Meditation is hard. I totally get it. i know exactly how you are feeling right now. Maybe you have heard of meditation, and how beneficial it is for you, but once trying it, its like ‘how the heck does this even work?’ and, ‘Why does my mind never stop going 1000miles per hour?!’.

I had the same experience. I heard about how great it was, I tried it out, and I thought I was the worst person in the world. I blamed myself for how much my mind moves and how I can never seem to stop thinking and relax. I put so much pressure on myself to get this perfect. I would tell myself that it was because I had an overactive mind, and that meditation just wasn’t for me, so I stopped. Or when I did do it, I came out of it, in a more negative mood because of how ‘bad’ I thought I did.

It wasn’t until I followed these steps/tips, that you will read very soon, did I start to enjoy meditation. Like LOVE meditation. I now need it every single day in my life, and it is something I look forward to every day.

I am telling you this because obviously from my experience I can strongly say that even if you think that you will never be able to achieve meditation, or that it just isn’t for you… I can say that it truly is. And from following these steps, you will go from hating it; to craving it. Promise.

But first; What Is Meditation?

I think what got me so angry and disappointed in myself about not being able to achieve meditation, is because of that one word. ACHIEVE.
It isn’t something that you need to be the best at, or win at, or need to force yourself to be good at. It also isn’t about forcing all thoughts out of your head. I know this last point got me as well: I would beat myself up if I had thoughts all the time, or I was drifting off to all these different places/scenarios in my head.
Judging yourself about how bad you think you did, is not what meditation is about.

In my personal opinion, i feel in love with meditation when I realised (through my own practice), that it is all about being fully present in this beautiful moment. Like the right here and right now. And just sitting with that.

And with this mindfulness that we strengthen in our practice of meditation, it slowly can creep into our daily lives. We are able to really sink into the present moment a little more each day. And appreciate all that is around us.

It is taking 10-20 minutes out of your day (or less!), just to sit there and feel into your body, how it feels RIGHT NOW. Not pushing your thoughts away, but just noticing them, because they are in this present moment as well. Just being okay with their presence.
It is about having a space and time that is just for YOU. When you begin to feel into this calm and non judgemental space, you start to feel this sense of love. For yourself. (Crazy right?!). And we are able to fill ourselves up with this love, so much so, that throughout our day, we can share that with the rest of the world.

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Steps to take to strengthen your practice:

1. This first step may be a tad controversial, but it worked for me… I want you to force yourself to meditate. Just at the start, I want you to challenge yourself to try to meditate every single day for a month. Go to the bottom of this post, to message me on instagram if you would like to hear more about this 30 day challenge, as I would love to hold you accountable! It may suck at the start (it did for me), but then the more you practice, the better it gets. Start with 5 minutes for the first week, 10mins for the second, 12-15mins for the third and 20 minutes for the fourth week. Or, just do what feels right!
2. Set up your space: Having a cosy, peaceful and quiet place for you to meditate is so important. When you feel good about the place that is so sacred, it will make all the difference. Set up a few pillows around you, a blanket, calming light, and anything else that feels good for you.
3. Timing: To change a habit (click here to learn how to do that), you must change the environment that you are in. You must put in your schedule, this non-negotiable practice. Select a time that you will meditate each day. What works for me, and what I recommend is, doing it in right in the morning. Waking yourself up little by having some water, moving around (or you’ll fall back asleep), and then going straight for your space. This will make sure that there are no excuses made, and that it is over and done with. (It may sound really forceful, but as said before, I really feel like we have to push ourselves to do this at the start to get the habit up).
4. Download a meditation app. My favourites are; insight timer and headspace. Or you could download a meditation I created, HERE! (Also, watch this space… I am currently In the process of creating my very own mindfulness and wellness app with tons of meditations and so much more!!) Find one that works and sounds good to you and go from there. Or you could set a timer on your phone for the amount of time that you would like to do it for.
5. Release judgement. When you judge yourself, it gets so much harder. Seriously… this is a game changer. Keep bringing yourself back to a loving mindset/place and see where this practice takes you.

I truly hope these tips help you on your way on this beautiful journey to yourself. Just keep trying, even when you feel like all hope is lost, it is so worth it in the end.

Much love x

P.S. If you would like to challenge yourself to 30 days of meditation and want someone to hold you accountable and to give you more tips, then message me on instagram @yogawithceri , or Fill in your details below 🙂