely need to work on the consistency tho but I agree that peace is amazing. ✨
Author
I’ve heard a lot of people talk about headspace and I’m definitely interested in checking it out. I’m a little turned off that it’s paid, but I understand it’s not too expensive.
I’ve really been trying to mediate with the Headspace App & when I find the time I really enjoy doing it!
Author
I keep hearing about this app! I think it’s time I give it a go too! Thanks xo
This was super interesting for me to read, because I have just read a post about a meditation app that helps guide you! I’m really looking forward to it. When I used to go to yoga classes, the last 10 minutes or so used to be a guided meditation, and I really enjoyed those. I was just so relaxed and at peace with myself in those 15-20 minutes. I look forward to going back to that. Great post Amanda xxx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
Author
Oooh maybe it’s a sign for you, haha! Yeah, we all have 10 minutes, 15 minutes in our day to spend on ourselves so even thinking of it like that is helpful in committing to a daily practice! Thank you love xo
This was really interesting. I am definitely going to give this a try. I believe it will help in every aspect of my life and especially as I need to relax and get inspiration to start writing again. Great read! Keep sharing gems with us.
Author
Thank you! I think meditation can often be intimidating, but it can be as simple as 10 minutes of a guided session! xo Good luck getting going!
Thank you.
Thanks for sharing! I am going to be more committed to my meditation practices after reading this post, thanks!
Author
That’s awesome, so happy to hear it! xo Thank you for stopping by!
Yes, this is very true. Thanks for writing this post. At the start of the year I made a few different changes to my lifestyle and meditating daily was one of them. I did it everyday straight for maybe 20 days and the I forgot one day and beat myself up pretty bad that I ended up not doing it daily anymore. However, when I did I really noticed a difference in my attitude and stress level. I meditate sporadically but this post and that 1% thing made me want to give the daily thing another try. I’m going to conquer it this time!
Author
The 1% concept really did it for me too! We all have the time so just making that commitment with yourself is the hard part. But the benefits outweigh the cons and for me, it’s been a great lifestyle change. xo
… 10 minutes per day are all you need … like it 😊… keep going!
Author
Thank you! We all definitely have 10 minutes 😊
I never truly got into the habit of meditating but I did pick up yoga and that seemed to be my “meditation” for the day. I really love Yoga with Adriene on youtube because she does yoga for everything! And she has some really nice month long yoga sets where you can get into the habit and do something new each day 🙂
Author
I really think the concept of meditation can be fluid. If yoga is what works for you to relax and tame your thoughts, that’s amazing! I will have to check out that Youtube channel, thanks! Love initiating great daily habits like yoga and meditation.