How to Establish a Meditation Practice
Practical Tips for Starting a Meditation Habit
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Each New Year, I see more and more folks adding “meditate” to their resolutions list.
And for good reason—meditation is good for you. Meditation can help manage stress and anxiety while boosting a sense of overall well-being. Furthermore, you don’t need any special equipment or clothing to meditate and you can do it anywhere.
Maybe you have the best intentions to meditate but you still can’t make it happen. You feel too busy to take the time for your self-care or too distracted to focus.
Maybe you’ve gotten to the point where you can carve out the time for meditation but sitting feels too uncomfortable because your hips or lower back start to bother you. Or, you sit most of the day for work and knowing that you need to be still while meditating makes you all the more fidgety.
I hear you.
Thankfully, there is a better way.
Here’s my top tips for developing a meditation practice and sticking to it:
1. Demystify the practice.
2. Know your “why.”
3. Check your schedule.
4. Protect your time.
5. For the fidgeters: consider walking meditation.
6. For the sitters: set the scene.
7. Just do it.
01: Demystify the Practice
When you think of meditation, what comes to mind?
A loin-clothed guru sitting cross-legged in a cave?
Someone with a peaceful expression on their face, sitting cross-legged with their thumb and index finger tapped together on each hand?
Yoga pants? Incense? The Beatles?
The thing is, meditation doesn’t have to be fancy or mystical to be effective. In fact, these preconceived ideas might be holding you back by making meditation seem unattainable.
Meditation can happen anytime, anywhere, and without any special equipment or clothing. It doesn’t have to take up loads of your time and you don’t need to spend any money to make it happen.
Many kinds of meditation simply require your focus on a single object, thought, sound, or image. Nearly anything could be the focal point in these styles of meditation, including something as simple as a your breathing.
By letting go of your “out of this world” ideas about meditation, you can actually experience a simple practice that’s quite “down to Earth.”
Meditation doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective.
02: Know Your Why
The first step for sticking with your meditation practice is to really get clear about why you want to do it. If you’re thinking “I just know meditation is good for me and so I think I should do it,” that’s probably not going to cut it.
Extrinsic motivation involves doing an activity because you’re trying to avoid punishment or gain reward from an outside source. This would be like a child cleaning their room so they don’t get in trouble or in order to get a special treat.
Intrinsic motivation involves doing an activity because it feels rewarding for you. This would be like a child cleaning their room simply because they like how it feels to be in a tidy space or because they know it’s easier to find the toys the like the most.
With regards to meditation, extrinsic motivation might look like your doctor saying, “You really need to manage your blood pressure and stress; why not try meditation?” That was your doctor’s idea, not yours.
To find your own intrinsic motivation for meditating, scan this list of science-based benefits of meditation:
The Benefits of Meditation
Reduce stress
Manage anxiety
Promote emotional health
Enhance self-awareness
Improve focus
Generate kindness
Fight addiction
Improve sleep
Control pain
Decrease blood pressure
Which one of those benefits do you need the most? Are you hoping to manage anxiety and stress? Are you hoping to feel more calm and centered? The more personally rewarding meditation is for you, the more it will help you develop consistency in practice.
For me, it’s the benefits of enhanced self-awareness and improved emotional health. Meditation helps me stay present in any given moment—especially in tricky parenting situations.
When I’m feeling a bit lazy or too busy to prioritize my meditation practice, I remember how meditation helps me show up authentically for the ones I love.
Nail down your “why” and then remind yourself of it frequently.
Photo by Savannah Wakefield on Unsplash
03: Check Your Schedule
Unfortunately, just hoping to meditate probably won’t be enough to actually help you make it happen.
In the words of my favorite time management coach: What gets planned gets done.
Look at your calendar and think about your daily responsibilities. What’s a good time of day to gift yourself 10-15 minutes for meditation?
Maybe your schedule varies a lot from day to day, so instead of a specific time being your cue, you zero in on an activity to be your cue (i.e. “After I brush my teeth, I meditate” OR “After I wake up, I meditate.”).
This is called “habit stacking” and it’s a super effective way to loop a new habit into your daily life.
Protect your meditation time by silencing notifications and alerts on your devices.
04: Protect Your Time
Now that you’ve found your cue to meditate (whether that’s a specific time of day or a specific activity) put it on your calendar to guard that time for your self-care.
Let your work team know that you’ll be unavailable for those 10-15 minutes each day and that you’ll also block time to respond to urgent messages soon after you return.
When the time comes, go into “do not disturb” mode and silence notifications, vibrations, visuals, etc.
If you’re working from home, be sure to also notify your “coworkers” (like roommates, kids, or your partner) that you’ll be unavailable during your meditation time. Maybe that just means putting a “do not disturb” hanger on the doorknob or, if you’re not able to close a door, maybe some noise cancelling headphones could help you focus while also letting your coworkers know you’re unavailable.
Walking meditation is the perfect practice for fidgety bodies.
05: Feeling fidgety? Consider Walking Meditation.
If you’re spending most of your day sitting at a desk, sitting more for meditation may not feel all that appealing—especially if you’re a fidgeter.
So although sitting cross-legged on a cushion is the first image that comes to mind when most people think about meditation, I often recommend that my desk jockey clients consider walking meditation.
Getting outside in natural light with fresh air provides a myriad of benefits (like boosting your mood and creating opportunities to rest your eyes with distance looking). The added dose of walking will get your blood pumping and may also increase your productivity when you return to work.
If walking meditation sounds like something you’d like to try, first decide in advance where you’ll be walking.
Can you just head out the door and safely walk around your block or neighborhood? If you live on a busy street with no sidewalks, could you instead walk around your yard or head to a nearby park? As a last resort, you could simply walk around your house—but make sure you’ve cleared a path so your walking meditation doesn’t become an obstacle course!
If you’ll be walking outside, set your gear—whether that’s your shoes, coat, or umbrella—within sight. Every time you look at it, you’ll be reminded that you’re going to take such good care of yourself by meditating and, when the time comes, it will be easy to gear up and go.
Even though your meditation time won’t be sedentary, you should still protect your time by silencing notifications and going into “do not disturb” mode.
I usually head out for a walking meditation session with earbuds in to signal to my neighbors that I’m not available for a stop and chat (even though I’m not listening to anything). It’s okay to be antisocial sometimes!
While a dedicated meditation space isn’t necessary, it can certainly make your meditation practice feel more luxurious.
06: For the Sitters: Set the Scene
If you’re opting for seated meditation, take time to set up a cozy space for your practice.
Decide what you’ll sit on—maybe a different chair than your work one or even a comfortable floor cushion.
Consider adding a candle, flowers, or a beautiful piece of art. You could also diffuse your favorite soothing essential oil if you want to get really lux.
Set the scene so that meditation feels like a treat instead of a chore.
A labyrinth can be a peaceful and meaningful location for your walking meditation.
07: Just do It
By now you’ve gotten really clear about your intention for wanting to meditate. You’ve scheduled time just for meditation and you’ve covered all your bases by notifying those around you that you’ll be unavailable for a bit. Furthermore, you’ve made a plan—you know when, where, and how you’re going to meditate. So when the time comes, get up and just do it!
Try not to get discouraged if your mind wanders the whole time or if you have trouble switching out of work mode—these things take time.
Just the fact that you blocked time out of your schedule for the sole purpose of taking care of yourself can be an important first step.
Be kind to yourself and take it one day at a time.
