Beginner meditation- try this podcast & app

I’ve never really done any meditation, but as a physical therapist in the healthcare world, I am aware of its role and benefit to mental AND physical health. We should meditate to deal with any stress, anxiety, frustration (which can lead to muscular tension) or just to be healthy! We don’t need to have a specific pathology to meditate, it’s just nice to take 5, 10 or 30 minutes out of our hectic days (especially in NYC!!) to take a time out, re-calibrate and quiet the mind by focusing on breath.

So this all started a few weeks ago when I stumbled across a beginner’s meditation podcast on Facebook and thought I’d give it a try-

Honestly, it was difficult to do consecutive days due to barriers like fluctuating work schedule, roommates being home and noisy, other plans after work and just plain forgetting to do it. But when I found the time to, though difficult to keep thoughts away, I felt much more relaxed afterwards.

I ventured on to explore the free portion of Headspace’s app, a beginner’s routine called Take10- 10 minutes of gently guided meditation per day for ten days.

I’m halfway through this series and already like it better than the above podcast. As a person new to meditation, I find the intermittent cues throughout the session extremely helpful to keep me on track when my mind inevitably wanders.

Tips for beginning a meditation practice

Make it a routine: Pick the same time of day, same place- this will increase compliance and help to make it a habit. When I first started I had no schedule and was performing at random times, resulting in skipped days.

Position/ Environment: Sit comfortably- either in a chair with your feet on the ground or cross-legged on the floor with/without a yoga block. I tried and failed while walking to work and with lying on a foam roller length wise.

Attitude: Accept that meditation is not easy. Especially living in a busy place like NYC- your brain rarely turns off. This will be challenging, some days moreso than others. Just do your best and you’ll still get great benefit from it, even if the session didn’t go perfectly.

I acknowledge that this type of meditation is not for everyone but I do feel everyone should try for about a week- give it a chance! If it ends up still not being for you after a week, then fine… find “me time” or mentally decompress in other ways- song, dance, art, yoga, running, etc…

//AR