Are We Too Busy To Meditate?
🧘🏻♀️ Reasons why people don't meditate
🧘🏻♀️ How to overcome them
You want to start practicing meditation.. but…
You have to go to class/work early in the morning…
You live in a full household and simply have no time for yourself..
You have too many things on your plate right now..
You’re starting exams soon..there is no time..
We all have our reasons and most of them are valid reasons. Everyone has their own lifestyle and hectic schedules to deal with. There are things we can control and others are completely out of our hands. We live in a fast-paced life where we expect results fast and have little patience for things that take time.
I must admit, initially I was not a fan of meditation or mindfulness. I was always “too busy” to spare those few minutes and somehow managed to always find an excuse of why I couldn’t meditate.
1- “I will start tomorrow”
Somehow, tomorrow never comes.
There is no need to plan for tomorrow, no need to set aside a special plan of when you will meditate. Just do it now. Before you sleep (if you’re reading this at night), before you go to work, before you get up from bed or before you do whatever you are planning to do next. Take just a few moments of your time, it doesn’t even have to be five minutes. A minute today. This way you know you started. Today you start, tomorrow you continue.
Perhaps you can start now - before moving to the next section. Close your eyes for just a few moments and take a deep breath in, a deep breath out.
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale
Do this 5 or 10 times, one breath in, one breath out. Focus your mind on just these breaths.
It is okay if you lose count, no one is listening.
2- “I will do it after I finish my exams”
Meditation helps you focus. It helps clear your mind from stressful thoughts and anxiety and lets you focus on what matters most - including your studies.
Perhaps it is a good idea to have a few mindful moments before your next study session, to help get your mind sharpened and have clear thoughts.
There is a type of meditation known as ‘concentration meditation’, which is recommended to be done before starting a study session. This type of meditation takes only 5-10 minutes and is worth it for good concentration.
3- “I keep forgetting to meditate”
That’s okay. You’re still not used to it. It is not part of your daily routine yet.
Initially, it is a good idea to set up meditation reminders, just until you get used to it. As time passes, you’ll find yourself meditating without an alarm and without the need of any type of reminder.
There are some good applications to download that provide you with good meditation techniques and also remind you to meditate, these include Headspace and Calm.
4- “My work hours are too long, there is no time'“
I met a registrar in surgery who finds time to meditate only when she starts falling asleep at night. She found using applications to meditate was a helpful nightly routine. It made a considerable difference in how energetic she feels in the morning. She practices meditation as falls asleep by being ‘aware’ of each joint in her body; she gives her body a ‘head-to-toe’ scan, just like a CT san and tried to be aware of how each joint is feeling, whether she feels rested or sore. She does this until she falls asleep.
This may not work for everyone, as each one of us has their own way of relaxing, but it is an example of how someone manages to meditate, despite a very busy work schedule.
