Being a full time student is already stressful enough, but when you add on everything that I do each day, at certain points it gets to be too much. I leave my apartment around 6 A.M. and don’t go home until twelve hours later. When I get home though, I have to make dinner, clean, or do laundry, and then find time to do homework. There is almost no time left for me at the end of the day because I prioritize other things instead. These past two semesters have been especially crazy, and I’ve been spreading myself too thin. Eventually I realized that I can’t keep doing this, that I have to make some time for me, so I recently decided to start doing guided meditations each day.
I downloaded a few apps to help, and I’ve just been using the trial versions so far to see which ones I like the best. Some of the few I’ve liked so far are “Calm” and “Simple Habit.” I haven’t purchased anything on those yet, I’ve just been using the free versions. I like it because you can choose a topic for your meditation, and you can also choose how long you want it to be. I normally only do ten minutes because I don’t have that much time. Lately though, those ten minutes have been the time of the day I look forward to most. One of my other favorite things about the guided meditation is that it talks to you to help you stay on track and not let your mind wander, which was one of my biggest challenges.
Meditation was really difficult at first, but like learning how to play an instrument, it gets easier as you practice. It was difficult at first because I would try to clear my mind, but I had so much to think about: school, work, friends, family, stuff that happened throughout the day, the future, etc. I would go off down these rabbit holes and not realize it until the guided meditation prompted me to bring my awareness back to just focus on breathing. It’s so simple and easy, and that’s why I think everyone (especially students) should try it. It’s nice to just have even those ten minutes to just focus on nothing. It’s kind of a chance for me to step away from everything and just take a deep breath. It’s crazy to think about how the littlest thing like focusing on your breathing can be so calming and simple in our complex and complicated lives.
HC,
Alyssa Harmon
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