By now you already know my routine of listening to podcasts over and over again. The topic that I have on repeat is business and entrepreneurship. From ‘Girl Boss Radio’ to ‘How I Built This,’ I love hearing the stories and backgrounds of successful business owners and how they got to where they are today.
One of my favourite questions a host can ask is about each individual’s daily routine. I’ve noticed a definite pattern when it comes to these answers. Successful entrepreneurs seem to have a habitual morning and/or night routine that they swear by and never sway from. More often than not, these routines include some form of daily meditation.
I have experimented with meditation a lot over the last few years. My first time was at the beginning of a yoga class and I absolutely loved it. I immediately felt calmer and remember having an incredible practice that day. From there I was able to try it out at other yoga studios, on wellness retreats and even classes specifically dedicated to meditation. I could see the benefits immediately and wanted to start my own home practice.
I figured a guided meditation app was the best place to start so I downloaded the app Head Space. But I wasn’t so into the guide’s voice and didn’t extend once the free trial was up. Next, I tried the app Calm and really liked it. I paid for the year-long subscription and completed one of the ’10-day beginner’s guide to meditation’ options they had – I can’t remember exactly what it was today but they have a bunch of different ones. I felt amazing after I completed it…and then I never continued.
Unlike the successful business men and women I listen to daily, I couldn’t get into my meditation groove. The following were the biggest obstacles in committing to a consistent practice:
My back hurt after sitting crossed legged for a while.
I couldn’t find my favourite spot in the house to do it.
I didn’t always know where my headphones were to listen to the app.
I didn’t want to get up any earlier than 5:00 am to get in a session before teaching workout classes.
If I didn’t do it first thing in the morning, I would forget to do it all day or just put it off.
If I did it before bed, I would fall asleep halfway through.
All I could think about while I did it was my to-do list for the day.
Now some of these obstacles obviously seem silly and trivial, but it doesn’t change the fact that they prevented me from getting a meditation in. The problem was that I set boundaries on what meditation had to be. Sitting crossed legged, in a specific spot, at the exact same time, etc. etc.
So after about a year of sort of trying on and off, I kind of put it on the backburner. But every time I listened to a podcast and meditation came up as part of someone’s routine, it was a reminder that I wanted to try to get back into it. I just didn’t know how.
It wasn’t until my trip to Miami with Puma back in December that I realized I was looking at a meditation practice the wrong way. We were treated to a workshop by Matt Cardone, founder of The Meditation Method, about mindfulness and meditation. During his speech, he said something that really resonated with me. “Meditation,” he said, “doesn’t need to be wearing all white, holding crystals, sitting like Rafiki from the Lion King and singing ohm.” (I’m paraphrasing a little). “Meditation, can be anything you want.” He then continued to say that he recommends his clients wake up, quickly go pee and then get back into bed. From there, sitting up in bed against the headboard, he said to just meditate for 10 minutes. Every single day.
For some reason, this just clicked with me. It sounded so simple. So easy. I knew I had to give it a try…But I didn’t and just continued on with my life.
Then it was January 1, 2019. I don’t know what brought it on. I had zero intention of doing it the night before. I never made it a goal or resolution. But for some reason, on New Year’s Day this year, I woke up, went pee, grabbed my headphones, got back into bed, opened up the Calm app and hit play.
On the front screen of the Calm app is a tab you can press called “Daily Calm.” I didn’t know how long it was but I also didn’t want to start scrolling through all my options of what to listen to at the fear of losing this urge I had to meditate. I turned it on, sat back on the headboard, closed my eyes and listened. 10 minutes later it was finished and I went on with my day.
I truthfully felt really good the moment my meditation finished but I didn’t want to make a big deal of it. I didn’t want to suddenly declare that my New Year’s resolution was to meditate every day or even tell DC lying in the bed next to me what I was doing. But the next morning, as soon as I woke up, I grabbed my phone, hit play on the Daily Calm, and did it again. And again.
I have listened to the Daily Calm every day for a few reasons. Firstly, it is always 10 minutes so I know beforehand what I’m getting myself into. Secondly it starts with guided breath work that changes a little bit every time. Lastly, it ends with some sort of theme, story and/or lesson. I just love this format so much and it’s what works for me.
