How to Start a Meditation Practice Even If You’ve NEVER meditated before
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How to Start a Meditation Practice Even If You’ve NEVER meditated before | Kelsey Reidl, Marketing Consultant
I’ll never forget the first time that I was invited to a friend's home for a private mediation circle.
To give you some quick insight into what I did with this invite, well… I kept making excuses because I was terrified of what ‘meditation’ even was.
According to research, guided meditation could help you through the lows of starting up a business by activating and strengthening the positive thinking areas of your brain. Being able to maintain optimism and bounce back from a fall or workplace disappointment could be the difference that helps your business succeed in the long term. (Source: Entrepreneur https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-au/lifestyle/why-guided-meditation-is-essential-for-every-entrepreneur/334453)
Let’s rewind the clock…
Back in 2016 I started working as a Freelancer and I was working out of a coworking space Downtown Toronto. I’m a social person, so I found a coworking space with other solo founders, entrepreneurs and creatives and signed myself up for a 3 month pass.
The very first day that I worked out of this coworking space, a lovely woman named Kieran asked me if I wanted to go out and grab lunch.
We picked up some food around Noon and then headed to a park to have a picnic. It was a gorgeous sunny day in September and I remember how warm and kind she was, even though we had only met hours prior.
At the end of our lunch, Kieran asked me if I had ever meditated.
By this point, she has told me about her daily practice and how her favorite way to spend time off was at a 7-day Vipassana retreat where she sat in silence for an entire week, doing nothing but meditation.
I didn’t exactly know how to comprehend that, as someone who loved to go on Snowboard and Cycling Trips - or anything that involved extreme adventure!
For those who don’t know, Vipassana is a silent meditation retreat…
At Vipassana there is normally…
When I told Kieran thatI had only meditated a couple of times, she invited me to her 2x weekly meditation circle that she hosted at her house.
Needless to say, I was intrigued - but totally scared! I wondered…
Would I fit in?
Do I know what to do upon arrival?
Am I supposed to wear something specific?
I had so many questions, and instead of exploring my curiosity I continued to live my busy life and ignored that the invitation was ever given to me!
Fast forward to July 2021 when my mom passed away.
This was a horribly challenging time in my life, and I was faced with a lot of grief, sadness and unanswered questions.
I poured my stress out through physical exertion, and used my mountain bike as my crutch and any type of movement as my form of meditation.
It helped a lot, but I still felt a pull to explore meditation and the art of sitting still in order to observe my emotions and current state.
Yet, I still wasn’t ready to commit to The Practice.
In December of 2022, a lightbulb moment went off and my entire body started craving stillness and a new way to process my ideas, harness my creativity, and unlock my potential as an entrepreneur and human being…
It was the Winter Solstice, and we had just returned home from an incredible trip to Sedona, Arizona. You can read more about that trip right here.
Sedona is a very magical place and the energy in the red rock mountains is very real. Each morning, I would wake up before Dave and do a 20 minute yoga practice, and it really helped to calm my mind, body and soul before a day of adventure and exploration.-
When we returned home from that trip, I found myself continuing to rise to my 6:00AM alarm clock even though it was dark outside (it was technically the shortest days of the year!) but I started to feel excited to wake up and trek down to the basement for a guided meditation practice.
Did it feel weird to close my eyes and be guided through a body scan or abundance meditation for 20 minutes?
Yes, it sure did!
Trying something new always feels intimidating, doesn't it? At least it did for me when I started my meditation practice.
Going into it, I wasn't sure if I was "doing it right," if it would really have an impact on me or if I would just be wasting my time. But with consistent practice, things changed!
My breath felt deeper and lighter, those pesky intrusive thoughts stopped coming up as often and soon enough it became an easy habit to stick with.
As cheesy as this sounds, the same goes for any new habit you want to adopt as a business owner: whether it’s sending cold emails, posting on social media, doing your monthly bookkeeping, hosting a quarterly strategy session with your team, or otherwise - consistency leads to ease!
After my first week of consistent meditation I felt more clear, more focused, more creative and more energized than ever before and I decided to keep the practice going.
In January 2023, I decided to explore various types of meditation to see which style fit my desires and current goals. I experimented with:
Deepak Chopra Guided Meditation (specifically the 21 days of abundance)
Mantra Meditation.
Meditation with Raphael (on Spotify)
Transcendental meditation (TM®)
Chakra meditation
Peloton Meditations
Body Scan
Visualization
Reflection on a certain topic or theme (aka Kindness or Body Love)
I'm so glad that I took the time to explore various types of meditation. It was definitely a journey, but I learned a lot about myself and what works for me in terms of my unique goals when it comes to meditation. Everyone will be different!
If you have any questions about my favourite types of meditation and what I enjoyed most you can tune into my podcast episode episode on this topic >>
I’ve been asked ‘what have been the noticed benefits of your new meditation practice’ and the list is certainly extensive!
Living a full life, and being an entrepreneur can take a lot out of you, and meditation is almost an energy top up and the perfect time to recalibrate.
Meditation has been proven to have numerous benefits ranging from reducing stress to helping focus your attention better, but some of the other benefits that I have personally experienced include:
Attention Span and Capacity to Focus is Increased
Increased Productivity when I sit down to work (I get a LOT done in a SHORT amount of time)
Abundance of Creativity (last monday I recorded 3 podcasts in 1 hour with ease)
Controlled experiments in 2012 involving a program of mindfulness meditation showed that those who meditate tend to have less rigidity in their thinking and are able to find quicker and easier solutions when faced with the same problem as non-meditators. Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-au/lifestyle/why-guided-meditation-is-essential-for-every-entrepreneur/334453
Better & Quicker Decision Making (I am very clear on what I want and what I don’t)
Overall better emotional balance - even during the challenges of running a business! This is a huge perk…
In conclusion,
If you're considering exploring meditation, I highly recommend it!
There are so many benefits to meditation, especially for people who have demanding jobs and run their own businesses.
Meditation can help improve your mental and emotional well-being, increase focus and concentration, reduce stress and anxiety, and promote more restful sleep.
Plus, it's a great way to unwind and relax after a long and busy workday.
My best tip?
Explore various types, and use apps like Spotify to access some really high quality or free content. I have also used Headspace and have heard that Calm is a great app, as well!
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🚨 Before You Go!
Don’t forget to listen this podcast episode where I bring you behind the scenes of my health journey and tips for performing at your best as an entrepreneur, then click here>>
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