What is Meditation?

The definition is to…

“think deeply or focus one’s mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation”

Sarah and I mostly use it to relax, but it can also be used to build energy or to build connection with the divine. We aren’t too spiritual around this household, but it’s been fun to get into:)

Meditation is believed to have been around for more than 2,000 years, dating back to when Chinese and Indian Masters practiced.

Benefits of Meditation

When you meditate, you’re quieting the mind.

When you’re quieting the mind, your turning down the volume of your conscious mind.

When your conscious mind is silent, you can focus on the present moment. All worry is gone, all mind chatter has subsided.

At this point, your body can start to relax. Your blood pressure and heart rate return to normal. All negative energy is purged and prepared to exit the body.

The longer you can stay at this level of meditation, the more benefits you’ll gain.

We’ve found meditation to help with the following:

• Stress & Emotional Release
• Increased Happiness
• Better Digestion
• More Clarity & Focus
• Lowered Blood Pressure
• Slows the Aging Process
• Boosts Your Immune System
• More Creativity
• More Compassion

How to Meditate

1. Find a quiet spot in your house, at a park, etc. Just make sure it’s free of distractions and stress, so you aren’t disturbed or interrupted.
2. Sit comfortably (cross legged, on your calves and ankles, or even using a yoga block or pillow)
3. Put your cell phone on airplane mode, and set a timer for 10 minutes (to start with)
4. Close your eyes and take a deep breath in, hold it, then exhale it out.
5. Focus on 1 thing (count to 10 with every inhale or exhale, repeat a mantra every time your mind wanders like ‘Relax’)

When first meditating, don’t get flustered when you find your mind has been wandering for the last 5 minutes. It happens to all of us, promise! You might want to start with guided meditations at first.

Our Favorite Guided Meditations

There are all sorts of free meditations out there. We’ve found great meditations on Spotify, Soundcloud and Youtube.

Here’s a couple we like…

How to Meditate on a Regular Basis

Meditating is the easy part, it’s finding the time to do it is what’s hard!

Here’s a few suggestions we have on making it a regular practice in your life

• Share your successes and struggles with a community (The SD Community, Other FB Communities, Google + Communities)
• Download an app. We’re testing out the Insight Timer right now.
• Set up your meditation space beforehand (try putting a candle & lighter next to your alarm clock so you remember what your intention was)

Essential Oils for Meditation

If you are looking to enhance your meditation practice, we’ve been using Essential Oils for a few months and have really enjoyed them.

Essential Oils for Meditation:

• Serenity: This is a blend from dõTERRA and contains lavender, sweet marjoram, roman chamomile, ylang ylang, sandalwood and vanilla bean. It smells amazing, we like to diffuse this as we meditate or put it on our wrists. This oil is for deep relaxation and stress relief. We like to use this oil when we are feeling extremely stressed or before bed.
• Balance: This is another blend from dõTERRA and contains spruce, rosewood, frankincense and blue tansy. This oil smells amazing:) We love this for grounding and deep relaxation.  Again we like to diffuse this into the air while we meditate or apply it to our hands.
• Wild Orange: This is one of our favorite oils for everything! However, when it comes to meditation, diffusing this oil in the air for calming and happiness is the way to go. This oil has anti-depressant properties which explains the smile it brings to our face. This oil also supports the elimination of toxins from the body, so when you use wild orange while meditating you’re benefiting your body in multiple ways.

Those are just a few oils we use, but the options are endless!

Now we want to hear from you! Do you have a meditation practice? Maybe you want to start one? Leave a comment below and let us know!