✨ How often have you rushed out the door and into your day without even thinking about how you’d like things to go? Pausing to practice mindfulness for just a few minutes at different times during the day can help your days be better, more in line with how you’d like them to be. The easiest way is to set an intention for the day, your intention can be something like, “Today, I will be kind to myself; be patient with others; give generously; stay grounded; persevere; have fun; eat well,” Try this for 21 days and see how your day improves ❤ xx Meg
✨ Here are 7 scientifically proven benefits linked to gratitude ❤ xx Meg
◾ opens the door to more relationships
◾ improves physical health
◾ improves psychological health
◾ enhances empathy and reduces aggression
◾ people sleep better
◾ improves self-esteem
◾ increases mental strength
✨ How important is gratitude in your daily life? Gratitude is defined as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” It is an often under appreciated virtue, that also compliments other virtues such as hope, joy, and peace. Not only does gratitude make you feel more appreciation for your life, it is the best defense against it’s evil twin—resentment. One of my AM rituals is to write down 3 things I am grateful for, then throughout the day when I become annoyed I repeat these things, by doing this you start training your mind to find the best in any situation. What are 3 things you are grateful for today? ❤ xx Meg
✨ Here are a few of the benefits of deep breathing, not only are the benefits physical, they are also emotional. Before getting out of bed in the morning, I challenge you to take 10 deep belly breaths to start your day for 21 days straight and let me know how you feel! ❤ xx Meg
◾ boost immune system
◾ healthy heart
◾ feel connected
◾ balance
◾ mood enhancement
◾ stress relief
◾ mind focus
◾ brain empowerment
✨ One of the most important things during meditation is our breath. We have been breathing our entire life but what if I told you we have actually been breathing wrong? Our breath is typically shallow, while meditating we want to breath deeper, expanding the stomach. Take it in steps. Instead of focusing on controlling the entire breath, just do the inhale. Slowly fill up the lungs, then relax and let them deflate at their own pace. Breath in slowly for 4, hold for 2, and out for 6. This breathing exercise can be done anywhere at any time, at work, on the train, stuck in traffic. We always have our breath to come back to ❤ xx Meg
✨ What types of meditation are out there? Although there isn’t a right or wrong way to meditate, it’s important to find a practice that works with your needs and complements your personality. Meditation may be an ancient tradition, but it’s still practiced in cultures all over the world to create a sense of calm and inner harmony. Although the practice has ties to many different religious teachings, meditation is less about faith and more about altering consciousness, finding awareness, and achieving peace. I will go over the types of meditations below more in depth so you can find what works best for your life style. Here I am practicing mindful meditation 🕉
Here are 9 most popular types of meditation :
◾ mindfulness meditation
◾ spiritual meditation
◾ focused meditation
◾ movement meditation
◾ mantra meditation
◾ transcendental meditation
◾ progressive relaxation
◾ loving-kindness meditation
◾ visualization meditation
And always remember this is a practice not a skill and 5 minutes is better than nothing ❤ xx Meg
✨ I get this question a lot, what are the benefits of meditation? While the pros of meditation are endless, you won't see the affects over night so be patient (a quality strengthened by meditation) 🙏 You’ll start noticing the superhuman effects after about a month of practice, nothing easy ever happens over night!!! Here is a list of some of the benefits of daily meditation
1 - stress reduction
2 - controls anxiety
3 - promote emotional health
4 - increase self awareness
5 - improve your attention span
6 - reduce age related memory loss
7 - self control
8 - improve sleep
Remember this is a practice not a skill, so don't give up, it gets easier the more you do it ❤ xx Meg
✨ Have you ever wanted to get into meditation but don't know where to begin? Well I am here to give you a few tricks I have learned along the way 😉Remember this is a practice not a skill and with daily practice it gets easier to turn off the monkey mind 🐒
1- find a quiet, comfortable seat, somewhere you won’t be disturbed
2 - take a few deep breaths and try to relax all of your muscles
3 - close your eyes and focus on your breath, I like to repeat “In, Out”
4 - let it flow, if a thought arises, acknowledge it and then let it go coming back to your breath
5 - start with 5 min and set a timer on your phone so you don’t keep looking at the time
Congrats you are now on the journey of self discovery ❤ xx Meg
