A few weeks of trying and testing, sitting and silenc-
ing was necessary. I tried different times of day. Upon
awakening, before bed, mid-morning, post eating,
pre-workout, post-workout. I tried different posi-
tions. Laying, sitting, legs outstretched, cross legged.
I tried different timing, 10, 12, 15, and 20 minutes.
And that one time when I accidentally fell asleep
three minutes in. I tried pairing meditation with an-
other routine habit like a workout, lunch, and, after
walking my boys to the bus in the morning.
After all that it was pleasurably obvious that a few
simple changes to my notion of a perfect medita-
tion practice helped make the habit a little easier to
adopt.
For those who’ve mastered the art of escaping to
silence in the middle of a hectic airport departure
lounge or managed to put their to-do list on hold,
this might seem simplistic. But for those of us for
whom snoring dogs and itchy noses barricade us
from mediation these three small changes made the
biggest difference for me.
- YOU CAN MOVE.
I scratch itches and outstretch my legs when the
sleep tingles in my feet get too annoying. Someday
I envision being statue still. But until then, bangs get
brushed to the side, mosquitoes get flicked, and toes
get curled.
2. ANYWHERE, ANYTIME.
In front of my south facing living room window on
a sunny morning at 8:30 a.m. after breakfast is my
ideal. But so is a few minutes of silence in my car be-
tween client meetings with a protein shake on the
go.
3. FIND 12 MINUTES.
When I first started interval training years ago, 12
minutes was the key number. Three rounds of four
different exercises. So I used this same number; 10
almost feels too short yet 15 feels a little long. I hope
to build up to 20 or 30 minutes, but for now, 12 is the
perfect in between.
LESS PERFECT, MORE HABIT
I’ll admit my meditation habit still isn’t as regular
as I hoped it would be. However, those 12 minutes I
carve out at least a few times a week add up to over
half an hour of peaceful silence. Now that’s only 0.36
per cent of my week. A ridiculously small amount of
time. But it’s amazing how much intuition connecting
can happen in 0.36 per cent. Even with itchy noses,
snoring dogs, and sleep tingly feet. It doesn’t look
perfect, but it doesn’t have to in order to be a benefi-
cial meditation habit.By: Vanessa Goodman
Health & habits lover, OCR enthusiast, communica-
tions professional (@nessa.pearl on Instagram)