Meditating For The First Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ib_gBd5peY

Hey guys,

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! As final exams and assignments are coming up, we understand that it can be a stressful time and that it can be hard to manage that feeling of being overwhelmed. That's why we propose meditation - the practice of being mindful and present for a period of time. It's an easy way to relax and regain focus, allowing you to be more productive and organized. Now I know meditating sounds strange (I was in your shoes) because you're sitting or laying there in silence with all your thoughts and feelings, and doing absolutely nothing. But we experience life through our minds, and meditating can give you a new and improved perspective on life. Daily meditation has multiple benefits on mental and physical health. So taking a couple minutes each day to meditate and get away from all your thoughts can be super helpful, especially during stressful times like exam period. You'll be more productive and feel more in control, allowing you to study and perform better.

The guided meditation I did completed was conducted by Andy Puddicombe, Co-Founder of Headspace. Andy and his partner, Rich Pierson, wanted to make their meditation techniques available online so that people could experience the benefits of meditation anytime and anywhere. Headspace offers guided meditations for stress, sleep and mindfulness, allowing you to choose what you want to work on each time you meditate. Headspace also offers a mobile app, allowing you to take your meditation anywhere.

My experience

This was the first time I meditated, so I started with meditation for beginners. It's an 11mins guided meditation, so it doesn't take too much time to complete, especially since we're all super busy right now with school and everything else. I would say that for the first 5 minutes I was having a tough time because I felt weird doing this and kind of felt like I was losing my time, but I wanted to finish the exercise. Working through that block of "it's not doing anything" go me through the exercise. Once it ended, I was extremely relaxed. I still had school work to do, but I wasn't as stressed anymore. I swear guys, we all need to meditate more. It makes you feel so good and definitely will help with your stress and productivity. I recommend adding meditation to your daily routine because of the benefits it has. And you don't have to meditate for very long, even 10 minutes will make a difference. You'll thank me later! I definitely recommend Headspace as a platform for beginners, but there's also a lot of meditation resources out there.

I hope you'll be more inclined to try meditating and that you will be adding it to your daily routine, to achieve a healthier lifestyle. Remember, healthy lifestyle includes the mind and the body!

- University Avenue xoxo