Here’s What I Learned After One Month of Daily Meditation

I meditated every day for an entire month. Today I’m sharing the effects my daily meditation has had on my life after 1 month & what meditating taught me.

I wanted to challenge myself to a consecutive month straight of meditation. Yes. I wanted to mediate every single day for the entire month of January, & I did it. I’m not going to tell you it was the easiest thing to stick to, because in full honesty, it hasn’t been, but the long-term benefits of consistent meditation completely outweigh any uncomfortability in the beginning. There are so many benefits that result from meditating everyday. So now that I’ve completed my daily mediation practice for an entire month, I’m going to share what I learned, what I struggled with, & if I plan on continuing!

In my New Year’s Resolutions post, I mentioned a few of my goals for 2019…creating a consistent meditation practice was one of them. I am quite familiar with different forms of meditation & I have meditated before but NEVER consistently. I think the longest I’ve gone has been like 6-7 days straight & even that might be a stretch!

But boy do I LOVE a good challenge, so I set out to complete my goal of meditating every day in January. I have had an app on my phone called Insight Timer for a while now. I’ve used it here & there, so I was already pretty familiar with it. I’ve mentioned this app before on the blog in my Sunbiotics post, where I talked about a digestion-focused meditation that I really liked.

Insight Timer is actually the most popular FREE meditation app out there, with over 6 million meditators! That’s quite a lot! BTW this is not sponsored, I’m just sharing this app because I think it’s a wonderful tool for anyone. I wanted to use this app because I wanted to physically see that I was completing my goal of daily mediation. It tallies up all of your days & it tells you how many days you’ve meditated consistently. You are able to reach milestones & it shows you a few other cool things regarding your time spent on the app. I reached 3 milestones over the past month. I believe you reach one every 10 days.

That’s what I needed. I needed to SEE my daily number tally up in order to hold me accountable.

Gotta find what works, right?

Before I share what I learned, I want to share where I struggled. Meditation is thought of to be this tranquil, inspiring, reflective, total zen experience, but for someone who hasn’t found their groove with meditation, it can be downright difficult! There were many days throughout January where I just wanted to skip it for the day. I didn’t feel into it, I didn’t want to sit upright, I was too tired, I wasn’t in the mood etc. etc. Even though my mind was constantly coming up with excuses, I buckled down & meditated. Every. Day.

Some days, I’ll admit, it was for 1 single minute. No shame here, that’s all I could do. But at least I carved out 1 minute of my time for my practice.

Meditation is a skill. And like anything, skills need to be practiced. If you start meditating tomorrow, you probably won’t have it all figured out. At least I didn’t. A month in & I’m still definitely learning.

One Month of Daily Meditation Taught Me…

1. Only you have the power to change your perspective.

This can be applied to any area in life. But through daily meditation, you have to power to hone in on your thoughts, your excuses, your fears, your mind patterns, etc. Stop letting your thoughts control you. You control your perspective regarding meditation & your thoughts surrounding your practice. If you start perceiving meditation as something that will enhance your life, you will reap the benefits.

2. When you mind wants to go go go, pull back the reins.

The key during meditation is to focus on your breath patterns. But that’s not to say your thoughts won’t wonder, because they probably will. There were some days over the past month where I was definitely in the zone & some days I simply wasn’t. When this happens & when your mind starts wondering, regather yourself, & return your focus on your breath. Build upon your breath each time. Maybe some days you’ll go a full 15 minutes without feeling distracted…some days you might go just 5 breaths. Either way, it’s okay. Just keep building.

3. It’s okay to unplug, center yourself, & quiet the mind.

There’s always this voice telling us of ALL the things we need to do. But sometimes it’s okay to be still. And to be alone with our own thoughts. That’s where growth occurs. This quiet time dedicated to a daily meditation practice is also a wonderful form of self care…which we all could use some more of!

4. Meditation is more powerful when you remain present.

On the days where I had one eye peeking open every 45 seconds, I noticed it took foreverrr for it to be over. But on days where I fully committed, I got so much more out of the practice. And again, this can be related to anything you experience in life. Remaining present is something that I think we all need to improve on due to the endless amount of distractions present in our daily lives.

5. You will learn to manage your thoughts.

This will become easier the more you practice. You will learn to be in control of where you direct your energy regarding your thought process. This practice of thought control will also help you outside of your daily meditation practice. I personally have a very active mind. Sometimes it feels like I have 100 different thoughts going on, all at once. I have found that my meditation practice has helped me tone my thoughts down a notch & become more mindful of what I’m spending my energy thinking about.

6. Meditation is SO doable!

One of the most common excuses is a lack of time. Yes I know, we ALL are busy, some busier than others, but if you’re telling me that your TOO busy for 1 single minute of mindful meditation every day, there might be something wrong. If you want to meditate…DO IT! You don’t have to sit & chant for 50 minutes a day. If you are completely present, you can effectively meditate in 2 minutes or less.

7. You will find what you like & what works for you.

It may be nature sounds, sound healing, guided meditation, bells, chanting, silence, etc. You will find yourself gravitating towards what you need intuitively. I personal gravitate towards sound healing. If you’re completely new to the idea of daily meditation, play around & find what you enjoy. This is another reason why I love using Insight Timer because there are SO many options..definitely something for everyone.

8. You will bring new light & love into your life.

Meditation goes hand-in-hand with manifestation. This is one of the main reasons why I wanted to develop a meditation practice. Once you learn to cultivate a consistent meditation practice, you may experience an ease that brings more light & love into your life.

9. You will impress & enlighten yourself with new capabilities.

Meditation is another skill you can add to your toolbox. Meditation will continue to serve you even without a conscious effort.

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So yes, I meditated consistently every single day for the entire month of January, & yes, I am absolutely continuing. I learned a lot & pushed myself outside of my comfort zone & made time to grow my practice. I also realized that I was meditating more than I thought I was due to my consistent yoga practice. Yoga is all about breath focus & moving your body in synchronization with the breath. Meditation & yoga go hand-in-hand.

Meditation is doable & will mean something different to everyone. For you it might mean taking 5 deep breaths while sitting in traffic, it might be playing a guided meditation while you are doing your makeup for work in the morning, or it simply may mean playing a sleep meditation to help you relax at the end of the day. But no matter what meditation means to you, what matters most is the effort to manifest more good, more light, & more love into our lives through our minds & through our breath. It’s doable, I promise!

Do you meditate? I’d love to hear your thoughts!