clearyourheadEver have one of those moments hours where there are so many thoughts running through your head? Yea, me too. This can be a debilitating experience…not sure what thought to tackle next…when is the project due…need to answer emails…return phone calls…finish to-do list. If I’m not careful…this process can quickly turn to stress and then a headache…not fun!

Last year I read Arianna Huffington’s book, Thrive, and it was eye opening.  The book is full of great information about work/life balance, getting enough sleep and why there is more to life than work.  In the book she also talks a lot about meditation.  The idea of meditation wasn’t new to me but I’d never really tried meditating.

I had plenty of excuses when I thought about meditating…I can’t sit still, I can’t quiet my mind, I can’t sit comfortably…I don’t know how to start.  So, I just didn’t do it.

Determined to try, earlier this year, I tried the app, Insight Timer, to help me meditate.  It’s a good app and has a lot of different meditators to practice with and learn from.  I would put in my earbuds and do my best to listen to the instructor and meditate. There’s one I particularly love which is called “Meditation on Gratitude” by Adam Dacey.  Adam does a great job leading this meditation and I really liked that I could focus on gratitude while meditating.

A month ago, I got a free trial of Headspace in my FabFitFun Box.  I LOVE this site so much and the meditations are amazing.  Plus, there’s a schedule to follow which really keeps me on track with meditating.  The schedule starts with 10 days of 10 minutes of mediating (we all have 10 minutes, right?).  Plus there are really fun short videos to help you learn how to meditate, including ways to clear your head and not feel guilty about thoughts entering your mind during mediation.  Andy leads the meditations every day and he’s so good…you need a great voice if you are going to lead meditations and his voice is amazing! I feel like Andy and I are friends and he really wants me to get really good at meditating…so I’m trying.

I’m on my 10th session and I feel like I am starting to really understand and get better at meditating…which is helping me clear my head daily.  Most importantly, it’s 10 minutes a day where I take time for myself to breathe deeply and take a digital break.  I read this article today about what technology is doing to our bodies…what are we doing people??

I hope if you have thought about meditating you will give Insight Timer or Headspace a try…guided meditations are really helpful.  Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t still your mind on the first few tries…it takes practice…but don’t give up.  Some days I knock it out of the park and really meditate and some days I can’t stop thinking about work or random ideas.  It’s ok…Andy says it’s ok to let the mind wander…just gently bring it back to the breath.

Have you tried meditation? Would love to hear about your experiences!