My First Meditation

I have been wanting to try out meditation for quite a while but never succeeded in doing so. Part of me felt like I was all-good and in no need of any therapeutic help. Yet, after realizing the many benefits of meditation and my own tendency of becoming easily stressed (also my 2016 resolution of becoming a more mindful person!), I asked myself, “why don’t you give meditation a try?”

So this morning I meditated, for the first time. Being a newbie in this practice, I decided to try out some apps to help myself stay focused. Giving in to the App Store’s popular reviews, I downloaded Headspace and finally clicked the “play” button. For 10 minutes I listened to the mediator’s soothing voice (which also comes with a British accent), sat comfortably in my chair, and just relaxed. I followed the mediator’s instructions: closed my eyes, breathed in, breathed out, paid attention to the sensations of my body and the sound of my surroundings (although it was pretty quite, I was delighted to hear a couple birds singing happily outside of my window). Calmness slowly entered my body, and I started to feel which part of my body felt tense and which part was truly relaxed. My breaths started to follow a nice, smooth pattern, as if there was my most natural state, and for the first time I felt “peace”.

But, just as what you would expect in a newbie meditator, my mind started wandering off at its own rhythm, and all sort of different thoughts (i.e. “ahh I have A, B, C, and D on my to-do list”) began to flow in. As I attempted to block out all these random thoughts, the mediator said something like “Let your mind wander and welcome all your thoughts.” Ha! My mind cheered silently, and I found myself fully embracing the noisy thoughts as they entered. However, soon my new-found calmness started to slip away, and I no longer felt at ease. Luckily, the mediator came in to interrupt my thoughts, and instructed me to concentrate on only my breaths again. As I brought my mind back to focus on only myself and my quite surroundings, again I felt calm and connected to my true self, even after the session has ended. The contract was so obvious that when I reflected on my experience after the session, I couldn’t believe how many hours of my daily life was spent on thoughts and worries that don’t contribute to my wellbeing and productivity.

I am happy that today I took the first step to start my mindfulness journey, and did it at the beginning of the day so that even at this moment as I write, I am still feeling the calmness and joy :) I can’t wait to keep going with my tech-enabled meditation sessions, and to work on becoming a more focused and productive, calmer, and happier person who brings happiness and positivity to the people around her.

Cheers!