I am not one to meditate. The concept of sitting for long periods of time to clear my mind is foreign to me. I have little time between work and taking care of a family for a long meditative process. However, I can build in a few minutes each morning and evening to take a seat, close my eyes and just be. These moments, while short, are restorative. Here are five reasons why you should take a few moments for yourself each day. And, remember, you can take this mental time-out wherever you are — you don’t need to be in lotus or even on your yoga mat!
#1: Set the tone for your day
Taking 3-5 minutes in the morning to close your eyes and be at peace can significantly change the tone of your day. Think about when you oversleep. Your morning is rushed. Your attitude is rushed. Your driving is rushed. You rush your family. Your patience is non-existent. We’ve all been there. Instead, make a point to get up a few minutes earlier each morning so that you can squeeze in a restorative moment. It will help clear your mind, reduce your stress level, and start your day on a much calmer note.
#2: Set an intention
While setting the tone for your day, you may wish to set an intention. It could be as simple as completing all of the tasks on your to-do list that day. It could be to breathe a little bit deeper when you are feeling stressed and angry. It could also be as simple as being kinder to yourself and the people around you. Your intention does not have to be life changing or huge. It could be just something little you work on that day.
#3: Ground yourself
Take a moment to ground yourself and check your ego. Remember that we are all made up of the same stuff…you are not better than anyone, and no one is better than you. Take this moment to release any negative energy you are storing away so that you can go about your day positively. Celebrate your accomplishments but also celebrate other people’s accomplishments without jealousy or the need to diminish them. Ground yourself to your mat, to the Earth and release judgement and criticism.
#4: Heighten your awareness
Take these few minutes to be aware of your body. Feel your breath, your life force, move in and out through your body. Feel your lungs expand with each inhalation and contract with each exhalation. Feel your heart beating. Take a moment to notice how you are feeling that day… Are you sore? Are you tired? Are you feeling great? Take that moment to take inventory of your body to see what it needs that day.
#5: Let it go
At the end of the day, maybe right before you go to bed, take a moment to close your eyes and let go of everything that happened that day. Take a moment to celebrate your accomplishments but more importantly to release any stress or problems that occurred. Tomorrow is a new day, a new adventure.
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
XOXO
Interesting, this has been something I have been sensing to do recently. I have done something similar just before photo shoots or meeting clients. Starting my day and ending my day with it would be probably a great think to try.
My new year resolution was to TRY meditation. So naturally I bout a book, a very good one too. And I followed the instructions. I took it more like advice really, if it didn’t work for me I tried something similar to the book. It was really great to wake up early and clear my head. No more zombie walks to the bathroom, or staring hat the closet in my bedroom. The only issue that I couldn’t get over; the book suggested a minimum of 20 minutes. Yah, I did that for about a week, hitting the alarm and slithering down to the floor from my bed, and set my timer for 20 minutes so I wasn’t checking the clock every 3. Once that was not working for me I went down to 15 minutes I did that for another week. Still had the same problems of feeling like I was just sitting after clearing my mind. I obviously haven’t mastered meditation. But it’s hard to get started! I stop after that. I couldn’t go down to 10 minutes, that was half the time the book suggest for beginner meditators.
I am so grateful that you wrote this article about the importance of clearing your mind for even a few minutes. I think I will try it this morning!