By Jody Agard, Mommy Reboot
I was no stranger to meditation before I actually began implementing it. In my early journey through self care, it was one of the first things I did to help settle my mind and take care of myself.
Intellectually, I knew all the benefits of regular meditation but for two years I still only dabbled.
At the time, I was a single mom and building a business so I didn’t have a whole lot of time to dedicate to a regular meditation practice.
It was something I did on a whim, or when I could squeeze in a few minutes here and there.
But I was craving calm in the season of my life that I was in. I was desperate for change, so I decided to try something different and amp up my meditation practice.
One day I decided to make a commitment to myself that I would meditate every single day, even if it was just for a few minutes.
Initially, I was only looking at this as a “temporary experiment.”
That was 6 years ago and my life hasn’t been the same since.
Now, rather than saying “I don’t have time to meditate today,” I know that, “I don’t have time to not meditate.”
That temporary experiment has made me into a daily meditator, sometimes meditating two and three times a day if I need to. Meditation has become such an important part of my day and daily self care routine. Surrendering and letting go during my meditation practice is something I look forward to, rather than viewing it as another to-do list item the way I once did.
Here are 5 ways daily meditation has changed my life:
1) I’m Less Reactive
I’m still a busy mom who juggles kids, a business, my marriage, and all the duties that being an adult brings. However, the daily nuances of life don’t weigh me down nearly as much as they once did. I’m simply not bothered by much anymore. I’m more patient with myself, my kids and my family, which allows for better communication and more harmonious relationships. If something doesn’t go the way I had planned in my day, I don’t come undone the way I used to. I’m generally more relaxed, not just during my meditation, but hours after I come out of it.
2) I Don’t Stay Stuck for Long
I call myself a “recovering type-A perfectionist”. My nature is to overanalyze everything and live too much in my head and not enough in my heart. Over the years I have experienced a great deal of feeling stuck and unclear on which direction is the best to take. I was often paralyzed by fears of choosing the “wrong path”. Although this is still a big part of my personality, with daily meditation, I’m able to move through it quickly. I don’t stay stuck for very long anymore. If that feeling arises, whether it’s in my business, or the best way to parent one of my kids, when I take a step back, throw myself on my meditation pillow and just breathe, the answers often flood through me. I’m able to quiet my mind enough to hear the answers coming. I’ve learned over the years that the answers we crave are always there, lurking below the surface of our chattering minds.
3) I Drink Less Alcohol
I’ve never really been a big drinker, more on the lines of a social drinker. However, I’d often enjoy ending my day with a glass or two of wine as my husband and I attempted to catch up on our busy day. Ever since I’ve been meditating regularly though, I simply don’t want it because I don’t need it. Because I’m using meditation on a daily basis, it eases the same problems that alcohol once attempted to calm. I began craving and valuing true relaxation, clarity, and balance; things I felt alcohol never quite delivered on because of its fuzzy after effects.
4) I’m More Creative
My career as an author and self care coach requires me to be creative. It takes brain juice to write, record inspirational videos, and powerfully coach my clients. I credit my ability to impact the way I do because of my commitment to daily meditation. When I’m bogged down in my mind with the details of my life, everything is harder because I’m relying on myself, rather than the spirit of my intuition. Habitual meditation allows the ideas, the solutions, the creative work to flow through me because I’m in the receptive mode and getting out of my own way. I’m never short on ideas the way I once was before making meditation a regular practice.
5) I’m More Productive
For the same reasons that my creative flow has increased, my productivity has also increased. Regular meditation allows me to be tapped into a force much bigger than myself. I rely and trust on my divinely guided intuition to tell me what’s most important to do in the moment and let go of what isn’t. As a result, I’ve become so much more efficient. It takes me much less time to complete tasks than it took me before making meditation a regular habit. I’ve learned to do the things that require the most brain power soon after coming out of my morning meditation so I can capitalize on the good feeling energy and focus.I’ve been amazed at what I’ve been able to accomplish these last several years and I owe a big part of that to my daily meditation practice.
These are just a few of the powerful ways daily meditation has changed my life. I’ve seen improvements in every area; my relationships, my career, my health and my finances. I have no doubt that it’s because of the calming clarity that I’ve gained through establishing a regular meditation practice!
