Intro: Flirting with Meditation… My first exposure to meditation came from Shirley the Loon on Tiny Toon Adventures levitating cross-legged and chanting her mantra, “Ohm, what a loon I am.” Fast forward a few years [ahem, decades]… With the constant inflow of emails, texts, beep-boop-beeps, deliveries, ads, and phone calls—which ironically have become the least problematic among these—I’m often operating in a semi-distracted state. In the past, I’ve dabbled with meditation and while not a cure-all, it’s like a little natural Adderall for the monkeys playing bumper cars in my mind.
My history with practicing meditation started off decently. I first used Headspace’s free Take 10 program, which involves 10ish-minute guided meditations narrated by founder Andy Puddicombe, with his soothing voice and delightful English accent. It’s highly beginner-friendly… I mean, there are animated cartoons to go with the sessions. I would highly recommend this as an intro to meditation.
While I loved the intro program, I opted not to continue with the paid version. The frugal gene I inherited from my wonderful parents questioned the need to spend any money on something I could easily do for free. The amount of money I spend on running each year tells another story. Don’t worry about that…
Next, I joined a series of group meditation sessions via Google Hangouts led by my friend Jess. This was both the best experience I had and the least practical to recreate. It was the best because Jess provided direction and she and the group added accountability with a side of solidarity. However, varying schedules alone make a group virtual session the least likely to be sustained—for me, at least.
Finally, I started using guided meditations on the excellent, free Insight Timer app. However, things deteriorated from there. While I continued to use the app nearly daily, it was to put on the soothing ambient sounds for 10-15 minutes of naptime. This has its own benefits, but meditation it is not.
Ok, so why… You’ve probably heard about the many benefits of meditation, like stress management, improved immune system, better sleep, improved happiness, and a better Uber rider score (ok, maybe not directly, but indirectly…). The main benefits I’ve experienced when I’ve practiced for multiple consecutive days are a calmer presence and ability to keep the little things in perspective, e.g. accepting that not everyone handwashes their dishes the second they finish eating and uses the dishwasher as a big, fancy drying rack like I do or that when our dog has a big accident downstairs, it’s usually just that. I would like to achieve these again and to be more present in each activity I’m doing and most importantly in my interactions with others.
Uh oh… How many times has a doctor, trainer, or Oprah suggested we just start simple habit X that will only take us 10 minutes of our day? It’s easy to say, “yeah, I’m gonna start doing that… not today, or tomorrow, but oh boy starting next month…” at which point, after 1,000s of emails/texts/ads/shows have throttled and distracted our mind, we’ve conveniently forgotten about it. There are often good (and seemingly good) reasons to make an exception and skip following through with the new habit but with good prioritization, you can make it happen.
About that… It’s been nearly 30 years since I could comfortably sit cross-legged. So, I will either sit cross-legged with a rolled-up yoga mat under my butt for support or sit up straight (without being too rigid) on a couch for the meditations. For the 1st couple weeks, I’ll use the guided meditations on the Insight Timer app, since the app was never the issue—just my use of it as a nap soundtrack. I’ll then decide whether I want to try freeform meditation, with just the ambient sound playing… but sitting up, not lying down… we know what that leads to.
I betcha… I’m confident I’m going to enjoy and appreciate the benefits of this experiment. Finding the optimal time and location and eliminating distractions will be the keys to keeping this as a daily practice.
Leave me a comment with what you think my next experiment should be:
- CrossFit 3x/week
- Sensory Deprivation Therapy (Float Tank) 1x/week
- Daily Journaling
- Daily Intermittent Fasting (restricting eating to 8-12 out of 24hrs)
- Your suggestion?
As always, any other feedback is welcome. Namaste, y’all!