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Don't Hate, Meditate

What is meditating? And what can you gain by sitting down and simply breathing? Turns out, there are a lot of benefits to meditation, even though it may seem like a silly thing to try. Let's talk about some of the reasons why meditation could be your new favorite way to destress.


First of all- what even is meditating? The Merriam Webster dictionary has two definitions of the practice:

  1. To engage in contemplation or reflection

  2. To engage in a mental exercise (such as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened spiritual awareness



So no, meditation doesn't have to be sitting down, closing your eyes, and humming, like you see in the movies. However, if you want it to, it can be just like that. In my opinion, the flexibility of meditation is one of the great things about it. It's taking time for yourself, to reflect and breathe, and escape your worries for a short period of time before returning to your busy schedule and endless responsibilities.


Okay, now that you know what meditation is, maybe you're thinking about trying it out for yourself. After all, having a couple of stress free minutes doesn't sound too bad, right? However, you may find that you emerge from meditating more frustrated than blissful.



An article from the Mindful website writes that people have a variety of reasons for finding meditation difficult: they feel it's a waste of time, can't sit still for extended periods of time, or can't stop thinking. It's important to realize these feelings are completely normal. Meditation is a skill, and like any other skill, it takes practice and time to get comfortable with it.


Personally, I found it difficult to sit still for an extended period of time, and couldn't focus because of how much my knees were aching. I thought I had sitting mastered, but it proved a lot more difficult when I was trying to stay still and had nothing to focus on except for what I could perceive with my senses. I am also a chronic overthinker, and it was difficult to accept that I didn't have a clear mind to successfully meditate. However, after only a couple weeks, I started to feel better and see clear improvements. These are a couple of tools that helped me along the way.



YogawithAdriene is a Youtube channel led by Adriene Mishler that has over nine million subscribers. It's easy to see why- her meditation videos are short, easy to follow, and addicting. Her Youtube videos helped me to really get hooked on meditating, so if you're looking for some guidance for your meditation sessions, check her out here! She also has some great yoga videos, hence the name YogawithAdriene, but we'll save those for an upcoming blog post.



The Youtube channel Goodful also has a great series of guided meditation videos that range from five to fifteen minutes. These are great for when you just want to do a short meditation session in between classes or when you have a break from homework. They also include relaxing background music, if you prefer that to silence when the instructor isn't talking. You can find a whole playlist of Goodful meditations by clicking here.



If you're looking for portable and easily accessible meditation, you may want to try downloading the Headspace app. Although their features are limited for non-subscribers, they release a free guided meditation daily. If you like running, Headspace also has a partnership with the Nike Run Club app and they've release a couple of guided meditative runs. Another example of how meditation can be flexible and molded to fit your interests!



The Calm app is another tool that is great for portable meditation. If you don't find the cartoon style of Headspace relaxing, Calm intends to relax you with nature imagery and sounds. Although the Calm app is also very limited if you don't have a subscription, they have a couple of free meditations that you can find if you search through the app.


We here at shakeoffstress hope this article was informative and gave you some information about how you can use meditation to shake off stress. Thanks for reading :-)


Comments? Questions? Leave them down below!!


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