10 Minutes a Day Could Change Everything!

Excuses are easy to come by and can help us avoid just about any situation. However, sometimes (perhaps all of the time) those excuses serve as self sabotage. Time and money are the most common excuses we use. I suppose we love these excuses so much because it is difficult for anyone to argue against them. Without time and money a lot of things feel impossible. However, the truth is, we always have the time and money for the things, activities, and people that are important to us.

So, why should meditation be important! Yeah, yeah, you already know it is good for you. Everyone says, meditate, meditate, meditate. But, how the heck do you start...and how do you know when you are doing it "right". I remember the first few times I "tried" to meditate. I sat that for an hour criticizing my own thoughts and sighing to myself because I just could not shut myself (my thoughts) up. Do you ever feel this way?

At some point, I discovered meditation cds. These tools enabled me to shut off the mind chatter to experience the true bliss of meditation. There are other tools (sound/light induction, brain entrainment, neurofeedback) books, and classes you can take. You can pay a few dollars to a few thousand dollars to find the process that works for you. I recommend starting small, take a class or listen to a guided meditation. I have a list of resources on this subject that I would be happy to email. (Send me an email at coachjoy@acceleratedjourneys.com)

But, then came the, "I don't have time to meditate," and the "I am too tired," and the "I keep forgetting to make time". Meditation had become fun, but I wasn't making time for it. It was because I was not able to make the connection between the meditation and the changes taking place in my life as a result.

What I didn't yet understand was that meditation was creating a time and space for my body to be completely free of stress (all stress, internal and external). In meditation, my body, mind, and heart were at ease. During other times our body, mind, and heart is standing at attention, ready to respond to what life brings. We are on guard and generally respond biochemically through stress. Our shoulders tighten, our heart beats faster, our stomach aches, we experience headaches...we gain weight, and so forth. All a response to the chemicals pumping through our bodies.

Meditation stops all of that.At first, meditation provides stress relief for the duration of the meditation. But then, something miraculous happens, our silent meditation begins to change the neural pathways in our brains and we experience less stress throughout the day.We begin to slow down our reactions and do not move into stress as easily as we once did.

The neural pathways are the "emergency strategies" programed into our brains to aid in automatic responses to life events. To get technical for a moment; our hearts pick up a message that we are in danger (either a bear is chasing us, we are late for a work deadline, our spouse wants a divorce, or traffic is jammed...etc.), our hearts send a message to our brains, and the neural pathways our brains have established determine our biological and mental response.

Before meditation we may respond in anger, fear, frustration, depression...causing us to lash out at ourselves and others. After meditation, our responses change. We learn to relax and consider the possibilities. The neural pathways change, the cells in our bodies change, the thoughts in our head change. As a result, stress melts away, wellness is the norm, and happiness becomes the preferred state of being. The best part, all you have to do is commit to practicing meditation for at least 10 minutes a day.

I promise you that you have the 10 minutes to spare AND you will create additional time and money for yourself when you make meditation a priority. Meditation increases the production of several key hormones/chemicals that help you sleep, feel good, and increase energy. I can't say when or how long it will take, the journey is personal. I can tell you that it will happen and it is worth the blissful effort.

To learn more about meditation and ways to accelerate your progress, please visit one of my favorite sites: www.practicethepractice.com for classes and resources or contact me directly for a list of amazing and affordable resources I have used with clients in my coaching practice.