How to Fall in Love with Meditation

Word by Julia Hogarth - Meditation Teacher, Life Coach, Creatress of heart-led events

Is meditation on your never-ending list of things to pack into your day? What if it’s easier than you think? Let’s talk about kick-starting your meditation practice with ease.

Daily Devotion

I like to think of my meditation practice as daily devotion. There's nothing more important in my opinion than having a kick-arse relationship with yourself — and like any relationship, it requires loving attention. Creating space to listen to your body isn’t something we’re taught to do. But what if you carved out a space to do that each day, and that made everything else flow more smoothly? Your practice doesn't have to look like the typical idea of meditation. Your practice gets to look different to everyone else’s. This is your invitation to consider crafting a daily practice that looks unique to you.

Make it delicious 

My #1 tip for making a practice really yours is to make it delicious. Maybe your medicine is being in nature, walking, breathwork, yoga — whatever allows you to feel centred. If meditating, weave in elements that make it something special: a favourite blanket, candle, oil, cushion. What gets you hot won’t be what makes it yum for someone else. Some people meditate twice a day, some for an hour upon waking, some for five little minutes. What would feel good to you?

The discomfort

For first-timers, remember you won’t be great first try. I hear this a lot as a meditation teacher: “I'm not a meditator. It doesn’t work for me”. Starting small is the key. Going hell-for-leather usually ends in heartbreak so start with two minutes and build! It's normal to feel discomfort. As humans, we’re wired to turn away from pain or discomfort. This is the opportunity in your practice. To turn towards your wandering monkey-mind with intention. You can be intentional with the energy you bring to your practice, too. 

You get to play

The energy I like to bring to the cushion is playful curiosity. ‘What is my funny old brain doing today? How can I stay curious and not affected by it?’. Ultimately, meditation can (and will) feel really good. Stay with yourself through the discomfort, and you’ll realise that it is just part of a cycle, one that's shifting all the time.

When excuses come calling

Your fear voice will tell you anything to stop you meditating. It arcs up to keep you from doing things that will expand you. Go easy on yourself. Check in with how you're feeling before you meditate. Have compassion for where you're at. Know that the closer you get to your expansion, the louder the excuses will be. That’s when it’s best to lean in.

Self-softness, above all things

Remember if you are judging yourself for not meditating: there’s a time and place for you to come back to practices you need. When you've fallen off the ‘bandwagon’, that’s when it’s most important to have softness for yourself. By removing layers of self-imposed pressure, you’ll ensure it’s easier to return next time.

So I invite you to play with your practice, to take those expectations off. Put your daily devotion high on the priority list and see what happens from there. Make it delicious, expect it to be a little hard as you're learning, but know that it is your gateway to knowing yourself better than you ever have before. What if your new practice was simply you, sitting and receiving your own magic? Delicious.

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Julia Hogarth - Meditation Teacher, Life Coach, Creatress of heart-led events

Julia Hogarth is a full-time activator of big-hearted humans - worthiness coach, meditation teacher and money-mindset enthusiast. Her greatest joy is coaching women with big visions. She coaches 1:1, facilitates the group coaching program Wildly Worthy + creates in-person events; designed to super-charge your self belief + unique expression. Her podcast, You School, is a celebration of your potential to do your own heart work out in the wild.

www.juliahogarth.com

@julia.hogarth