5 Tips to Make Meditation Part of Your Daily Routine
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You finally started to meditate! When you start something new, at first it’s easy to do it every day because you are still excited by it and in the ‘honeymoon’ phase. But because we are surrounded by other new options and experiences, that feeling of excitement can quickly fade and you might be tempted to give up. However, as you know very well if you’re reading this article, the secret to making meditation truly effective is to practice it regularly. Don’t panic, here are five tips to help you make meditation part of your daily routine and a source of joy in your daily life!
1. Prepare a nice place to meditate for your daily routine
To make you want to meditate each day, choose a pleasant spot to meditate at home, at the office, or anywhere else. One of the many advantages of meditation is that it doesn’t require a lot of space. You can choose a small corner of a room and arrange it any way you want, perhaps adding a candle, incense, a rug and a meditation cushion, for example.
Think of this place as your refuge, a personal sanctuary into which you can bring all that you are, feel and go through each day. Just thinking about this place that you created, that belongs only to you, and where you feel perfectly at ease, can fill you with a sense of comfort.
After meditating a few times in this space, it will become part of your wellness routine. Soon, you will have only one wish when you wake up in the morning: to settle down for a few minutes of peace with yourself.
2. Create your own pre-meditation ritual
Creating a ritual that you practice before each meditation may seem unnecessary and bordering on spiritual. But rituals exist for a good reason: they prepare us and put us in the right mood to meditate.
Of course, only you can decide what your ritual will be. But here are some examples to inspire you to create your own pre-meditation routine:
- Drink some warming tea,
- Stretch,
- Do a few cycles of deep and conscious breaths,
- Light some incense,
- Listen to a soothing song…
You can create a ritual to match your personality and needs. The important thing is that it should come naturally to you and make you feel relaxed. And it doesn’t have to take long: even a couple minutes of stretching before meditating will do the trick.
This ritual can also evolve over time, because you too will evolve as you develop your meditation practice. So don’t hesitate to adjust your ritual in line with your needs. Above all, whatever you do, listen to yourself, listen to your body and do what feels right in the moment, with kindness.
3. Choose comfortable meditation clothes
Now that you know where you’ll meditate every day and have created a ritual to help you get ready, it’s time to choose some comfortable clothes.
Again, there are no rules: this moment belongs to you only, so if you want to wear pajamas with polka dots rather than yoga pants, that’s totally up to you! Ideally, though, you should wear similar clothing each time you meditate to strengthen the “ritual” feel to your practice. Whenever you put on these clothes you will feel mentally prepared to meditate and be still for a moment.
As for me, I like to wear something that I find both pretty and comfortable, so I can feel comfy while bringing a touch of dignity to my meditative practice. So, once again, the best thing is to pick clothes that match your personality.
4. Pick the time at which to meditate each day
Picking a set time to sit down every day to meditate can really help to maintain a daily routine, for two reasons:
- If you set the time in advance, then you know that it is in your diary and that you can’t plan anything else at that time,
- Your brain loves pre-established schedules and, gradually, it will become natural to meditate at your chosen time because your mind will create a routine to which it becomes accustomed.
Think about which time of the day works best for you: in the morning when you wake up, at night before bed, at noon during your lunch break or another time that’s convenient for you. Choose how long you will meditate, add a few minutes for your pre-meditation ritual, then set an alarm to remind you to meditate each day.
5. Choose the position in which you prefer to meditate, and maintain it
Here, the idea is to try to avoid reasons to delay meditating. The solution is to know where, when and how you will meditate–even before you settle down for your session.
If you like to meditate sitting down, think ahead whether you want to be in the Burmese position, in a half-lotus position or if you want to practice sitting in a full lotus position, for example. If you want to meditate sitting on a chair, have your chair ready. Of course, your position may change over time, and that’s OK. You’ll also probably want to try out different positions before deciding which one works best for you. But, once you find one that you like, don’t change it for a while, so you won’t have to choose a position each time you sit down to meditate.
I hope that these 5 simple tips will help you develop a daily meditation routine that you both like and that makes you want to keep up your practice. However, remember this: meditation can be practiced anywhere and at any time.
So even though it’s a great idea to follow these tips and develop a consistent meditation routine, try not to become too attached to these new habits, and remain flexible in your practice. Because if you become too attached to the comfort of this routine, it may feel more difficult to meditate on the go, or when you find yourself in an unusual situation for one reason or another.
Never forget that it’s all about balance! So, enjoy your meditation and if these tips helped you make meditation a part of your daily routine, or if you have any questions about your practice, please write down a comment below!
Translated by: Stella Debiaggi
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