The Habit of Meditation

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Yes, please! I love this meditation room, but I only wish it were mine. It's everything I would look for - soft colors, a lot of wood and natural textures, a little bit of the outdoors and some greenery. Although I would add a comfy chair to mine.

The thing about meditation is, you can do it any where at any time, no equipment needed. But ... it's nice to create someplace special so that you enjoy being there. I used to use my guest room for my morning meditation. It's quiet and cool, and had some of my favorite things in it. And I felt like it gave my guests a little peace when someone stayed the night. It was nothing fancy and yours doesn't have to be either. In fact here's a little glimpse of it:




But then my little old dog decided to start barking every time I went in that room to meditate, so I moved my chair and my meditation practice into the living room. He stays quiet, and I get to meditate with my dogs, and that's nice too. The point is, meditation works best when you make it part of your everyday routine. That's how habits are formed (a topic for a whole 'nother post), so find a way that works for you. Consistency is king here.  Here are ten ideas to make setting up your own meditation practice easy.

Ten Ways to Make Meditation Part of Your Everyday Routine

1.  Find an instructor trained in teaching meditation
NEXT!  But seriously, you will benefit a lot from someone who 1) has experience meditating themselves and 2) who can help answer your questions.  It’s also helpful to learn and share with other people in the class.

2.  Find the right practice for you
Your instructor should help you discover many different meditation techniques so that you can find the one that’s best suited to you.  Try them all on, mix and match, it’s YOUR practice.

3.  Set aside a regular time each day 
Whether it’s the Chopra method of RPM (Rise, Pee, Meditate), or at the end of your work day, pick a time that’s good for you and stick to it.  It’s easy to put it off if you don’t have a regular time set aside.

4.  Set up your space 
Set aside a space that evokes a feeling of calm conducive to meditation.  A comfortable (but not too comfortable) chair or meditation cushion, a candle, soft colors or some plants can help capture that calm you’re looking for.  It may be in a separate room or in a corner, wherever you can find the space.  And if it’s open to the rest of the house, you might consider a screen.

5.  Talk to your family/housemates/pets
Let everyone know what you’re doing so they respect your time.  Hang a sign on the door, or better yet, invite them in to join you!

 6.  Meditate with others
You may have noticed that meditating with others enhances your experience.  Keep that going after the class with a meditation group and your family member.  It helps to keep your practice going.

 7.  Go on a retreat
Retreats are a chance to get away from all the things that usually fill up our lives. They vary in length: you can find day retreats or residential retreats for a weekend or longer. Just being quiet and meditating several times a day lets everything settle down so your experience can go deeper. On an intensive retreat you don’t do much apart from meditate, but there are less demanding options as well.

8.  Take your practice off the cushion/chair
While a formal meditation practice is important, don’t forget to look for ways to be mindful throughout the day (see my 10 Ways on mindfulness).  If you find yourself in a stressful moment, remember the 3 minute mini-med.  Just breathe…

9.  Reflect on your values
It can be hard to maintain a meditation practice.  Over time, and with consistent practice, you’ll find that you actually miss it if you don’t do it.  But when you do run into a bump in the meditation road, remind yourself why you are doing it.  Better health, increased compassion, better sleep, ____________________________(fill in the blank).

10.  Be patient and persistent
You will have your ups and downs, you’ll miss days, you’ll get discouraged.  The key thing is to keep going.  Know that the ups and downs are normal, just like a plateau on a weight loss program.  Try different techniques, a different setting or a different time.  Back off the amount of time you’re doing it.  Change things up and soon you’ll be right back on track.

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