How I Meditate Part 3: The Setup

Meditation, like so many other ‘shoulds’ in my life, had to become a seamless part of my daily routine in order for me to do it more than once. I should do it, I feel great when I do, but I’ve found that I will prioritize all sorts of other tasks in front of the ones that are just for me alone.

Let me describe how I’ve made meditation part of my day. Have you meditated before? Have you sat up straight, on a cushion, hands arranged just so, facing a certain direction on the compass? I have, and I’ve felt the power of that position, the ground beneath me, the sky above, the universe all around.

But one I’m up in the morning, once I’m out of bed, well… There’s teeth to brush and breakfast to eat and dishes to wash and email to check and lunch to pack and where’s that bill I got yesterday? So here’s my secret:

I meditate in bed. Before I ever get out from under the blankets!

This works great for me. I love to lay in bed in the morning, and luxuriate in the restful, peaceful quiet before anything crazy happens. Meditating allows me that time and sets up positive energy for the rest of the day- or at least for the morning.

My routine is simple. I lay on my back, propped on a couple pillows. My hands are generally both on my low belly, or one there and one on my heart. (I have a cold digestive system, so a hand on my belly brings heat and a gentle pressure and a sense of awareness and caring to that area.) Sometimes I place my hands on my legs, in a yoga mudra.

When I am following a Meditation Challenge like Finding Your Flow right now, I log into the site, press play, and lay back.

On other mornings, I have an app on my phone called Meditation Helper, which allows me to set chimes at certain intervals. When I press Start, a 20 second timer starts. This gives me time to quickly read a mantra stored in my phone and to get all settled.

A chime sounds to mark the beginning of my 15 minute meditation. After 5 minutes, a second chime sounds. This is a check-in for me, to make sure I’m meditating and not distracted by my thoughts or dozing off. After 10 more minutes, 2 chimes sound to mark the end of my session. The app also sets my phone to airplane mode while the timer is on, so I don’t have to worry about phone calls, texts or other noises interrupting me during that time. This is one of my favorite features!

I have a separate meditation series saved for my Meditation Challenge days, one that has no chimes and doesn't set my phone to Airplane- otherwise the internet is cut off and I can't listen to the meditation!

Another great feature of the Meditation App is that it has a widget that shows how many days in a row I’ve meditated, if I did today, and what my record is.  Seeing that every time I turn my phone on prompts me to squeeze in my meditation, even on mornings when I’m running late.

A yoga mudra, courtesy of www.chopra.com