For the last year or so I have become increasingly interested in meditation, mindfulness & the ability to just be in the moment. As we continue to cram more into everyday, the notion of “being in the moment” continues to evade most people. I am definitely guilty of trying to do everything at once with the end result often been a million different things in varying stages of completion without actually completing anything. I also have a very hard time relaxing; I feel like I have to be something all the time and when I do sit down my mind is always racing of what I should be doing next.
I’m sure what I have just described is relevant to many people however as I continue to learn about the effects of such a lifestyle on health, I know something needs to change. Stress is now emerging as one of the leading causes of many diseases from cancer to heart problems to immune disorders and more. Reading the science behind stress, it is obvious why and that feeling of been ‘always on’ means your body is continuously fighting this on-going internal battle. While the science is immensely interesting and I will share some of my thoughts and learning’s in upcoming posts, my main reason for writing this post is to say I have finally decided to do something about it.
While I have been thinking about meditation for a while it was only chatting to a friend a couple of weeks ago that I decided to do something about it. This something was signing up to ‘Headspace’. This is an app for guided meditation & mindfulness developed by Andy Puddicombe, a meditation and mindfulness expert with many years of experience. Its a simple and easy introduction to meditation starting with just 10 minutes a day to help introduce you to the concept and set up some expectations of what it is about. For someone like me that struggles to sit down for 2 minutes, Headspace is a great tool to start you on the midfulness journey. In fact, I have now managed to do 15 days in a row! As I have not yet ventured too far into the programme I wont go into too much detail but I urge anyone who is curious about meditation & mindfulness to look into it. It’s a great starting tool and I will be back with my progress as I get further into it.
Jay x
March 25, 2017 at 9:25 am
Great stuff Jay, thanks for sharing! 🙂
I am so pleased to hear that you are enjoying the ‘Headspace’ app, as I have also been reaping the benefits of it too for over a year now. Meditation has been such a powerful tool for me to help bring me back into the present moment. It definitely helps me to be more mindful in my day-to-day life and I’m sure you’ll find this too!
Meditation also helps to give me the tools to better cope with life stresses. I find that if life gets hectic and I start to feel overwhelmed I just take a step back and breathe, or even use the SOS guided meditation on the headspace app.
Loving the content, keep doing what you’re doing 🙂
PS – On a related note, I’m on the hunt for feedback for my new show The HERO Podcast! It’s all about creating healthy habit. The episode with Derek Doepker may be of interest to you where he discusses how to make lasting changes. You can check it out (and maybe leave a short review if you like) here: http://apple.co/2kjNoGN
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March 28, 2017 at 7:16 am
Thanks for taking the time to comment Luke. I’m really looking forward to progressing with the different segments and learning more about meditation and the whole brain/body connection. It is such a fascinating area!
Will definitely have a look at your podcast, sounds really interesting!
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March 28, 2017 at 8:58 pm
That’s great to hear, it definitely is such and interesting practise to explore! Thanks, that means a lot, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
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