Meditation: Do you or don't you?

I started meditating 6 years ago. I didn’t know what I was doing, if I was doing it “right”, or if meditation really made a difference. I wasn’t consistent because I didn’t know enough about the subject and hadn’t found a technique that I enjoyed. It was always on my list of things “to-do” and was something I started and stopped more times than I can count. It’s always been on my list of goals and something I wanted to add to my daily routine. I’ve tried sitting in silence and just breathing, I’ve tried countless different apps, and I’ve even tried a technique where you repeat a sound in your mind for 20 minutes. No thanks. I had read countless articles, blogs, books, etc. on the power of meditation and all the benefits that come along with this practice. It is said that meditation reduces stress and anxiety, increases productivity, boosts confidence, and promotes happiness. I knew it was something I wanted to incorporate in my daily routine, I just hadn’t found my groove with it yet. Like I said before, I have tried countless meditation apps, but had yet to come across one that I really enjoyed. Awhile back, I heard about the meditation app, Headspace, and downloaded it. I had it on my phone for at least 6 months, maybe a year, and hadn’t even used it. One day I was cleaning up my phone, deleting old apps I no longer use, and organizing everything into folders. I came across the Headspace app and decided I should give it a try. They let you play around on the app and try out a meditation before signing up. The monthly fee is a bit higher than most, $12.99 a month, but they way I see it is that if its something that is going to positively affect my health and mind, then it’s worth it. So I paid the fee and have used the app for the past 30 days. I love it. It’s something I look forward to as the first thing I do each morning and I honestly feel that I can already feel the positive affects. I always end every meditation with a few positive affirmations, right now being “I am worthy, I am abundant, I am love, I am enough”. I truly feel this part of my morning routine puts me in a good mindset and sets me up for my day. Some days I meditate for 10 minutes and some days I do the full 20 minutes. It’s all about how I feel that day and I never pressure myself to do more than I feel like. They say it takes 21 days to make a habit and although I don’t necessarily believe that timeframe works for everything, I do think it did for this. At first it was a little difficult to adopt this habit and I felt myself wanting to skip a day or two, but I made myself sit still for 10-20 minutes anyways because I knew it was good for me in the long run. Sometimes you have to give yourself self love in the way of only doing what you want, but sometimes you have to give yourself “tough love” because you know it’s better for you in the end. I hope you try something new that you know will benefit your health because it’s always worth it. It is so important to look at health with a holistic view; the health of your mind, body, and spirit are all equally important.