As soon as I applied meditation in my life, it made a world of difference. I began to focus better, had more time in my day, became more relaxed, and was overall happier! For weight loss purposes, it works like a charm because you get away from emotional thinking, which is a huge cause for emotional eating. I honestly had no idea what meditation was or how to do it at first, so I took a 6 week meditation course, and I am so glad I did. Here is a simple explanation of what meditation is and how to do it. Meditation is rather simple, yet because we are habitual thinkers, we feel and think it’s hard. I assure you though, just like exercising, the more you do it, the better you’ll do and the better results you’ll get.
The point of meditation is quieting the mind and becoming more aware and in touch with yourself. It’s what I call “cleaning house.” When you have a cluttered house, you can’t seem to get on top of things, and you can’t make decisions as well as if you had a clean house. Your brain is much the same.
To meditate effectively, pick a time and place where you feel very comfortable. I recommend in the morning as soon as you wake up or, after a workout because you have spent your crazy energy and can now focus better on your breathing.
Sit with a tall spine on a cushion or comfortable floor, maybe even against a wall. A great way of keeping your back straight is to place a small pillow by the lower part of your back between you and the wall. Pretend there’s a string attached to the top of your head that is pulling you upward.
Now focus on breathing in through your nose and out through your nose, only. Relax your face. Thoughts may come in, that is ok. For that is the nature of the mind. Just return focus to your breathing. For now, keep your eyes closed. (Some meditation practice is done with eyes slightly open.)
Start off with a simple 5 minutes, a day (2-3 minutes twice a day if you find that’s hard). Set an alarm if you feel like you are tight on time, but always try to do it when you know you have a few extra minutes to spare. You can also chose a meditation song that is about the length of time you wish to meditate. You don’t want to feel rushed or stressed about it. And DO make the time for it. Don’t just say “I don’t have time,” because after all, time is what you make of it. In a way, meditation creates more time because now you can do things more practically and with direct focus.
When you meditate, you create space from all the thinking clutter. How can you think and make good decisions when your mind is cluttered with thoughts?!
Want more info? Check out these two videos by my all time favorite mediator, Light Watkins:
