This post is all about helping you with meditation through these 6 tips that I have learned through my years of meditating with anxiety and depression. My go-to meditations are included, as well.
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Meditation undoubtedly has incredible benefits for your mind, body, health, and well-being.
It can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure, improve your sleep, and even boost your immune system.
In addition, it can improve your overall mental health and emotional regulation, including anxiety and depression.
It honestly blows my mind that something as “simple” as meditation can be that beneficial to our overall health.
It is accessible. Anyone can practice it.
It can cost zero dollars to do. It can be completely free.
In addition, it does not require exercise or movement from your body.
You don’t have to change clothes or have special equipment. Not having to put a bra on to accomplish something is always a win in my book.
Meditation takes zero preparation. All you have to do is pull it up on your phone, for example. What in life takes zero preparation these days? You can just pull it up, find a comfortable position, take the 10 minutes to do it, and then go about your day.
You don’t even have to take a pill or medication to accomplish it.
It’s as little as taking a few deep breaths. Mind-blowing. Especially this day in age.
Plus, meditation is like exercise. You may not always feel like doing it, but afterward, you do feel somewhat better. It’s never a bad thing to meditate or exercise, it is always good for your health and well-being.
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In my experience, meditation has helped with my anxiety and depression.
I do not meditate every single day. I do it when I feel like it or feel like my body and heart need it. Especially when my brain is being my worst enemy. Or those days when my depression prevents me from doing anything. If all I did that day is meditate in any shape or form, it counts.
Furthermore, meditation has helped send healing energy to a part of my body that wasn’t feeling well. It obviously didn’t cure it, but it has helped with alleviating pain at times.
I can experience an energy shift in my mind and body when I meditate. It helps me to connect and reconnect with my body when my anxiety or depression keeps me in my head.
Last but not least, meditation helps to press pause for a moment and prioritize yourself.
At the end of the day, I want you to see meditation as adding another tool to your toolbox.
Life can be a lot. Like, a lot. And I want you to have as many tools in your toolbox that you can use when you need to. Especially tools that are free and accessible.
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6 Best Tips for Meditation + My Go-To Meditations & 2 Products That Have Helped with My Meditation Journey
1. Just Trying to Meditate is Good Enough
First and foremost, just trying to meditate is enough. We live in a society that puts this weight and pressure on being the best and perfect at everything we do. We should be able to meditate for an hour perfectly and it will help us find peace and clarity and it will solve all our problems.
Unfortunately, that is far from the truth. And ridiculous expectations.
I hear many people say they “can’t meditate” and struggle to just sit there and do it. That’s honestly relatable and valid. I have anxiety, sometimes my brain is going a million miles a minute and it is a real struggle for me to meditate, as well.
However, even if it’s for 60 seconds and you take one deep breath, that is still meditation.
If you slowed down for a moment, took time for yourself, prioritized yourself, and took a deep breath, you’ve succeeded.
Celebrate and be proud of whatever you achieve. Life and adulting is freaking hard. If you were able to meditate at all, that is amazing! It is enough. Your efforts are enough. You are enough.
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2. Find Somewhere You Feel Safe and Won’t Be Interrupted
I understand the struggle to find time to meditate. With everything going on in our lives, finding a second for ourselves is a genuine roadblock and struggle.
However, you and your well-being should be prioritized. Because you are worthy of being a priority.
Mediation is most effective when you can be present in that moment.
Find somewhere you feel as safe and comfortable as possible. For example:
- Bedroom
- Bathroom
- Car
- Office or Desk at Work
- Closet
- Outside
Wherever you feel like you can get a moment to yourself, and feel safe and comfortable enough to “let your guard down” for a second.
With that, try and make it somewhere you won’t be interrupted.
I know that can feel impossible sometimes. Maybe that can be a healthy boundary to work on.
It can be in the car during your lunch break at work. When you’re in the shower or taking a bath. Even in your closet if that’s somewhere you can just take a break from life for a few seconds.
I know for a lot of us, if there are distractors around us, it can be hard to meditate and be present in that moment.
The pile of laundry in your room that’s been staring at you for days.
Tasks at work on your desk or workspace that are hard to ignore.
Whatever that looks like for you, if those are hard for you to ignore, find somewhere that those aren’t “staring you in the face” so to speak.
Also, where no one else will come and bother you for those few minutes during your meditation.
Try and pay attention to those little random moments you have to yourself. Usually during transitions through your day. Being mindful of trying to find them will help you find those moments.
From there, you can prioritize yourself through mediation.
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3. Finding Meditations You Actually Like Can Be a Journey
There are a million meditations out there at your disposal. Which is both a blessing and a curse.
Factors to consider:
- Content of the Meditation
- Length of Time
- Voice of the Person Guiding You Through the Meditation
- Silent Pauses vs. Pauses with Music in the Background
Content of the Meditation
The content of the meditation is important. One incredible aspect of meditation is the different themes and objectives. There are meditations for sleep, anxiety, depression, stress, self-love, chakras, imagery, and so on.
You can tailor your meditation to what you need.
That being said, connecting with the content of the meditation itself is important.
If you’re not interested, engaged, or connecting to the words of the meditation, you won’t be successful.
Length of Time
The length of time of the meditation is completely determined by you.
If all you can fit in is a 5-minute meditation in your hectic day, awesome. If it takes you 30 minutes to meditate because it takes that long for your body and mind to calm down enough, that’s great!
For me, my sweet spot is between 10 and 15 minutes. Shorter than 10 minutes, and I feel like I didn’t get enough out of it and didn’t calm my mind and body enough. Over 15 minutes is more than my attention span can handle with my anxious brain.
Voice of the Person Guiding You Through the Meditation
The voice of the person guiding you through the meditation is also important. This may sound superficial, but if I find a voice too boring or I hate the sound of the voice, I cannot successfully meditate. Luckily there are a ton of meditations to choose from, I know you’ll find a voice you like.
Silent Pauses vs. Pauses with Music in the Background
In meditation, there are pauses or moments throughout to give you time to reflect and think about your own experiences related to the theme of the meditation.
With that, are silent pauses effective for you, or do you need some sound or music in the background to keep you engaged with the meditation?
I struggle with silent pauses during meditation. Once it’s silent, my anxious brain changes gears and it’s thinking about a million different things. Whereas, if there is sound or music throughout, my brain can be more present in the moment. Just something for you to think about in your journey!
The moral of the story is don’t be discouraged if you don’t enjoy or connect with any one meditation. I encourage you to try out different ones until you find ones you can connect with and enjoy.
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4. It’s Okay to Start Your Meditation Over
As mentioned, I have anxiety and depression. Plus life is just hard and chaotic sometimes. It’s natural for it to take some time to calm our minds and bodies down enough to meditate.
It is okay to start a mediation over. I’ll be a couple of minutes into a meditation and realize I haven’t actually heard a word they’ve said because my brain has been too busy.
If it takes you a few times to restart the meditation to get into it, that is completely acceptable.
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5. It’s Okay to Do Multiple Meditations or Quit and Change to a Different One
Sometimes just one meditation doesn’t feel like enough. It’s okay to do multiple meditations and mix and match your perfect recipe until you feel satisfied.
For example, you could start with a meditation for depression. Then, end with a meditation for self-love and acceptance to give yourself some much-needed love and end on a more positive note.
In addition, it is completely okay to quit a meditation and change to a different one if you do not like it. Life is too short to force yourself through something you don’t enjoy, that includes meditations.
I am guilty of the mindset that if I start something I have to finish it. Movies, books, etc. Can anyone else relate? This is me giving you permission to quit and change to a different meditation if you don’t connect to it.
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6. It’s Okay If You Don’t Feel Completely Calm and “Better” Afterwards
Don’t get me wrong, meditation is beneficial to your health and well-being.
However, it’s okay if you walk away from it not feeling 100% calm and better.
My anxiety is not magically cured after a 15-minute meditation. It’d be awesome if it were. But sometimes I walk away from a meditation still feeling off and anxious. And that is okay because doing something is better than nothing. I always feel even just a tiny bit better afterward, and that is enough.
Meditation is like exercise, it won’t cure anything after one session. But, you won’t regret doing it, and you usually feel even a tiny fraction better than you did beforehand.
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My Go-To Meditations That Are Definitely Worth a Try
99% of the time I utilize YouTube for meditation. It’s free and has a million options to choose from. It’s a great source!
Goodful Meditations
My absolute go-to meditations are Goodful’s meditations. They have one for just about every scenario, and I just always connect with them. I’m more able to stay engaged. I will include my top 3 favorites, but honestly, they’re all great. I highly recommend them!
Top 3 Goodful Meditation Videos:
15-Minute Chakra Balance Guided Meditation from Great Meditation
Another meditation on YouTube I love and recommend is 15-Minute Chakra Balance Guided Meditation from Great Meditation.
Chakra meditation helps me to connect with my body and the meditation because it is more visual. It goes through each chakra with each color. It helps to appreciate our bodies and send each chakra positive energy while grounding us and getting us back into our bodies.
Also, it has a good pace. It moves through each chakra at the right pace to keep me engaged. Otherwise, my brain gets easily distracted and loses focus.
Headspace
Another great source on YouTube is Headspace. I have used Headspace on Netflix before, and I enjoyed them. You can pay for Headspace, but they have a ton of great free meditations and videos on their YouTube page.
They have great meditation for a variety of situations, including anxiety, grief, panic, tragedy, sleep, etc. I’ve used their sleep meditations, and their sleep stories for adults when I’ve had trouble sleeping.
Headspace also has meditations in Spanish, Portuguese, German, and French.
If interested, they have some great meditations geared towards kids if you want to practice meditation with your kids and family, as well. Or in your classroom. However, if you connect with them too, power to you! Including:
- The Mindful Adventures of Unicorn Island
- Find Your Force with Star Wars and Headspace
- Sesame Street x Headspace Monster Meditations
2 Products That Have Genuinely Helped in My Meditation Journey
These two things are not required whatsoever, but they have genuinely helped me be more successful with meditation.
1. A Good Quality Eye Mask
Any eye mask will work. That being said, I’ve had the most success with eye masks that have extra features to block out light.
I use this Sleep Mask with a contoured cup, it blocks out light, has an adjustable strap, and is comfortable! I legitimately sleep with it every night. It has helped with my sleep, as well.
An eye mask has helped me be more focused and attentive when I’m meditating.
Its ability to block out light also comes in handy if I have a headache or my eyes are tired and need to rest after looking at screens for a while.
2. Noise Canceling Headphones
Noise can be distracting when trying to meditate. It can prevent you from focusing and truly being present during your meditation. And it can be difficult to make an environment as quiet as possible.
I have these Bose Headphones, and I highly recommend them! They work great, they’re comfortable, and are perfect for blocking out the rest of the world.
They’re incredibly helpful during meditation, and also for other noise sensitivities due to my anxiety.
There you have it, the best 6 tips and tricks for meditation, my go-to meditations on YouTube, and my favorite products to use while meditating.
Everyone is different, so it can take time and patience to find what meditation routine works for them. I hope this has helped you with your meditation journey and has made it that much easier!
What roadblocks have prevented you from feeling successful with meditation? Is there anything you need help with to better your meditation journey?
Where do you like to meditate? Do you have a go-to meditation? I’d love to hear so we can all have a great library to choose from!
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