What is the Best Meditation for you?

Take 7 Days to Reset and Renew Yourself

I've been asked so often to help people to learn to focus and help them to set a meditation schedule.

There are so many factors in starting to meditate. Your schedule, the type of meditation, the 'perfect' location, creating the habit or making it a priority and seeing the value that it adds to your life. I find that it isn't so much the schedule that keeps most people from meditating but that they haven't found the type of meditation that works best for them.

I'll post different aspects of meditations each day so we can break it down and build a great foundation to create a successful habit. Set realistic goals, "I'm going to meditate 1/2 hour each day" and then get upset with yourself for not getting it done, isn't supporting yourself in your efforts. Start slow and short and take time to notice the difference in your productivity, self talk and over reactions to things around you. You could start with 5-10 minutes every other day (increase it if it's working for you and you think of it more often). Set an alarm and stick with it. Be sure not to have negative self talk if you drop the ball for a few days, jump back on or do it later in the day. Be realistic about the time of day that you need it most and will be able to take the time. What works best for me is to set an alarm once a day, I may not get to it each day but my ultimate goal is to do it 5 times a week.

Whether you are looking for complete quiet in your mind or a rumbling roaring dance to alleviate or shake out stress and trapped energy to be able to focus. I will help you with a few different forms of meditation as we proceed in the week.

Day 1

Breathing meditations

Guided Breath Meditation 10 minutes (more for beginners)

Guided Breathing Meditation 14 minutes (for beginners with imagery)

Visual Breathing Meditation 8 minutes (quicker paced)

Visual and Active Breathing Meditation 4 minutes (great for kids too, we use it when our little one gets overdramatic to help her bring herself back to calm)

Visual Breathing to Reset Your Fight or Flight Mode 5 minutes (Great for getting back on track)

Day 2

Can meditation change the size of your brain? What other health benefits are there? What about improving relationships?

6 Top Benefits of Meditation 5 minutes

Ted Talk What Can 5 Minutes a Day of Mindful Breathing Do for you? 9 minutes

Breathe to Heal  18 minutes

How Meditation Changed My Life  15 minutes

Day 3

Check in, how are you doing?

Is this you? "I've tried meditation and I can't" ....."I cannot think of nothing"

There are an infinite amount of meditation styles and techniques.

In fact, I heard a new one recently that they don't meditate "I focus on an imaginary blank piece of paper while I got an MRI, the edges of the paper just disappear eventually"

Take a few minutes today to check a few of these out when you have a moment. You don't need to do them yet, just invest a little time to learn the different styles to see what might suit you.

Guided Meditation-Clearing Negativity-7 minutes-needing quiet? trouble focusing? This is a visual and guided to help you focus on something new and positive

Guiding Breathing Mantra-31 minutes-Great for slowing down and assisting with breath focus. You can watch the first few minutes, then get settled comfortably and hear in the music to keep your breathing on point

Active Meditation-6 minutes-Get rid of energy, frustration and trapped drama or trauma-shake your limbs and dance your heart out

Guru Ram Das-Chanting/Vibration-11 minutes-Calm your mind, have a headache or sinus issues? Try natural vibration through chanting! The vibration of your tongue will help the sutures of your skull loosen as well as your nervous system to open up blocked paths and much more healing that you can imagine!

Thai Chi is another form of a movement meditation that is great for your all over health because you get exercise as well as calming and focusing your mind.

These are just a few ways to meditate and I've listed behind them what 'type' of person usually goes best with each one so you might gain some insight. None of these is limited to anyone, this is to help you see so many different kinds of diversity and we often find that different ones work better for different moments of our lives. I will most likely keep updating this section as I find new fun meditations.

Day 4

ARE WE THERE YET? Want a healthier, happier life, WHY WAIT? Let's CREATE THIS HABIT!

Chronic Pain and Meditation?

Are there differences in your day, your health and your mood?

Here are some things you may notice when you create the habit

10 Reasons You Should Meditate Everyday-Article

Treating Chronic Pain with Meditation-Article

Here Are the Medical Benefits You May Not See That Can Improve Your Life-9 minute video

Day 5

Have you found your means of meditation yet?
If so, what are you doing that's working for you?
If not, here are some great shake ups and different types to give you more variety.

Top 14 Apps for Meditation Ranked and Reviewed

Day 6

What does your meditation space look like?
Where do you meditate?
It can be just a chair or sitting on the floor and as cheap as closing your eyes to focus. Some people like to have a certain feel to calm and get focused. One of my favorite areas is my massage room, when I move to my new office, it'll be big enough that I'm planning to open guided meditation nights for others as well. I also have Thai mats that I can use or just lay on my massage table.

Where would you like to meditate?

Do you have a whole room, a corner space?

Do you meditate in an outdoor garden?

Do you like Mala beads to keep count of your time?

What is your special item? Do you like having a special item?

Do you use aromatherapy?

Do you have it filled with the things you love or are you a minimalist with your space?

Do you find that certain colors relax you more?

I did a retreat that had great chairs that are flat to the floor with a back support (which was so great for variety)!

Here are some additional ideas for things to think about when creating a space

Another link for ideas for a mediation room

I cannot wait to hear your old and new meditation ways! Share with others so we can all benefit. If you have any questions feel free to post so that others can respond and share their answers. Feel free to reach out to me if you wish.

Day 7

Let’s integrate, there is no set time to meditate, no set location, no set way of meditating. Hopefully, this tour of meditation helped you hone in a little on what works best for you and you find your rhythm. With so many moving parts to life, you may want to do this exercise again in a month and see if you discover something else to integrate.

Set up a schedule for yourself for the week ahead. Pick a day that works best to set up that schedule. If you find some days are harder than others then just pick 5 minutes. Don’t hesitate to do just 2 minutes if you are late and you’ll find that you start to make the time for yourself.

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In Health and Wellness,

Michelle S Krause LMT, CST-T, BCTMB

National and MD State Licensed

Delegate for the Maryland Chapter of AMTA

Owner of Vital Fitness Holistic Center

www.vitalharmony.massageplanet.com