Originally Published: May 2017

I have been meditating on and off for the last few years. But in the last 70 days I have been doing 5–10 minutes every day to find out what the prolonged benefits of daily meditation are. Here’s what I’ve found:

• I can prioritise and organise much better
• This was one of my key stress factors, always wanting to do too much and getting overwhelmed with all the tasks I felt needed to get done. Meditation has helped me to realise that a task may not actually be important and has helped me to define a clear priority of tasks. Greatly reducing my stress.
• I can stay focused for longer, so I’m more efficient
• My breathing is much better
• My mind is calmer, and doesn’t race around as much
• Slower more deliberate though
• I am more forgiving, and more likely to see the good in people
• I am less worried about the future, and am focusing more on the present
• I am more honest with myself about my own thoughts, opinions and emotions

My daily practice looks like:

• Grabbing one of the giant pillows Viki made from our honeymoon
• Sitting cross legged
• Opening the Calm app and picking one of the 5, 10 or 15 minute sessions. My favourites are:
• Calm Light
• Less talk
• Timed Meditation
• No talk
• Choices
• Guided talk session around noticing distractions
• Body Scan
• Guided talk session focusing on awareness of your entire body