Perhaps you’ve noticed the subtle (or not-so-subtle) holiday decorations that have begun infiltrating the stores and streets. The twinkling lights, signs of “Santa breakfasts HERE!”, Jingle Bells playing on the radio, holiday toy ads arriving in the mail.
Thanksgiving is next week, and while we will be eating our turkey, the elves will be busy stocking shelves and readying the aisles for the hordes of shoppers on Black Friday.
During this most magical time of year, I find my ‘To Do’ lists longer than Santa’s ‘nice’ list (or ‘naughty’ list depending on how my day is going with three little boys). The lists of things to buy, wrap, bake (okay buy frozen cookie dough and bake), pack. They’re endless.
The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is here, and this year I’m ready for it.
My secret? Meditation. (Okay, and coffee.)
Meditation is a time to exercise your mind.
This is hard for me, you guys. And it might be hard for you, too. It’s not natural to activate the ‘off’ switch in our brains. That’s why we practice meditation. I’m continually struggling with not thinking about All. The. Things. Especially during the holidays.
What I’ve learned from practicing meditation consistently over the last nine months is that it’s working. No, my husband hasn’t commented that I’m more zen. And I’m sure my kids think I’m just the same mom as I’ve always been, but in my soul, I can feel it.
Okay, please don’t click off and go back to Facebook just yet. This sounds hokey, right?
It didn’t even take me nine months to feel a difference.
You know how long it took for me to feel more alive in my own body?
Only one meditation session.
That’s right. One 10-minute meditation. See, when you make a conscious decision to turn inward, you’re making room for a new mindset. A time to quiet the mind and think more clearly.
Some days this is HARD.
When I get done meditating, I realize I’ve spent a lot of the time willing my ‘To Do’ list out of my head. But I’ve sat there, and I’ve exercised my mind in DOING NOTHING. It already knows how to process information at a thousand miles an hour and multitask for the 16+ hours I am awake all day.
What our brains need is exercise to practice being empty.
Will you give one meditation session a try?
There are two meditation apps I have used and can recommend.
Insight Timer
Insight Timer is the top-rated free meditation app on both the Android and iOS stores. This is the app I tried first since it was free and I wasn’t sure if meditation was going to be right for me (and wow am I glad I took a chance).
You have nothing to lose other than 10-minutes since this one costs nothing. I have a few favorites on Insight Timer, but there are thousands of guided meditations you can choose in many different topics. Personally, I meditate first thing when I wake up in the morning, so I tend to do morning and day-prep meditations rather than meditations for sleep, but I have a good friend who loves both the sleep and pregnancy meditations on Insight Timer.
Headspace
Once I had been meditating regularly (approximately 5-days a week for maybe four months consistently) I decided to try some free trial meditations on Headspace. They sold me, and I purchased a year membership. Headspace was undoubtedly a financial commitment for me. It took some real convincing why I would pay for an app when I could a.) either meditate without any app or b.) meditate with a free app.
But truth be told I’ve been thrilled with the Headspace app and haven’t looked back. The unique feature of Headspace is that they teach you how to meditate and discuss the science behind meditation and how to approach it. I’m hooked. And I’ll be asking for my subscription renewal as a gift next year.
Okay, so maybe you’ve given meditation a shot once or twice or heard about it or read about it and it just really doesn’t seem like it’s your cup of tea.
Give it some time.
Believe me. Give meditation a chance this holiday season before you decide it’s too much hocus pocus for you.
Exercising the brain to do nothing takes persistence.
Commit to practicing meditation during the next couple holiday months and see how you feel on New Year’s Day. If you have had enough then maybe you’ll choose to return to the practice another time. But maybe, just maybe, you’ll feel a change in your soul, too.
