For meditationto show its benefits, continuity is very important. Only regular meditation can have a lasting effect on your attitudes, moods, and skills in daily life. Meditation momentarily relaxes and calms your mind, but when regularly done, it has a power to directly affect the brain. Scientists have proven in their studies that meditation reduces stress, fights depression and anxiety, improves self-love, compassion, increases focus and creativity, and they observed visible biological changes in the brain.
However, many people experience the problem of integrating meditation into their daily life when starting to meditate. Building a habit is never easy. This is because only whim is not enough, it requires effort. In this case, the important thing is to take the next step by giving that effort to turn into a habit.
Turning Meditation into a Habit in 4 Steps
If you haven’t been able to start meditating or establish continuity in the few times you tried, but you are committed to make it happen, here are 4 basic tips to keep you meditating!
Find the Right Time
There is no set, “ideal” time for meditation. Although there are cliché opinions according to certain traditions, the right time is determined by one’s self. We all have daily chores and responsibilities, so trying to fit ourselves to a certain time will not contribute to establishing continuity. On the contrary, it will force you and reduce your motivation.
Instead, set and schedule a specific time for you. You can experiment at different times of the day to determine the most ideal time for you. Also, your weekend and weekday plan will also be different. Whether it’s before you start your day, before sleep or at a lunch break, the time you pick will be the right time for you and only you. After trying it, we recommend that you save the time you feel the best in your program and set a reminder for yourself. That’s why InnerJoy has the features to set your goal, and remind you your personal routine.
Create a Comfortable Environment
Even if you make time and give the right efforts from the beginning, it might be still difficult to escape the distractions of modern life and devote your time to meditation. You may not be able to leave the phone, notifications may distract you, or noises around may hinder the focus required for meditation. As your meditation deepens over time, you will not experience such problems, but it may be more challenging to prepare yourself mentally at the beginning. However, finding a comfortable position and choosing a corner is not so hard, on the contrary, the preparation process can feed your enthusiasm and excitement.
If you want, you can choose a quiet place at home or outside the house. Initially, creating a corner in the house may be an optimal solution. The important thing is to have a place where you can concentrate and feel comfortable. Your comfort directly affects your focus. So don’t feel obliged to tie your feet and keep your back straight. Your meditation position is about how you feel most comfortable. If you want, you can lie down, sit on the floor or on the chair, if you want, you can sit cross-legged or lean back. It is very important in every sense to listen to your own wishes and preferences in your meditation journey.
Determine the Appropriate Time for You
Meditation culture conjures up the image of a monk sitting quietly for hours. Don’t let this perception lead you to the idea of having to meditate for hours. Because first of all, it is necessary to acquire a habit of meditation at an advanced level in order to keep it up for hours. However, in modern life, regular 20-minute meditation programs have also proven to be effective and it has been realized that meditation can be a good tool to improve our modern lives due to its practicality.
It will be more difficult to keep your focus in the beginning. Therefore, make a realistic plan. Don’t push yourself for long periods. Thinking about the process will make you tired. At InnerJoy, you can take advantage of our starter program and then try our suggestions and meditation content with different duration options. You can gradually increase the duration and deepen your meditation. Instead of always completing a certain process, listen to your current feeling and need. If your current mind and state requires a shorter time, don’t force yourself and use the time in the most effective way.
Deepen Your Meditation
If you are curious about meditation, we suggest you consider the following recommendations.
When you feel that you have started to establish continuity of meditation, you will realize that you can add this practice to every moment of your life.
- When you feel stressed, stop for a while, focus on your breath and the moment, and add short mindfulness meditations to your life.
- You can meditate anytime, anywhere, so don't hesitate to try it.
- Your daily activities - eating, walking, washing dishes etc.- incorporate mindfulness, that is, the technique of awareness to all these daily tasks. Shift your focus to your breath, movements, and senses.
Before meditation;
- Relax your body, deepen your breaths, and calm yourself.
- Replenish your mind with gratitude or other positive emotions.
- Focus on a strong thought of intent in your mind.
During meditation;
- If you get distracted, try to concentrate back.
- If you're bored, don't hesitate to end it.
- Enjoy the moment of concentration.
- When you feel the urge to move, stop and observe this feeling before responding to it.
After meditation;
- Come out of meditation slowly.
- Take notes about the emotions you are experiencing.
Maintain Motivation and Stability
The fifth and surprise tip is the crux of continuity. Meditation is not magic, it is scientific and takes effort. When you do it several days in a row, it means you have reached the crossing border to an accomplished habit. If you do not maintain the habit you have been building up to that day, you may lose that constancy. Even if you start over and over again, you will enter a learning process each time. So keep motivating yourself for the next day, you can count each day as a score.
InnerJoy reminds you every day, you can save your favorite meditations to your favorites and archive them to repeat, and also it allows you to keep track of your meditations by recording them. It will be an effective solution to use meditation apps to make this process of reaching your goal easier. InnerJoy also aims to motivate you as your meditation coach in your pocket.
