5 TIPS TO OVERCOME RESISTANCE TO MEDITATION
How do you overcome resistance to meditating at home?
This question came up at a class I was teaching recently and can be relevant to everyone (even me at times!)
Maybe you find it hard to sit and quiet your mind or perhaps you schedule in meditation but then always find an excuse not to do it.
Because I’ve had to overcome my own resistance to Meditation (which was extreme), I’m happy to share with you the tricks I’ve learnt along the way.
Picture this – you grow up with parents who LOVE meditation. They meditate every day. They have a shack in the back garden dedicated just for meditating and when they’re in there, you’re in the house with your older brother who loves nothing more than to pick on you!
Due to these circumstances over many years, you develop a huge dislike for meditation. In fact your mind has an association with meditation being a scary time. This fear builds a resistance inside you, where simply the mention of the word makes you angry.
This was me up to the age of 31. So to say I had some resistance to learning to meditate would be an understatement.
Here’s what helped me:
1. Come up on your mind slowly
The mind is often described as a wild Elephant – it’s Smart, Strong and Spooks easily. This means you have to treat it with respect and move very slowly with it. So if you’re noticing that you want to meditate but aren’t doing it, try starting with 2 minutes a day.
2. Remind yourself ‘why’ you’re doing it
I always set an intention for my practice each day so I stay focused on WHY I’m doing it. Perhaps you want that quiet time to reconnect to yourself, to calm your chatty mind or simply to help you down regulate your anxiety (a.k.a relax). Whatever reason you have for wanting to meditate, remind yourself before you begin so it doesn’t feel aimless just to sit there.
3. Book end your practice with positive reinforcement
Before you sit down to meditate, tell yourself how you’re going to feel once you do it (i.e. I’m going to feel so much more relaxed after I do this…). Then after you’ve completed the meditation reflect on how you actually feel (i.e. I feel so much more relaxed now). Your self talk is extremely important in the set up and finish because you’re conditioning your mind by using this technique of positive reinforcement. You’ll notice it becomes easier each time you do it.
4. Feel the resistance and do it anyway
This is where a little self discipline comes in. Like developing any new habit, repetition and consistency pays off. What we’re essentially saying here is NO EXCUSES. Don’t buy into the stories that your mind is telling you. All the reasons it’s making up not to meditate. This will only keep you stuck and feeling bad about yourself.
5. ASKING YOURSELF WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
You may have noticed that when we put things off, our resistance builds up and a molehill can turn into a mountain in a very short time. Rather than letting this happen, shine the torch on your resistance by looking into with self inquiry. Ask yourself what is it about meditating that seems so scary/feels so uncomfortable?
You’ll notice the more you question yourself, the more you’ll see that the resistance is based on stories your mind has made up to keep you stuck. These are the same stories that are keeping you stuck in other areas of your life too.
Breaking through your meditation resistance by sitting for just a few minutes a day will help you dissolve all resistance in your life, just one meditation at a time. It’s a flow on effect…how you do anything is how you do everything!
Have you downloaded my free guided meditation? This calming track will have you relaxing in minutes!
With love,