7 days of meditation as a beginner
In the run up to World Meditation Day, our Communications and Marketing Assistant, Zoe, meditated for 15 minutes a day for seven days. Hear how she found the experience below:
During lockdown, any free time I had outside of working full time involved me reading, cooking and watching telly, which were all ways of me practicing self-care. However, over the past couple of weeks, as we begin our “new normal”, socialising has replaced a lot of the time I would have spent looking after myself.
So, when I saw World Meditation Day was coming up, I thought it would be a good opportunity to take some time out of my day to reconnect with myself.
Day 1- Saturday
A colleague recommended the Kids Inspire Guided Meditation which was created by a member of our therapeutic team before I started my role.
It surprised me how interactive the session was, asking us to say affirmations aloud to ourselves, and stretching the parts of the body which hold tension. This really helped me to not get too sleepy.
Day 2- Sunday
I was conflicted over whether I should start or finish my day with the meditation session but I decided to do it first thing so I could start my day off right. It allowed me to check in with my body, my heart, my mind so I could head positively into the day ahead, leaving a lot of the stress of the week behind.
Day 3- Monday
Today was the first day I’ve been out for a meal inside a restaurant for over 8 months! I wasn’t sure I would have time to fit in meditating around work and getting ready to go out but I knew I should start as I mean to go on.
Day 4- Tuesday
Today I managed to complete my 15 minutes of meditation during one of our online team meetings! Our CEO and Clinical Director, Sue Bell, took us through an exercise to help us check-in with ourselves and re-centre. It was great to do the meditation with others in a safe space, it really helps us to connect.
Day 5- Wednesday
I headed into the Kids Inspire office today as we are beginning to get back into in-person working. I felt really tired once I got home but I found myself looking forward to meditating before going to bed to help leave any negative thoughts behind so as not to bring them into the next day.
Day 6- Thursday
I find the importance of breathing in meditation really helpful. When asked to focus on my breath, I become so much more calm and focused.
Day 7- Friday
Overall, I have found this week really beneficial to my wellbeing. I was so worried that lockdown coming to an end would mean I spend less time taking care of myself and my wellbeing but learning to meditate has helped me to reclaim that time.
Some Meditation Resources
Headspace on Netflix
Calm