500 Days of Meditation

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago I reached a 500-day streak on Headspace. That's 20 minutes* of meditation every day since 2nd September 2020. I thought I'd write about how I managed it and what I've learnt, in the form of questions and answers (thanks to the friends and family who provided them.)

Not-so FAQs

...Why?

The best way I've heard it described is that meditation is gym for the mind. We do a lot of our thinking on autopilot, and meditation helps to identify thoughts and feelings, making them easier to recognise and let go. There's also a fair bit of scientific research on the effects of meditation.

In terms of why I do it every day, I'm very much a person of routine and need to do something consistently or I won't do it at all. In addition, things are a lot easier if you make them habits. My brother-in-law, Ash, has a great video on forming habits.

If you'd like more information on what meditation is, Headspace has a good meditation 101 article.

*Do you do 20 minutes every day?

Every 'normal' day, yes, but there are some days where I'll do 15 minutes, or if I'm with other people (travelling, etc.) then I'll at least catch a quick 3 minute 'daily meditation' at some point throughout the day. But, due to lockdowns and my reclusive nature, it's a rare occurrence (I'd say about 25 days of the 500.)

How do you meditate?

Headspace is very good at talking you through the process (technically they're 'guided meditations'), sessions normally flow like this:

1. An introduction to the session.
2. Sitting down in a comfortable position (not necessarily crossed legged on the floor.)
3. Recognising external sounds, smells, etc.
4. Focusing on the body, normally a mental scan from head to toe.
5. Following your breath.
6. Depending on the course, there might be a visualisation or active recognition of thoughts or feelings.
7. Becoming aware of your body, sounds, etc. again.
8. An outro to the session, normally something to focus on throughout that day.

Headspace is the app I find easiest to use and I like the guided sessions, but there are alternatives (free and paid) such as Insight Timer and Calm. There are also many other types of meditation.

Do you meditate in the same position each day? and do you meditate at the same time?

Yes, I find that meditation is like sleep in that it's a lot easier to do when you're in a comfortable and familiar environment. When I meditate elsewhere it's a lot more difficult. I meditate sat on my desk chair, in the morning, after I've showered but before breakfast. I find this is when I'm awake but haven't yet been sucked into the mental gymnastics of work. The actual time varies as I wake up at slightly different times each day, but is usually around 8-8.30am.

How does it fit into your routine?

I meditate in the morning. I started this streak at the same time I started my current morning routine. I wake up, shower (switching it to cold for the last 30 seconds - without this I'd be sleepy during the meditation), do a journaling practice, read from my daily philosophy book (currently Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy), clean my teeth (yes, I do that before breakfast), then meditate, eat breakfast (the 20 minutes is enough time for the minty taste to have gone) and get on with my day.

I use Todoist to tick these things off every morning (my Todoist streak matches the Headspace streak.) I have Todoist as a widget on my phone home screen to remind me. Todoist is an excellent tool that I also use for work.

Morning routines are overhyped in my opinion (who wants to get up and have a cold shower at 5am?!) and are very individual. People have different circadian rhythms, and do different things each day, so everyone waking up at the same time doesn't make sense. It took me years to settle on this routine, so my recommendation would be to figure out what suits you, and be willing to make it flexible, who knows what will happen in the future!

Is every day the same? How do you do it when you’re just not in the mood?

I rotate through the packs on Headspace, these cover a whole range of topics from creativity and self-compassion to grieving and regret, and use different meditation techniques within them. The packs are normally either 10 or 30 days, which helps keep the meditations fresh.

In terms of not being in the mood, the routine means I don't even think about doing it anymore, it's become an automatic part of my morning. Although it did take a long time to get to that point. The one thing that used to throw me off was drinking, it's very difficult to meditate when hungover.

What difference is it making in your life? and how is it effecting your mental health?

Daily meditation has had a huge impact on my life, as someone who struggles with anxiety and mental health, it's helped me become far more aware of what helps and hinders that. As well as recognising that those thoughts and feelings are temporary and are not who I am as a person.

Does it have an impact on your work life and productivity?

Meditation has helped train my ability to concentrate (a skill that is being lost in this social media world) and get back on task when I'm distracted. Both of which mean I function better at work, particularly in an industry that requires a lot of focus and cognition.

It's also helped my sleep, as the meditation techniques are useful in letting go of thoughts as I drift off.

Is there a goal with each meditation? Do you go to meditate to accomplish something or find something or release something from yourself?

I see it as the same as the gym, I'm sitting down and doing reps of a technique with the aim of slowly improving. That being said, doing meditation isn't about being good at it, it's more a journey of self-discovery and developing a set of techniques that help you, which may these may differ from those that help other people.

In terms of releasing something, meditation is more proactive that reactive. I find exercise is far better to burn off the stresses of the day.

How do you know you’re doing it correctly or it's 'working'?

I struggled for years with this. Our individualistic society is so obsessed with achievement and comparing ourselves with others that it can be difficult just to 'do' something for its intrinsic value. At it's core, meditation is about awareness and understanding, not about doing things 'right', and it's a very individual practice.

What have you learnt about yourself?

I've learnt a lot about my thoughts and their common patterns, the conclusions by mind tends to jump to and how that differs when I'm stressed.

I've also learnt a lot about my emotions and anxiety. I'm now coming up to a year of tracking my mood 3 times a day (which might be another blog post!) and combined with the meditation practice it's helped me recognise the transience of emotions. When you're in a low point it feels permanent, but it never is. Us humans feel negative things more keenly than positive things and this is no different in our emotional states.

I'd also expand that question to what I've learnt about collective humanity, one of the main themes of the Headspace meditations is the concept of a 'shared human experience'. It's very easy to feel isolated in the modern world, and it's good to have reminders that all 7 odd billion of us experience the same range of emotions every day. If you're struggling with an emotion, you aren't alone.

Will you carry on?

Yes! For as long as I can, just like exercise.