My Personal Experience With Meditation

As much as I am dedicated to meditating each day, I realized I don’t have much content on Morning Upgrade about it…except for this blog about the benefits of meditation first thing in the morning. There are so many ways to start meditating, but I’m just going to share my personal experience with how I meditate each day. I hope this will inspire you to dig deeper into meditation practices and explore what works best for you. 

To be honest, I’m not someone who has always meditated. For a long time, I didn’t have much feeling about it one way or the other. I remember watching a TV series called Billions about a hedge fund manager who was dealing with a lot of stress. The in-house therapist would force him to meditate each day. While I know it’s just a show, it was really interesting to me that meditation was written into the script. 

My mind really changed about regular meditation practices when it was recommended in The Miracle Morning. That’s the book that set me on the path to adopting morning routines. And I’ve read time and time again that successful people meditate each day. 

Since this meditation practice was encouraged as part of The Miracle Morning…and because I had read so much about how successful people incorporated this practice into their day…I decided to give it a try. 

How To Meditate

As I mentioned, there are a lot of different ways to start meditating, and I am no expert in all of the different forms out there. As you do your own research, you’ll see meditation forms such as: 

• Mindfulness
• Spiritual experiences
• Transcendental
• Loving-kindness
• Visualization
• Mantra
• Focused
• Movement
• Progressive relaxation

It’s important that you do research on the different types of meditation and try them out to determine what works best for you. 

When I was doing my research on meditation, I used the Calm App and I settled on the type of meditation where you sit in a comfortable position and focus on your breath. A lot of people recommend sitting cross-legged on a pillow. Personally, I like to lay on my back with my arms out during my time meditating. 

How I Meditate

The way I meditate now has changed from my first time, and I’m sure it will continue to change over time. When I started out, I tested meditating anywhere from 10-20 minutes. I’d use the Calm App for the timed sessions and settled on 10 minutes. 

What I’m currently doing involves InsightTimer. I spend 5-6 minutes in meditation and switch around the different guided meditations I listen to. 

Meditation Is a Pillar Habit

To me, meditation is a pillar habit that is important to do every day…even if you only do 5 minutes per day.

I know that 5 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, but it creates a compounding effect. And you’ll be much more consistent because the time commitment is so small so it’s hard to skip it. 

With all of personal development, being consistent is the key. For me, that looks like doing small things each day, rather than spending larger chunks of time on things that I may not have time for every day. I could spend 20 minutes on meditation, but the likelihood is that I will end up only fitting that into my schedule 2-3 times per week instead of every day. 

How I Do My Morning Meditations Now

Instead of using the Calm App, I’ve been using the InsightTimer app for a while. They have a lot of guided meditations that are only 5-6 minutes long. For example, I listen to one that is a traditional guided meditation that teaches you to focus on your breath.  

I’ve also done other guided meditations on the app that are geared toward gratitude, self-confidence, and affirmations. 

When the meditation is over, I repeat my affirmations. Then I end my meditation time with sit-ups for my physical well-being. I mention this practice in my book as part of the ways I do habit stacking. That’s when you attach a habit to something that’s already part of your day. 

What I’ve Found Helpful From Daily Meditation

There are a lot of reasons to meditate each day and make it a regular practice. For me, I found that it has rewired my brain to focus on my breath and it allows me to center myself more easily. When I feel my mind wandering, or I’m anxious, I just say, “Ryan, come back.” It helps me clear my mind and brings my focus to my breath. 

I feel more present after meditating. When I feel a surge of anxiety, I can calm myself down more quickly because I have trained myself to focus on my breathing. My head feels clearer, and I can focus better. 

I’m not perfect with the way I meditate…but it’s like anything else on the personal development journey…it’s a journey. The way I’m meditating today may not be the way I always do it. I like to experiment with new things to find what is really the right thing for me. 

Hopefully you now feel inspired to start meditating every day. If you give it enough time, I think you will experience a lot of benefits from this practice as well. 

Key Takeaways

• Pick a meditation style to try. 
• Choose an app or video that will guide you in mediation, and then commit to doing it every day. 
• Commit to meditating every day for 30 days to make it a habit.