Changing Your Life In Only 10 Minutes Per Day
When people think about changing their lives, they imagine making bold and drastic moves. They want to develop the discipline and endurance to run marathons. People want to "put themselves out there" to enjoy new and exciting romantic relationships. They want to leave their comfort zones and move to a new country. While all these examples would certainly be life changing, big changes like these are difficult to implement.
But what if you could change your life by making a tiny change? In just 10 minutes per day, I believe you can transform your experience of the world. This small habit could have a massive impact on your life. What is this life changing practice?
Meditation
By meditating for 10 minutes a day, you begin to change your mind. If you stick with it, meditation will change how you see the world.
I meditate everyday as part of my morning routine. Ever since I began meditating, I've seen an amazing improvement in my mood and my ability to be kind to others.
But don't take my word for it, check out this video by ASAP Science. It's only 3 minutes long, and they cover most of the scientific findings on meditation. Also, these guys went to the same university as me (Go Guelph!), so they must be smart!
Clearly, practicing meditation can lead to life changing benefits. Increased immune function, greater empathy, reduced stress and anxiety... it's pretty powerful stuff! And you don't have to meditate for hours on end. Just 10 minutes of meditation a day is enough to glean some of its potent benefits.
Great! How Do I Start Meditating?
Most people start meditating through a guided meditation. In guided meditation, an instructor walks you through a meditation practice. This helps you to avoid distractions when you're just starting out. And thanks to the internet, there are hundreds of thousands of guided meditations available to you for free. Here is one of my favourites. In this video, Sam Harris teaches vipassana meditation (or "mindfulness meditation") and it only takes eight minutes to complete.
If you want to find more guided meditations, I'd recommend using an app called Insight Timer. It's a entirely free app as of the publishing of this article, and I do not benefit from you using it. Insight Timer has a lot of cool features that allow you to make friends, track your progress, and discover new meditation teachers.
Your Mission, If You Choose To Accept It...
I challenge my fellow Steemians to try meditating for 10 minutes a day. Make a commitment to yourself to try it for one week, or better yet a month, and see how it affects your mood and your perception of the world.
Make the time to change your life for the better. It only takes ten minutes per day.
Thanks for reading!
Do you meditate? Will you try meditation? Do you have some doubts about meditation? Comment below and let's discuss meditation together.
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I can not imagine NOT meditating! At first I was formal about it but as the years have passed, I am able to meditate many times a day, and call on it often! Great post! 🆙 #steemitbloggers
Thanks, Melinda! Yes, whenever I am bad and miss a few days I think and start up again, I can never understand why I stopped. It's so soothing.
Meditation saves my days sometimes. I like to face into the sun or towards a window, to feel connected with the life out there. I don't think meditation techniques can be taught, because every person will find their own different way :)
Hey, @ofoord! I appreciate the support.
Yes, meditation can be a life saver! It gets me through some very difficult days.
I partially agree with you about it being difficult to teach. Everyone's mind is so different. It makes it hard to know how to instruct people properly, because you'll never see inside another person's mind.
People often need a leg up though, and a little instruction helps some people out at first!
Wow, am overwhelmed by this post! I will try this with my friends and family....its somehow similar to yoga
Yep! It's similar to yoga! I also do yoga from time-to-time. It helps me to relax and stay positive.
And a little meditation never hurt anyone. You should definitely give it a go.
Excellent post friend, I was recently reading a post from a very close friend who came from a 10 day meditation retreat, I will leave it here so you can see it.
https://busy.org/spanish/@psicologo/pase-10-dias-sin-hablar-sin-ningun-tipo-de-contacto-con-nadie-asi-fue-mi-experiencia
I am just beginning with meditation I have really little time and it is still quite difficult to maintain the concentration but I know that it is something that is working little by little, I know that it is something extremely important and feasible in the day to day. I really liked your post, very interesting. Greetings from Venezuela
Hey, @winizart! Good to hear from you again!
Yes, meditation is difficult. You are totally okay just doing 5-10 minutes a day. You just have to build the habit to start.
And I will have a peek at your friend's post. Thanks for dropping it in the comments!
I have always known that meditation is very beneficial but for some reason, I overthink when I do it. thanks for this post. That ASAP Science video is amazing too.
ASAP Science is awesome! I wish I could say I knew them... But they only went to my school :( we aren't real life friends.
The fact that you went to the same school is a start. You can say hi to them. They look like nice people.
Followed you. :)
Thanks! Followed you back. Looking to forward to learning more about Africa and wine.
Hey, I meditate every day with visualisation. I learned to do t for 30 days to create a shift :-)
That's cool that you are doing meditation with visualization. I have never really tried it that way. I tend to do the "vipassana" meditation I mentioned above, which means just paying very close attention to one's experience.
Also, thank you for the resteem @sarahewaring! That was kind of you!
Your welcome! I am not great at mediating without visualisation. I need to practice that :-)
Meditation is great stuff! I am a long-time practitioner. Meditator? Do we have a good word for that? Anyhow, thanks for the great post, and I hope it helps more people get started with meditation.
I hope so too! It seems intimidating for people when they first start, but it's easy with a little guidance. Thanks for the support!
This post is sponsored by @appreciator in collaboration with #steemitbloggers. Keep up the good work
I listen to guided meditations every night to fall asleep (and deal with different habit developments, etc) and one upon waking every day. Even though I already do that, it would probably benefit me to take a break in the day and do one then as well! Great post, I'll check out the links you posted in case I find something I like as much as I like my current app!
Hey @byn! Good to hear from you again today. I'm happy to hear you already have a meditation practice. It's such a good way to spend one's time wisely.
Meditation is super nice but you can only yield the benefit when you are consistent. #Vipassana is a Buddhist practice.
You are right. One session might relax you, but you won't get the long-term benefits. You get the most out of it when you truly commit to the practice.