Meditation and mindfulness are practices we can turn to help reduce stress, increase our levels of awareness, improve our focus, and awaken our intuitive capabilities. The more we are able to take time to sit in our stillness and tune in to our inner worlds, the more we can see changes to our outer worlds.

There is a misconception out there that meditation has to be done sitting with legs crossed in lotus pose, eyes closed, and palms to the sky. This is considered the ideal meditation position in Vedic traditions, but meditation is, at its core, about something much bigger yet simpler than that.

Meditation is about slowing down our thoughts so that we become more cognizant of what thoughts we are letting move through our operating system.

Taking even one deep, mindful breath can be considered meditation. In fact, taking three deep breaths allows the brain to send a message to the nervous system that it is time to relax, causing a light calm to move through the body (I invite you to give it a try right now!). Any time we take time to gift ourselves meditation, we help ourselves in ways we might not notice right away. But, just like with any habit we want to bring into our lives, we want to build consistency for a long-lasting and profound impact.

Here are 3 simple actions you can implement into your life to help build a consistent and disciplined meditation practice:

1. Make a Date On Your Calendar

You have full permission to treat the appointments you make with yourself with as much priority (actually, even more) as you do any other meeting on your calendar. When beginning to build a meditation practice, pick a time of day that is going to be your time. And then, honour it! You can start small with the amount of time you are sitting and meditating, so you can pack away those excuses for not having the time. Having this consistent time will allow your brain and body to work in unison to cultivate a daily practice.

2. Start Small

Even pausing for just a moment to take three deep breaths in a row helps the condition of your mental and physical health, so diving right into attempting to sit and meditate for 20 straight minutes a day doesn’t have to be necessary, at least not right away.

The idea of even a 10-minute meditation can feel really intimidating, especially for beginners, and it’s easy to fall off the proverbial meditating wagon by attempting to go so big so quick. So start small! Building your habit with even 3 minutes of meditation a day is going to help implement the practice into your daily routine and you will see results quicker than you think!

Be easy with yourself, and start small. More consistency with shorter sitting sessions will be more beneficial in the long run than sitting for larger durations of time irregularly.

3. Build the Habit with a Buddy

There is a lot of power in doing things with others, hence the expression “there’s power in numbers.” This is especially true when we are embarking on a new habit building journey!

Finding a friend, family member, or co-worker who has been thinking about getting into meditation or wants to have a more consistent practice themselves will add a level of accountability to your commitment. It can be easy to fall off course when building a new habit alone since it is new to you. As creatures of habit, we like to fall back into familiar routines and situations that feel more comfortable to us. Working with your accountability partners for meditation practice building (as well as for building habits in every other part of your life) is often the push you need to keep your habit consistent. Add an external force to check in with, someone with whom you can share your struggles, celebrations, and missed days. Words of encouragement from someone else who knows what you’re going through make a huge difference when building new habits.

Conclusion

Meditation is a tool anyone can use to bring more awareness into their everyday lives. There is a lot of power that we gain when we grow conscious of our thoughts that are running through our minds every day. In a future article, I will go into greater detail about just how powerful our thoughts and words really are (but for now, just know it is quite literally magic). Building a meditation practice is a gift you can give yourself that will truly keep on giving. To kick off your new habit, try out our The 7-Day Soul Reset.

If you have any questions on building your meditation practice or would like a free download of my e-book, “A Mindful Mind: A Guide To Building Your Meditation Practice”, email me at [email protected].