As a therapist I try to practice what I recommend to clients. As a human I struggle with these habits as much as anyone. I try to meditate every morning. Just a few minutes. I have apps on my Iphone that I use. The current one is Stop, Breathe, Think which evaluates how you are and then recommends three different meditations. Still I just wasn’t doing it every day. I would do it for a day or two then miss. I was frustrated because it is just 10 minutes a day, how could I not get this in my day? I know how valuable that daily meditation is to a persons health and well being.
So I set up a self nag. I put a reminder into my Iphone and set it to go off at 8am everyday reminding me to meditate. If I don’t check it off it will continue reminding me all day long. So if I don’t find the time in the morning I come back to it in the evening. And while I am still not perfect in my practice I find that the reminder has increased the days I do find the time to meditate.
Everyone has to find the meditation technique that works for them. For me using a app that talks me through the meditation and reminding myself until I actually do it is what works for me. I would love to hear from you what you do to keep yourself committed to your mindfulness practice.
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Hi Cathy,
I feel for you. It can be very hard to start a new routine of any sort.
My regular meditation time is lunchtime – I see it as a wonderful break/recharge. I use the app called Simply Being and it gives me control over the length of time (5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes) so that even on a very busy day, I can squeeze in a 5 minute meditation. I also tend to meditate for 10 minutes before I go to sleep at night. I find that it is an excellent way to unwind.
In addition, during the weekend at lunchtime (and/or when the need arises) I may listen to a longer guided meditation by Jack Kornfield or another mindfulness expert. However, when I first started out, I think I tried out different times (also different meditations until I found the one(s) I liked the most), first thing in the morning, lunchtime, after work, etc. until I found that for me, lunchtime and bedtime worked best.
Hang in there; you will ultimately find the meditation/time that works best for you. If you continue to have difficulty, you may want to try out a walking meditation in a nearby park or nature spot as an alternative. Some people prefer walking over sitting meditations.
Thanks for the comment Dorlee. I have the Simply Being app too. I have actually continued to evolve my practice and am now doing a MBSR routine for 8 weeks. I hope to get a post up on that soon. So I am actually meditating 45 minutes a day and interestingly enough it has been easier to keep that up then the shorter amount of time.
Happy New Year.