How Meditation Can Help You Get Better at Life

Let's talk about how meditation can help you to enjoy a more peaceful, fulfilling life. I'll share some of my favorite tips on meditation with you and how you can get started even if you only have 2-5 min per day to spare!

Meditation is a really good way to be able to stay grounded in your life. Often when we think of meditation, we may think, “I don’t have time for that.” We don’t see the benefits of what meditation can bring into our lives. The truth is even a few minutes a day can make a huge difference in the quality of our lives. You can keep your practice simple, it does not need to be overwhelming, and it will become more of a natural habit over time. 

Here are some of my best tips for beginning or continuing your meditation process.

My Meditation Tips:

• You can start meditating in just 2-5 minutes and work your way up from there. Remember that it is better to get some time in than to set a time goal that is too high for you to begin with. You want to be consistent and can build up to more time as you are ready.
• Set aside time to meditate. I suggest meditating in the morning, right after you wake up in the morning and get fresh. You want to be sure to meditate before you eat. Where you meditate is also important. You don’t want to sit on your bed or a couch because you may fall right back to sleep. The best place to meditate is to sit on the ground or on a chair.
• Remember, we meditate to get good at life, not to get good at meditating. 
• Having intrusive thoughts while meditating is totally normal. When this happens, be gentle with yourself and keep going. 
• Bring your focus to a mantra or to your breath. If you are neurodivergent or ADHD like me, a mantra will be beneficial for you to use. There are lots of choices of mantras; you don’t have to just stick to the ones in Sanskrit. One mantra you can use to begin with is Om. Which is pronounced “ohm”, it means ‘It Is, Will Be or To Become’.
• If you feel like you have a lot on your mind while meditating, try journaling before you sit down to meditate. 
• When you have an intrusive thought, acknowledge it, then focus on your breath or your mantra. 
• Remember that meditation is a practice and that it will get easier as you go. 

How Do You Silence Your Mind? 

One of the most common questions that come up around meditation is, “how do you halt your thought processes”?

The answer is- you don’t.

It’s the nature of the mind to be scattered, to think of many different things; this is called “the monkey mind”.

The goal of meditation is not to quiet the mind; the goal is to recenter yourself.

When a distraction comes up in your mind, you name it that “a distraction”, and then you recenter and focus on your breath or your mantra.

As soon as you recenter yourself, you'll notice another distraction, and then you begin to recenter again. You don’t need to shame or suppress these thoughts; you just continue to recenter yourself. 

This act of recentering during meditation is where the power really lies. As you begin to master recentering in your meditation, you will also begin to get better at doing so in your everyday life. As challenging situations happen in your life and therefore challenging emotions arise, you will get better and better at being able to recenter and not let these situations distract you from your inner peace. This is why meditation is so important.

What if I fall asleep while meditating? 

So what does it mean if you fall asleep while you are meditating? 

You are tired. Your body needs rest, and the stillness is calling you to rest at that moment. Don’t make yourself wrong for it; it happens to everyone. Whether what you need most during that moment of meditation ends up being rest or recentering, it will always be the perfect thing for that time.

Continue to do this for 2-5 min, and be in control of your breath (take long inhales and exhales). 

The Importance of Being Grounded 

Being grounded in your life is one of the best results you will receive from meditation. When you are grounded, you will be able to hear your intuition and have much more clarity, peace, and joy in your life. Meditation is one of many grounding techniques.

There are a few others that I also suggest. 

Some other grounding techniques you can try are:

Being in nature:

Disconnect from electronics, barefoot on the earth. When you disconnect from technology (yes, even your phone!), you can allow nature to actually nurture you. Keep it simple! Find time in your day to step out onto your patio, go for a walk, and have a meal outdoors. It can also be a nice experience to meditate outdoors, in a safe space, of course. 

Essential Oils:

There is an essential oil for every purpose and generally several excellent choices! Ground Pine, Black Spruce, and White Fir are some of my favorites. You can also find Earthy Blends that combine several grounding essential oils. I found one of my favorites on Etsy.

Crystals:

Some of my go-to crystals to help with grounding are Hematite, Bloodstone, Red Jasper, and Smoky Quartz. You might consider wearing one or more of these as jewelry, sleeping with them under your pillow, infusing your water with them, or you can use them as part of your meditation practice.

Salt Baths / Salt Scrubs:

Pink Himalayan or Sea Salt. You can use these scrubs directly on your body, which is also wonderful for exfoliation, or you can mix these salts into your bath.

Deep Breath:

You definitely do this during meditation, but you can also use it when needed throughout your day. Below I will share a deep breathing relaxation practice that will help to reduce your anxiety.

Yoga:

Having a yoga practice is wonderful for connecting with your body, relaxing, and getting grounded. Like your meditation practice, begin with the amount of time you can devote, build that habit, and then add time as you feel ready to.

Incense:

This is such a simple way to encourage grounding throughout your day. Simply light some incense and go about your day!

How to instantly reduce anxiety & increase relaxation with your breath:

As I mentioned above, I have a deep breath practice that I suggest if you struggle with anxiety throughout your day.

This is a Pranayama practice called Nadi Shodhana.

This practice helps to balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain. 

You want to start out by doing the Vishnu Mudra, which is your thumb, ring finger, and pinky out and your pointer and middle finger bent down. 

Close your eyes, put your right thumb on your right nostril, and exhale. 

Breathe in through your left nostril. 

Then cover it, and breathe out through your right nostril. 

Breathe in.

Cover.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Cover.

Breathe out. 

You can use this practice whenever stressful situations come your way, or you can make a habit of using it in the evening before you go to sleep. It can be very powerful. I would suggest practicing when you are in a calm moment to quickly utilize this tool in a more tense situation.

I hope this blog post has inspired you to continue and grow your current meditation practice or begin your practice if you haven’t already. There truly is no one way to meditate.

You can use the tips I give here and tweak and find what works best for you. It may be helpful to commit to a 21-day period of meditating every day, as it will help it to become more of a habit for you. 

The great thing about committing to a 21-day, or more, period of time to meditate is that you will be able to see the results that come. You can compare how you feel, what has shifted in your life, etc. It is a good idea to keep a journal. You can start off by journaling at the beginning of the process, throughout, and at the end. This will help you to reflect on the experience. 

Thank you for reading! Do you already have a meditation practice, or are you planning on starting one? I’d love to hear from you below in the comments section!

Check back soon for more helpful posts on spirituality, manifestation, and more.

You can also find me on TikTok + YouTube, where I share similar information in video form.