I come from a martial arts background, having a black belt in Shotokan karate, I have won many titles including the National Championship and trained with martial artists from around the world in many different martial arts. The reason I mention this, is because as a martial artist you usually start off every training session with some form of mindfulness meditation. When I was doing this over the years I didn’t think much off it, it was just 5 minutes where I had to keep my eyes closed before training started.
Since becoming an adult, I realise that life is full of responsibilities and challenges. And as you deal with these, it is quite normal to become stressed, or feel anxious. If you have a big decision to make, it can sometimes seem overwhelming and this can lead to all sorts of problems. Stress itself, is a killer. It is very important to try and reduce stress, staying positive and living a good life.
But how you may be asking! Well I tried all sorts of things, from confronting ever challenge head on, taking control with organising everything better but I noticed that it’s impossible to plan for every challenge that may come up, this means we are always going to be confronted with fear, and anxiety. This is when I decided to start meditating.
I began as I have learnt in the dojo, sitting silently for 5 minutes, thinking about what I was going to be doing after this 5 minutes was up, and it unsurprisingly didnt seem to make any difference to my metal state. So I read books on meditation, which is where I started to understand the potential, and purpose of it. And then finally I started to use an app.
Initially I tried out the free app’s, doing 5 minutes a day, and I noticed that is helped a little. Then I decided to buy Headspace and Calm, as a trial to see which I was more inclined to use. I personally preferred Headspace. I found the voice easier to listen to and I believed in what he was saying. After following a few courses I was hooked, I was doing 10 minutes each day and it was definitely making a difference. It is without doubt one of the best things you can do to change how you feel almost instantly.
In comparison, I also exercise daily, and as much as I enjoy it, Sometimes exercise can leave you more stressed than before you started, I have found that combining exercise and meditation as part of the daily routine makes a massive impact on metal well being and overall performance.
If you want to try it out, I recommend doing the Headspace free trial, and choosing one of the courses on there. You will know within a week if it’s for you or not, and if it is, you won’t look back. It’s great to substitute 10 minutes of meditation for a glass of wine, and it’s also allot healthier.
Meditation is fast becoming the tool of choice for many people, and there is a reason for this, settling your mind and inner voice, and learning to control your mind is the most powerful thing you can do.
