Finding the time in your busy life to meditate may seem impossible; something always seems to come up to otherwise occupy that time. However, simply practicing a few minutes of meditation every day will improve both your personal and professional life exponentially.
Let’s examine five simple techniques to keep you on track with your daily meditation goals.
Set Aside a Specific Time to Meditate Every Day
Many novice meditators find the early morning hours are a good time to meditate. Your mind will already be somewhat clear after sleep, and you’re likely to have more privacy and quiet time. Set the alarm on your cell phone calendar to remind you. When you create a “sacred time” to practice clearing your mind, it will grow into a positive habit.
Take Just One Conscious Breath
Whenever it crosses your mind during the day, simply take one conscious breath. Pause your thoughts, and simply focus on your breathing. One conscious breath will quickly turn into two, and three, until you have practiced several minutes of “pranayama” meditation.
Use Headphones
You can simply slip on a pair of headphones to cancel out extraneous and distracting noise, or you can listen to a guided meditation program. There are many meditation MP3s available, ranging from spoken word guided meditations, to soothing music, to brainwave entrainment programs. There’s nothing wrong with using technology to help you in your meditation goals.
Practice Meditation After an Already Established Habit
After you get into the elevator and push the button to your office, pause, and focus on your breath until you reach your floor. Likewise, after you start your car’s engine to go to work, pause, and focus on your breathing for a few moments while the car warms up. Anchoring your new habit of meditation to an old habit will make meditation a natural part of your day.
Practice Meditation to “Kill Time”
Rather than scrolling through tweets, Instagrams or news stories on your cellphone, use that time to meditate. In fact, studies show that scrolling through social media doses the brain with dopamine, a brain chemical associated with pleasure. That is why cellphones are literally addictive. Meditation also releases dopamine, but in a more positive way; it does not encourage addiction to the often dark and negative memes of the internet.