Monthly Challenge.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while…
ok… for a month…
then you know that during my year of being 40 (which started a few weeks ago), I plan to challenge myself each month with a “30 days of…”.
I will make the announcement some days prior to the upcoming month so that if you are interested, you can join in the challenge.
The challenge for the month of October is:
30 Days of spending 10 minutes in meditation.
Meditation.
We all have heard about the benefits of meditation.
- Reduces anxiety and depression
- Reduces stress
- Improves concentration
- Slows aging
And these are just a few of the suggested benefits.
I know all of this and yet I have never incorporated a meditation practice into my life. That is not to say that I don’t have brushes with mindfulness, such as when I spend time in nature.
Meditation is an ancient practice. Some archaeologists date meditation back as far as 5,000 BCE.
The reading that I’ve done doesn’t consider Savasana to be on par with meditation. I’m not sure I fully understand why it isn’t since I am focused on my breathing and staying in the present during that time.
Exercise.
That being said, October is a good time for me to begin a seated meditation practice. I mentioned in this post that I had a 2017 goal of running a 5k. Being that I have never been a runner, I need to slowly train. This meant changing up my gym schedule. Based on the availability of group exercise classes, it turns out that the best schedule for me is going to Pilates on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and running on Tuesday, Thursday, and one of the weekend days.
You’ll notice that means that I had to give up my Bodyflow (similar to power yoga) class. I miss my centering moments of Savasana. Yes, I could still do a home practice of yoga. I may add that in as I move forward. However, given that my personal history is such that exercise was not a regular part of my life until 3 1/2 years ago (after I strayed to the edges of depression during the move to Virginia), I prefer to keep my daily workout commitments on the shorter side.
Goals.
I’ve picked 10 minutes a day as the goal because I’ve read numerous articles about how “just 10 minutes” can make a difference. There shouldn’t be any excuse for why 10 minutes can’t be carved out of a day for self-care.
I am hoping to begin each day with meditation, but that is the secondary goal. The primary goal is to find a 10-minute slice during my day to set everything aside and meditate.
My hubby is also interested in joining in this challenge. I’m looking forward to his assessment of the challenge since I already do spend some moments in solitude…and in the present…and being mindful. This will be a less frequented space for him.
I haven’t decided if I will use a mediation app or not. Have you ever tried any of the apps? What are your thoughts on them?
Sometime during the first week of October, I’ll be sharing the successes, failures, and learning experience from my September challenge.
I’m looking forward to the October challenge.
If you have a meditation practice, do you have a certain environment that you like to create? I still have a few days to get myself set up so that there doesn’t become the “I wasn’t prepared” excuse.
If you don’t have a meditation practice, are you intrigued by the notion of trying it out?
I’d love for you to join in with me.
Let your light shine!
Amy
