The question of meditation is one I personally ask myself regularly. I have purposely reworded the question from “should I meditate every day” to “do I need to meditate every day”.
Should almost implies suffering. Like we are going to be dragged along to do whatever the ‘should’ refers to, in this case our meditation practice.
When we replace this with a question that invites a little more enquiry, a little more personal spin to it, the question changes. It moves from beginning from a place of suffering to beginning from a place of nurturing yourself.
If you were to ask yourself do you need nurturing what would be your answer?
For me it’s a Hell Yes!
No matter what is going on in my life I always need a little nurturing. Yet this is something that I don’t always give myself.
Now I could make this a article that lists all the benefits of meditation. The effects that is has on stress, on the body, on our hormones, our gut, our mood, our immune system – the list really is endless. However I’m going to make it a little more thought provoking.
“We tend to take care of what we love. Maybe that is why so few of us take care of ourselves…”
I posted this quote on the socials a few months back and it was one of my most popular quotes.
It is from this that I want to answer the question – Do I need to meditate every day?
And before I go on – full disclosure, I’m totally writing this today because I need the answer (reminder) myself.
Now meditation – what actually is it?
You will find lots of different answers. There are some that believe it is only done in silence, in a place where the mind is still. Yet you can find mediations that involve focusing on your breathing, gentle movement, I myself have even posted a shower meditation.
Personally for me, meditation is when I can focus my mind for a period of time that allows for it to slow, rest and sometimes stop. This focus could be on anything that allows for that to happen. Meditation brings me out of my head and back into my body.
Why meditation is a yes for me…
Each day we are faced with an overwhelming amount of stimuli, our minds process all of this. Our bodies absorb and stores this to some extent. Often this stimuli has some level of tension in it.
Hitting the reset on that stimuli for my mind, for my body, is something that I need.
Hitting the reset is showing myself that I am worthy and deserving of care. It is about showing myself a little of the love that I readily would give others. Scheduling, allocating and taking the time to reset, to meditate is a little reminder to myself that I worthy of nurture, care and love.
All it takes is 10-15 minutes of intentional time for me to remind myself that I am worthy of nurture, care and love.
Do I need this – yes I do!