As I’m writing this blog post, I have just completed my 36th day in a row. I still don’t want to put pressure on myself and say I’ll never miss a day again, but I want to share the benefits I have experienced thus far and how I have gotten into this new routine.
The first thing I noticed just after a couple days in a row of meditating was that I was excited for the next morning when I went to sleep. I would literally think of going to sleep and then getting to meditate and be so happy.
The second thing I noticed, and this is the most important, is that starting my day with a 10 minute meditation has changed my daily morning habits. I used to grab my phone and the first thing I did was scroll on Instagram. The only word I can use to describe this action is toxic. Whether we mean to or not, consuming other people’s lives puts us into comparison mode which can subconsciously form such negative thought patterns. In addition, scrolling first thing in the morning also became such a time waster. It’s so easy to lie in bed playing on your phone and not realize how long you’ve been doing it for.
Another benefit is that meditating calms my nervous system. Like so many of us, I typically wake up and immediately start going over my to-do-list in my head. It makes me feel pretty anxious and is usually what prevents me from falling back asleep. Now I’m not going to lie, this still happens every single morning. But as soon as I start breathing through my meditation, I immediately feel calmer.
I also find that at different points throughout the day, I’ll think about the lesson I learned or story I heard in the Daily Calm. I’m not really sure why, but I think that is sort of the point – to come back to and carry your meditation with you throughout your day.
One of the most common misconceptions about meditation is that you need to clear your mind and turn your thoughts off. But that’s actually not true. Some days I will be able to just focus on my breath and listen to the guide. Other days, I will barely take in a word she says and go through my entire to do list ten times over while I’m sitting there. It doesn’t mean that my meditation that day didn’t count.
I used to be so hard on myself for not being able to meditate because I couldn’t control my thoughts during each session. But meditating is like a (low impact) workout for your brain. Would you go for a run for the first time in your life and expect to be good at it? Or would you take a crossfit class for the first time and expect it to be easy? Well the same goes for meditation. It takes training, work and practice.
I actually don’t think it will ever get easier or I’ll become better at it. That’s not really the point. It’s sort of how I and many of us view our workouts too. As soon as they become easy, we change it up and take on a new challenge. The important thing for me, it to stick with it despite whether I had a good or bad session, enough that it becomes a habit. After all, you know I’m all about creating good habits.
So the following are steps I now take to ensure I get my daily meditation in:
Use an App
Guided meditations are a great place to start and I highly recommend them. But another thing I love about the Calm app is that it tracks your sessions in a calendar and tells you how many days you’ve been going strong. It also records all your past streaks so you can compare your progress. This definitely helps hold me accountable.
Plan Ahead
Since I’ve stuck to just listening to the Daily Calm and know each session is 10 minutes, I can plan for it. Meaning, I set my alarm 10 minutes earlier every day to make sure I can get a session in. Yes, that even means 4:50 am on the rare occasion I need to get up at 5! I also make sure that before bed every night, I know exactly where my headphones are. Fail to plan, plan to fail!
Get Comfortable
Matt’s tip totally works for me. I get up to go to the bathroom and then get back in bed. I sit up, put the covers on me and lie against the headboard. This way, my back doesn’t hurt, I am never cold but the posture is still energizing enough that I don’t feel like I want to fall back asleep. But this doesn’t mean you need to do it this way. If lying down works, leaving your bedroom or sitting on a cushion is your thing, go for it.
Take the Pressure Off
I still haven’t set any specific goal or boundary around my new practice. I haven’t declared I will do it for a year or anything like that. I’m just continuing to meditate as long as I feel like it. I also am giving myself permission to have “bad sessions” where I’m barely listening and not really into it. I know meditating will always be a work in progress and if I miss a day, a week or year, I can always come back to it as I have done in the past.
As I continue on this journey, I look forward to updating you guys. Who knows how long it will be a part of my routine, but as long as it is, I will continue to provide my tips and takeaways from my experience.
I hope this was helpful to those looking to start their own practice. If you have any tips of your own, I would always love to hear them.
Thanks for reading and happy meditating!