I have had a daily meditation practice for over 4 years. In that time my meditation practice has had a lot of different rhythms, from long periods of very devoted meditation practices to 40 days of mala mantras, 120 days of the Ziva technique and several over 100 day stints of guided meditations on Insight Timer. Not to mention my recent semi-hiatus where there was no rhyme or reason to my routine.
I must say though, that silent meditation is where I set my standard of whether it was a good meditation or not. I know meditation isn’t about doing it well or not, it’s simply about showing up but I feel the most restored afterward and I am able to go “deeper” in my meditations and this usually happens when don’t listen to anything. At the same time, I find it SO challenging to keep it up… anyone else?
Let me clarify that by silent meditation, I mean not playing any external music or guided recording or using mala beads to repeat a mantra. Instead, you simply sit. I begin with my breath then usually drift to a 1 word mantra then float from there until my timer goes off around 12-20 minutes depending on the day.
My intention in sharing this is to give you a glimpse into my own meditation journey, challenges and techniques. There is no one way to meditate and simply showing up day after day, whether listening to music, guided or silent, is a HUGE accomplishment. Yes, silence seems to deliver the outcome I desire, but who’s to say listening to a guided meditation has any less value if you’re committed to returning each and every day?
Do you have a meditation practice? What does it look like?
Interested in jumpstarting your meditation practice?
Join me over on my Soul~Aligned Mamas IG Channel for a daily guided meditation for moms. I will drop a 7 minute meditation every day for the first 7 days of July.
July Meditation Challenge- Join HERE.
