Looking for a way to be more present, I started meditating daily for a full month. Daily meditation opened my eyes to how much time we spend living in the past and future instead of the present.
While meditation is not a new concept, “monk mode,” which involves emulating the behaviour of monks by reducing mobile phone use and setting aside time to meditate, has become increasingly popular and has been viewed more than 70 million times on TikTok.
The growing interest in meditation and mindfulness proves that more people are “becoming aware of the importance of meditation.” [their] According to Dominic Perkowski, meditation coach, breathwork practitioner, and founder of The Shift, post-pandemic people’s minds are craving “moments that make them feel grounded in the present moment.”
“With social media, email, technology and everything competing for our attention, I think we have to be online all the time,” Perkowski told CNBC’s Make It. “People want more control over their minds, their focus. [and] It frees up kids’ precious attention so they can focus more on what they want to focus on, what really matters.”
Other benefits of meditation include reduced stress, lowered anxiety levels, improved sleep and increased self-awareness, says Perkowski, who adds that the practice can also help you redirect your thoughts and free yourself from negative thoughts that may feel too intense.
To really reap the benefits of meditation, Perkowski recommends prioritizing consistency over duration, so I decided to meditate for at least five minutes each day for 30 consecutive days to see if it would make a positive difference in my overall well-being.
This is my biggest gain.
1. Meditation makes it easier to wake up in the morning
As a heavy sleeper who has to make a big effort to get out of bed, meditating as soon as I wake up has made my mornings go much smoother. Using Spotify’s guided meditations that encourage breathing exercises and visualization, I’ve noticed that I start my day with more energy than usual.
A short meditation session, with mantras like “I can control the outcome of my day” and “Today will be a great day if I allow it,” gave people the confidence to truly believe they had control over how their day would unfold. And with continued meditation, Perkowski says, “it really puts you in control of how you want to show up in the world.”
2. I can get rid of bad thoughts as soon as they come to me.
Let’s be honest, our thoughts aren’t always sunny and bright, but meditation can help you stop negative thoughts from recurring throughout the day. I turned to meditation when bad memories from the past came to mind or anxious experiences about the near future clouded my mind.
Daily meditation has helped me embrace the act of surrendering to the things I cannot change. One guided meditation on letting go of worries about the future suggests visualizing your worries as clouds in the sky. Using a deep-breathing exercise, the meditation encourages you to imagine that as you breathe, your worries are taking up less and less space in your mind like clouds drifting through the sky.
“As you let go of these worries, feel the sky become clearer and calmer. Your mind, like this vast sky, is able to hold thoughts without being consumed by them,” the speaker said during the meditation.
3. Positive words change the way you see things
For most of my life, I have not been a big fan of positive affirmations, but during my month-long journey, I found myself drawn to meditations that included positive affirmations. During emotionally challenging times or extremely busy days, when someone told me I was strong enough to overcome anything, that I could face any challenge, I began to believe it.
Here are some positive quotes from meditations I have heard that have stuck with me:
My therapist’s recommendation to start my day with a positive statement to lift my mood and get off to a good start started to make a lot of sense to me.
Perhaps it’s time to start thinking about meditation as part of your mental health, says Perkowski. “Meditation is like brushing your teeth, only for your mind,” she points out. “It’s a habit to do during the day. You can do it for 10 to 15 minutes every day, and it helps you reconnect with yourself.”
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