I just looked at several meditation apps and I’d like to share two that I liked. Both of these allow you to track your practice, which I think is a really good way to establish any habit. One lets you take notes and the other lets you track how you’re feeling mentally and physically.
Zen Friend lets you set reminders so you remember to meditate and tracks how many meditations you do overtime. It includes instructional videos for learning Zen meditation, nice quotes, images and meditation bells. It also allow you to take notes & share your activity with friends via Facebook and twitter.
Stop, Breathe & Think includes instructions about various aspects of meditation and offers a variety of guided meditations. It allows you to input how you are feeling, so you can track your emotional state overtime.
To make anything you do more fun, like meditation or working on a project, add in elements of things you like! Add music, go to a beautiful place or dance while you work.
Not sure how to do this last one? Get creative! I have a high counter that I work at that allows me to move.
Here’s to us all having even more fun this new year!
Take this simple challenge for the new year : choose a precious time, a time you’d like to savor every day, like dinner with your family, and challenge yourself to take a mindful breath before starting… Every night for the next month!
Many meditators ask this question, “How do I stop thinking?” Luckily for you, you don’t have to stop! Here’s an inspired idea I had for understanding why not… Enjoy!
In order to let yourself relax during practice, you need to be okay with whatever is happening. If your mind is in chaos, you need to be okay with the chaos. You need to trust that just sitting there and watching all the chaos really works.
Otherwise, you fall into the trap of trying to fix yourself while you practice. Which just creates more chaos!
Tricky.
To let go of monitoring your success during practice (“Am I relaxing? Am I doing this right? Is this helping me?”), you can measure your success by comparing how you are before and after you practice. Give yourself a number, 1-10, for how you are before practice, then practice, and then give yourself a number after you finish. See if the number gets better after, or not.
You can measure the success of anything you like from stress levels to mental chatter. Give yourself a 0 for no stress or chatter and a 10 for maximum stress or chatter.
Before you practice decide what level of stress, etc you’re at and give it a number, then just practice with out measuring or monitoring, and afterwards check in again and give yourself a number based on how you feel now.
During practice you let go of needing to monitor, and over time as you watch your numbers consistently improve you will build trust in your practice… Making the desire to monitor a thing of the past.
If your numbers aren’t improving, that’s helpful information as well. Check in and see if there’s something in your environment that’s effecting you like too much noise. Check inside, maybe it’s time for help from a meditation teacher, friend, book or video. Or it could be time to ask for help from a therapist if you feel like your issues are too big right now.
Try it out and I’m happy to hear how it goes for you. Happy (monitor free) practicing, ElenaMariafoucher.com
Many of us have the sense that there is something mysterious about meditation. We may have heard of enlightenment or levitation or other awe inspiring things and think that meditation must be hard to do if it means you will gain all of these things.
Because of this when I make meditation easy for people, sometimes they think, but this can’t be easy! How am I going to get all of these things if meditation is easy?
The secret here is that what is mysterious about meditation isn’t the practice itself, the mystery is you. The practice doesn’t have to be difficult! Practicing meditation can be easy! The mystery is YOU, not the practice.
So don’t make meditation, the practice of it, the techniques, the actual doing of it be difficult. Doing meditation can be easy.
You are a bit more mysterious. The mystery of meditation is getting to know yourself and discovering all that you are. This process can be fun, frustrating, joyful, painful, and all kinds of other things. It happens over time and unfolds uniquely to you.
Enjoy the journey. Enjoy making the practice simple and easy. Enjoy getting to know the mystery of you.
Having a hard time meditating while sitting on the floor with your legs crossed? How can you make it easier?
Simple. Either don’t do it or sit for short amounts of time & build.
Remember that you can meditate in any position, so sitting isn’t necessary. You can do your ‘sitting’ practice while standing, sitting in a chair, lying down, in downward dog, etc.
If you really want to sit on the floor with your legs crossed, start sitting for an amount of time that is comfortable, like 1 or 2 or 5 minutes, do that for awhile to let your body get used to it and then add a bit more time when you feel ready.
Many people suffer from depression or anxiety. Sometimes both.
Two ways to address these issues are physical exercise & mental practices.
By physical exercise I mean good old fashioned walking, running, swimming, tennis, volleyball, etc. Whatever you like to do is best.
By mental practices I mean things that focus your mind on creative, enjoyable or positive things. This could be anything from art to cooking if you love them. To be really sure that you’re focusing on positive things, it can be doubly helpful to engage in things that are designed to be theraputic, because they will have this bias built in. Art therapy, dance therapy, psychotherapy (depending on the therapist), etc.
Interestingly, meditation also helps for the mental focus aspect, because it has the natural outcome of letting your mind rest.
Why are these 2 things important? Because they change the chemical habits that you’ve gotten into. They offer natural a natural way for your mind & body to reset to happy versus sad.
Are you struggling during meditation? Trying to calm your mind and it just isn’t working? Feel like the harder you try the less it works?
This is super frustrating! And pretty normal… I’ve been experiencing this with this in my own practice lately.
The trick with this one is to start with your intention firmly in place, “I intend to quiet my mind.” and then once you start meditating to drop your expectation and just to notice what is happening… notice what ever you mind is doing as you meditate.
Remember that if you’re busy thinking that you want to stop thinking… that you’re actually creating more thought! And what ever your intention is, the magic happens when you take the time to notice whatever is happening and just accept it with out trying to change it. If you let it, it will change on it’s own.
Try it and see how it goes. Feel free to comment below with your experiences or questions.
