Meditation is one of those things. One of those things we know we should do. We know we feel better when we do it. But it can sometimes feel really challenging to actually carve out the time to sit and do it.
I tell my students in my weekly classes at Asheville Yoga Center all the time—
“Last I checked, none of us are yogis who have been meditating in caves for the last 10 years, so it’s ok if your mind wanders.”
Sitting, even for just 10 or 20 minutes, can feel like a lot. So instead of guilting or berating yourself, I encourage my students to give themselves some grace. Just like our yoga asana practice—showing up and committing to the practice is the point. Getting it perfect or right every time we sit isn’t the point. It wouldn’t be called a practice if it was!
And I’m right there with you—as a student of yoga for 15 years, and a teacher for 8—meditation is still challenging for me too.
So if your desire to meditate is strong, but eclipsed by your busy life and busy mind, here are some creative suggestions to help you find your way back to the cushion in a way that perhaps feels more sustainable.
People embark on this path for many reasons: to find their voice, to deepen their practice, to share something that has transformed them. What is yours? Knowing your “why” becomes an anchor on the days when doubt creeps in or exhaustion sets in.
Gamify it
Meditation is an ancient practice, and modern science is finally catching up and showcasing the benefits of something that yoga has known about for millennia. We can also use modern science to help us understand how our brains work and like to learn. What have we found in modern research? Our brains learn when we are having fun. And it helps us stick to new habits, too.
You see, most of us have the best of intentions and know that meditation could be a beautiful medicine. It’s not a lack of knowledge of what we should be doing that holds us back—it’s just a lack of knowing how to implement a new habit. Yes, we need discipline in our practice (a little tapas never hurt anyone), but we also need support systems to help it happen consistently. Let’s work with our brains instead of against them.
How do we apply this to our meditation practice? Make it a game!
Make yourself a sticker chart and give yourself gold stars for each day that you meditate. This may seem childish, but there is a reason that it works—our brains are motivated by tracking our progress and by receiving a reward!
Want a digital version? Download the app Insight Timer and let it track your progress!
Find an accountability buddy. Whether it’s a spouse, co-worker, or fellow yoga student, commit to your practice together and check in about it. Our brains are wired to be much more averse to letting someone else down than letting ourselves down. If your brain knows you’re going to have to text your accountability partner and tell them that you didn’t sit—it can be a motivator to actually do the practice. Maybe you add in some healthy competition to make this feel more like a game!
Make “levels” for yourself, and see if you can work through them! Maybe you start by saying you will sit 10 minutes a day, 3 days this week. Once you do that consistently, you move to sitting for 10 minutes every day. Then maybe it’s 20 mins. The numbers really don’t matter—make them work for you. What matters is that you pick something you can stick to and then consistently show up. Give yourself a treat or reward each time you level up! Maybe each level has a fun name like “Meditation Superstar” or “Mindful Momma.”
Sit with Friends
Did you know that your habits are the combination of the 5 people you spend the most time with? For me, that means I choose people to spend time with who have the habits I want.
When I was starting my meditation journey, it meant spending more time with my friend Micah, who has sat multiple silent 30-day Vipassana courses. I would participate in his weekly group sit, and I had him to ask questions, get support, and be inspired by his dedication to the practice.
But honestly, doing anything hard is easier with friends. On the days you really don’t want to sit—can you come take a class at the studio and sit for 5 mins before or after? Can you reach out to your accountability partner? Can you host a sit at your home?
How often can you be mindful throughout the day?
A lot of us practice meditation because we want to train the muscle of our brain to be more present when we need to be. We almost approach our meditation practice as a goal-oriented behavior—a means to an end. There’s a whole other blog we could get into here about anicca—the ever-changing nature of reality—and how clinging to positive outcomes and avoiding negative outcomes doesn’t really serve us.
But for the purposes of today—what if we did things backwards? What better way to keep things feeling fresh, and our minds active and engaged, than to mix it up a bit?
So what if we just start with the end in mind—find small mindful moments throughout the day. Pause to take in the spring sunshine without checking your phone. Feel into your body in the supermarket checkout line. How attuned to your body and breath can you be while you wash the dishes?
Even in this way, we are still training our brains back to the present moment—not to the future or past. Show yourself some grace if your mind is resistant to the idea of this style of practice not being “formal enough” or “austere enough.” In reality, this is the practice in action.
Make it a Ritual
As humans, we love to make rituals out of things that are devotional and powerful. Let your meditation practice be a sacred ritual. Invite divinity into the practice with you. It will make it harder to skip, easier to engrain as a habit, more potent to experience, and add to the richness of the tapestry of your daily life.
How to do this?
Light a candle, ghee lamp, or incense before you beginHave a designated location in your home where you practice that is clean and free of distractionsPerhaps make an altar hereSilence your phonePerhaps start with a prayer, mantra, or pranayama
How Easy Can It Be?
Another way we can trick our brains into working with us instead of against us is to rely on systems instead of willpower and motivation. Most new habits fail because we incorrectly assume that we need to have superhuman, unwavering motivation and strict discipline that never wavers. Remember what I said earlier about the yogis meditating in caves? That’s just not how our minds work. We all have days when our willpower, motivation, and discipline are higher than others. So, we don’t rely on motivation—she is a fickle mistress.
What to do instead? Build systems around your new habit.
How easy can it be? Sit less than you know you are capable of. Sit such a short amount of time it’s SO easy to say yes. You couldn’t possibly say no because it’s so easy.
Never miss twice. If life happens and you miss your practice one day—no big deal—lots of grace and love to give yourself here. But never skip twice. Every action you take is putting a drop in the bucket of the kind of person you want to be. And if you want to be a meditator, you need to put lots of votes in that bucket. Keep your momentum building in the direction you want to go—your new habit—don’t build momentum in the direction of the place you don’t want to go—not meditating.
Doing something is better than doing nothing. If you’re feeling off or your day gets derailed and you can’t sit for the full amount of time you anticipated, can you at least sit for 5 mins? 3 mins? 1 minute? Doing SOMETHING is better than doing nothing. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater just because you couldn’t practice fully that day—it’s more important to keep the habit in place and put a drop in the bucket of the type of person you want to be. It’s about consistency over perfection every time.
Well, there you have it, yogis—some creative ways to get yourself out of a rut or back into your meditation practice. Go forth and be present!
Or as the admirable Sri K. Pattabhi Jois is famously quoted as saying:
“Practice and all is coming.”
Want more resources on habit formation? Check out my favorite book on the subject—James Clear’s Atomic Habits.
About the Authour
Kimber Jones’ journey with yoga and Ayurveda began in 2014 as she sought relief from a health challenge. Since then, these ancient practices have become her passion, transforming her life and inspiring her to share their power with others. Remarkably, Kimber has been symptom-free and medication-free since 2018, a testament to the profound impact of an Ayurvedic lifestyle. She now dedicates herself to guiding students toward similar well-being, connecting them to the wisdom of yoga and Ayurveda in a way that feels relevant and accessible to modern living. Her slow flow classes emphasize the deep connection between breath, body, and mind, fostering resilience and a profound intimacy with oneself. Kimber believes in the transformative potential of these practices and loves to share her knowledge, inviting students to “nerd out” with her as they explore the intricacies of these ancient sciences.
Take a Class with Kimber!
Mindful Flow | Thursdays, 8:30-9:45 am
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