One of the things I really wanted to work on with the New Year is being intentional with my self-care. Since I’ve gotten back to school, I’ve realized this is really difficult to do when mounds of laundry are piling up and you’re getting a Canvas notification every five minutes.
I started reading a lot about self-care and one of the things that kept coming up was meditation. I know no idea how to begin and honestly, I thought I needed to buy a bunch of candles, a million essential oils, a diffuser, and maybe a yoga mat in order to begin. At this point, I’d already broken the majority of my other resolutions, so I was especially determined to figure out meditation. I continued to research about it (hoping to find cheaper alternatives) and I stumbled across Headspace. Headspace is an app that guides you through daily meditation however it works into your schedule, and it’s all you need!
I have just reached my 15-day streak for meditating, and I can already see results! Here are the five things I’ve noticed:
1. Reduced stress
Most people think that mediation is impossible because it’s too difficult to clear your mind. However, I can tell you that you don’t have to be able to completely clear your mind. In fact, the app acknowledges in each session that our mind will wander, and that’s completely normal. Meditation will challenge you to gently shift your mind back to the focus of our breath. This really allows me to take a break from the craziness of the day and find my calm.
2. Improvement with my technology addiction
It is astonishing how hard it is for us to function without our phones. On the first day, I tried to sit still for just ten minutes without my phone and I spent the full session thinking about what texts I need to send, how badly I need to check my email and what posts I wanted to look at on Instagram. I was honestly embarrassed by the amount of discomfort I felt. This made me so much more aware of my reliance on my phone and it actually encourages me to take more breaks from it throughout the day.
Courtesy: Chill Out Generation
3. Increased self-awareness
Not only does meditation help pull your eyes from your phone, but it forces you to spend time completely alone. In college, we are surrounded by others pretty much 24/7. In class, in the dining hall, in our dorms and pretty much anywhere you go, there are people around. We never really have time to solely focus on ourselves. Meditation forces you to close your eyes and spend time with your thoughts. I love that this allows me to process my feelings and reflect on my day.
4. Better sleep
Though I usually try and do my sessions in the morning, I have meditated at night a couple times and it’s a game changer. If you’re one of those people who are always up and posting “can’t sleep” snaps at 3 AM, this could be your solution. I’m so thankful I can get to sleep now before those daunting late-night thoughts hit me.
5. Increased focus
Because I’ve learned to settle my thoughts and focus on the present moment during meditation, I’ve been able to develop the ability to do so throughout my day as well. Whenever I feel overwhelmed or scatterbrained, I just pause for a minute and sort through my thoughts. This is a necessity when you’ve got 50 tabs open at all times.
If you want to check it out, Headspace has a free ten-day trial. They also have an amazing student discount for only $9.99 a year (marked down from $95.88!). Let’s take care of our minds in 2019.