Meditation is HARD.

I wish I could impose the benefits of meditation upon you with a magical wand. Heck… I wish I could impose the benefits of it – upon myself – without actually doing it. Because doing, sitting – in meditation can be bloody hard work.

As meditation teacher, I should only talk about how good it is for you (it is), and how amazing it feels (it does) – but meditation can be incredibly confronting. What I notice though is that the less I meditate the harder it is, but the more I meditate – the more it becomes a space for me take rest in. So I do mine every morning, when I wake up and my ego is still asleep and less terrified of being exterminated by my mindfulness practice.

This week’s episode I talk about one of the most important ways to feel human. Sometimes when I didn’t meditate for a few days – it feels like I’m only half of who I am. But for me – meditating is like brain flossing – it removes the gunk, bits of old food and thoughts from the crevasses of my brain.

In terms of tools – as the episode mentions, my journey began with Headspace App to whom I have been faithful for years, until I became a little curious about others. I meditated with Calm App for about 3 years before I trained as a Yoga Teacher and realised that I am more happy to sit with my own thoughts than with guidance. As long as I have a gentle timer to nudge me out of my bliss – which is why I now use Insight Timer daily with my own customised, pre-saved sequences – I am good.

I usually follow 16 minutes or when I’m feeling adventurous – I do full 20. But when I wake up cranky and feeling completely incapable to meditate… I do 5 minutes. Five minutes is better than nothing. Doing 1% of something worth doing is still better than not doing it at all. Besides, it keeps my daily streak.

What is your relationships with meditation? Do you have a teacher or an app that you follow?