How to turn Meditation into a Daily Routine

Have you considered meditating but never find time or motivation? Some small tips can help to open a space in your routine.

Making meditation part of the daily routine can be a complicated challenge, because the necessary time is not always available, but once it is achieved, the benefits for physical and mental health are immediate.

The positive effects of meditation go beyond the subjective and emotional. Scientific studies have proven its usefulness in reducing stress and the harmful symptoms it causes in our body.

Stress causes the body to produce high levels of cortisol, a hormone that excessively creates inflammatory processes that produce muscle, head, chest and upset stomach pains. Additionally, cortisol causes insomnia, anxiety, irritability and reduces sexual appetite.

Science endorses meditation

Several studies show that meditation reduces stress by leveling cortisol production and helps eliminate the problems caused by the excess of this hormone.

On the other hand, the value of meditation has been considered as a therapeutic tool in some degenerative diseases such as fibromyalgia.

Dr. Sara Lazar, a psychiatrist specializing in neuroimaging research at Harvard University, conducted a study on meditation whose results endorsed the importance of daily meditation:

"Meditation provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day. The study shows that changes in brain structure are below these improvements, "explained Lazar.

Prepare to meditate

Knowing the advantages of practicing meditation, it should be converted into a daily routine. Some considerations can help achieve this.

Be realistic with expectations

No need to spend more time than you have available. Leo Babauta, Zen meditation instructor, recommends committing to start with 2 minutes a day and try to do it for 5 minutes.

With the passage of time, when the benefits are appreciated, it will be easier to make longer meditations.

Find a daily free time

For meditation to really become a habit, it is best to find a precise moment of the day in the know that there is free time available. The most advisable thing is in the mornings, because it helps awaken the senses and prepares the body and mind for the rest of the day.

However, if you cannot in the mornings, it also serves during the lunch break or at night. Above all, the important thing is to find the two minutes a day.

Choose an accessible site

The best thing is to find a quiet place, where there are no noises or distractions. It can be at home, in the office or in a park. The fundamental thing is that in that space there are no interruptions or inconveniences. It is convenient to leave accessories such as the telephone to ensure that the time of meditation is respected.

    Nature is the best place for meditation

Wear comfortable clothes

To block all external factors, it is important to wear comfortable clothes. Clothing that squeezes, feels hot or uncomfortable in some way, will prevent the mind from relaxing and will become a distraction that will lose focus.

The same happens with a position. The idea is to get a comfortable position that can be maintained without becoming a nuisance. Even walking meditation can be a good solution.

Use some extra time

While you have to find a fixed time in the routine, you can also add small meditations throughout the day. It can be concentrating on the way home, focusing on food during lunch or tea or coffee.

How to meditate?

Meditation consists of relaxing the mind and freeing it from the whirlwind of thoughts until it achieves inner peace. The best thing is to concentrate on a fixed thing, it can be visual or sound. If it is visual we can find a fixed point in front of us. It can be a candle, a flower or something simple.

From there we have to focus on the object and not think beyond what we are seeing. If it's a sound, you have to choose one that serves as a mantra. They can be simple words that invite relaxation or sounds like the "hmmm", pronounced from the chest.

One of the most useful and effective techniques is to concentrate on breathing. It can be with eyes closed or open. Breathe slowly through your nose and feel and imagine the air when you breathe.

In each breath you feel how the air enters the lungs and passes through the different parts of the body, oxygenating the blood. Then it expires slowly, also feeling how the air comes out.

Once you finish the meditation you will feel the mind released and relaxed, and the body renewed. The problems will be left behind for some time and then facing them will be easier.