YOGA & MEDITATION

I have been to restorative yoga classes & tried meditation. I have also tried hypnotherapy and acupuncture. I will write about these in a separate blogpost. 

For me personally, I found it hard to get into meditation, it’s like an art that takes a lot of practice. Like mindfulness, it requires patience and perseverance, again patience is something I have always lacked. Before feeling this way, if you ask those nearest to me, they will say how I have never really waited for things and it has now become the only lesson on my plate. I cannot seem to sit still for a long period of time and meditate without a million and one thoughts bursting in through the doors of my mind. Whenever I try and focus, the thoughts seems to be having a celebration of their own in my mind, they reside there no matter how hard I try and silence them. Depression is like their puppet master, not only controlling them but also me. Yoga and meditation is there for us to control those thoughts and ‘mind chatter’. To bring ourselves back into the moment. To not worry about future events that have not happened or things in the past.

How do I meditate?

I cannot sit for hours meditating, I don’t meditate every day either. When I can, I try and sit for a few minutes. I use the app ‘Headspace’ or ‘Calm’ another good one is ‘Insight Timer’ – I have written about all these apps. They include podcasts as well as live and group meditation, they vary. I usually do it for a minute or two.

When meditating you do not have to sit in a certain position or be in an empty room. You can choose to meditate wherever you like. Sometimes I will sit in the garden other times I will sit in my room or lay on my bed and close my eyes. I put my headphones in and play one of the meditation apps. Most of these apps are free, some you need to subscribe to for the year. You can also find a tonne of guided yoga and meditation classes/podcasts on YouTube if you would rather that. I find these really helpful on the days I am really stressed and just cannot seem to relax.

There is a lot of research into meditation and how it helps us. Research show that those who meditate more are often happier in themselves. It helps our brains to manage anxiety and stress better. Anxiety and depression, one leads to the other. They often come as a pair. A poisonous pair. Anxiety often triggers the depression and once the start dancing together in your mind, they never let you sleep. Mediation is a way of training our brains to aid with this.  

YOGA  

When doing yoga I usually play my Zen music and follow a guided class on YouTube. Since lockdown I have not really been able to get out to yoga classes so YouTube is great for that. Yoga helps to calm and relax me. It is something I want to practice more than I already do. Yoga helps out mental health by elevating our mood and help us to just be in the moment.

I know when you are depressed even the thought to leaving your bed seems impossible. Do what you can each day. You don’t need to sit for hours doing Yoga and meditating, do it when you feel you can manage it. I know some days I will do nothing at all and that is okay.

Yoga and meditation help some and does nothing for others. Either way, I personally thought it was worth trying both and sharing my thoughts on them.

Thank you to you lovely people who have emailed me, I always check them. Emails and comments. I am here to listen and you are not alone.

Love to you all

Zo x