I Tried Mindfulness Meditation Every Day For A Week And This Is What Happened
To deal with the crummy weather and holiday stress, I sought refuge in previously uncharted territory: my own head.
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The Search For Serenity
I'll admit it: in the weeks leading up to the holidays, I haven't exactly been the jolliest person to be around. Crumbling under the weight of my ever-growing to-do list list, I could feel my stress levels mounting. With every day feeling like an uphill battle, I decided to take a deep breath and go on a week-long meditation journey.
I started small, dedicating just five minutes of each day to silence and self-reflection. I won't say that I've achieved spiritual enlightenment — but, little by little, meditation has started to change my life in very tangible ways.
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A bumpy Road
I began by downloading Headspace, a mobile app that provides users with guided meditation sessions and mindfulness training. In the free version of the app, you can access their 10-Day Basics series. Each day, you listen as a meditation expert walks you through the fundamental steps: get settled, scan your body, observe your breath, and let your mind roam freely. I chose Headspace because it seemed like a great introduction to the practice, but you can search online for many other guided audio meditation resources.
Day One didn't exactly go off without a hitch. It was a Monday and my train coming home from work had been delayed (again). To top it all off, I realized it was December and I hadn't even thought about Christmas presents. All I wanted was to take a shower and go to bed. When I remembered that I had to meditate, my first thought was, "Great, add that to the list of things I have to do!" Already brimming with resentment and irritability, I wasn't able to get nearly as much out of the session as I intended.
After Days Two and Three, things started to get easier. I began to actually listen to my mind and my body. Once I realized that the goal of meditation wasn't to silence my thoughts, it became easier to just focus on breathing. I was finally able to zero in on the task at hand; thoughts of gifts to buy and dishes to wash seemed to slip away, along with the rest of the days' most pressing worries.
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The Progress
Halfway into my mindfulness meditation week, something magical happened: I actually started to look forward to meditating! Even after a quick session, I felt as though I had taken a power nap. I even noticed a slight change in my energy levels. Although it was still a struggle to get out of bed (I've never been a morning person), I no longer felt weighed down by grogginess. I became more aware of the time, which allowed me to leave the house earlier and avoid the mad race to catch the train.
Some days were definitely easier than others, but I've gotten better at reigning in my thoughts. I often get overwhelmed and allow momentary obstacles get the better of me. After a week of meditation, I found myself in a healthier mental state to take charge of my feelings (and not the other way around).
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The Takeaway
In a broader sense, meditation has made me more proactive. I find I have a renewed sense of motivation to meet new people and try new things. I realized that I've been a bit of a rut, always encountering the same problems and addressing them with the same patterns of negative thinking. Being mindful can help you break out of those common mental traps and stay positive in the face of life's many hurdles.
Did I have a trancendent, out-of-body experience? No. But I did learn a few simple ways to minimize stress and remain mentally present. Moving forward, I'll try to build on what I've learned in the past week — because meditation is a process, and mindfulness is a choice you have to make every day.
Here are 25 realistic ways to combat stress and avoid winter weight gain.
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