Improvement Journey, Lifestyle

Meditation Routine and Grounding

We all heard about the importance of meditation for having a balanced life.  People all over the world from every background, the world leaders, they all have openly spoken about the benefit and importance of meditation in their life. Not to mention thousands of information we can find online about it.

So, what is meditation?

There are many definitions of meditation, but I think the closest meaning to it is a state of awareness, a deep and profound peace that occurs when the mind is silent, yet completely aware.  Many are having the wrong perception that meditation is taking time to sit in silence and quiet. While actually for advanced meditators, they can meditate while doing normal activities because meditation is a state of awareness, not an action.

What is the benefit of meditation? 

Well according to science, it improves your health, it improves your immune system, it reduces stress, it makes you smarter, it improves your social life, and I can go on and on about it.  But basically, it makes your life better, healthier, happier, and even wealthier.  If you are not convinced yet, here are some articles which might be able to do the job:

  1. 20 scientific reasons to start meditating 
  2. The scientific benefits of meditation
  3. Ten scientific benefits of meditation by Forbes

Are you convinced enough?  If not, I encourage you to do more research about it, or even better let’s plunge at it!.

So, your next question will be;

“how do I meditate?”

Well, lucky for you (and me) that we don’t need to be a hermit in a cave to meditate.  Although it is helpful to have a quiet and right ambiance for you to relax, it is not necessary.

The beauty of meditation is that there are many ways to do it.  It can be as simple as breathing, in a regular, deep and slow way or with some more complex techniques.  But it is about being in the moment, to be aware of the present moment without having to reach any goal or state of being.

MY MEDITATION ROUTINE

My meditation journey is on and off at certain times, but it is enough for me to witness the benefits of it for my physical and mental health.  I have been meditating since I was young.  My mother introduced me to meditation, and I am forever grateful because of that.

I have also learned a couple of meditation techniques, but in the end only “you” knew what works for you.  In my case, I mixed all the techniques I’ve learned into a customized version that probably only works for me.

On good days, I meditate at least two times a day.  One, I do during my morning routine (which you can read here) and one I do during the day.

MORNING

Meditation is one of the lists I do in my morning routine.  My favorite way is to do the 6 phase meditation by Vishen Lakhiani from Mindvalley academy combined with grounding.

Vishen Lakhiani thinks that there are six essentials factors for everyone to thrive in life.  Those are Love and compassion, gratitude, forgiveness, Future Goals/dreams, Perfect day, and blessing.

The 6 Phase meditation technique is a 20 minutes meditation and visualization that includes all those essential factors that you need to incorporate into your meditation routine.

Vishen Lakhiani and his company Mindvalley is focusing on the wellness industry, and I have been a fan of him.  You can read about him and Mindvalley academy here.

I like a guided meditation when I don’t have the time or when my mind is a bit louder than usual.  In the first minute of this program, the narration will help you to relax your body and mind to reach the state of meditation.  Once you are in that state, you will be guided to visualize a series of the six essentials factors mentioned above.

You might ask that if meditation is the state of awareness of a silent mind.  But how can our mind be quiet if we are being asked to visualize?  When you reach a level of focus/concentration with a relaxed body, visualization becomes a kind of the extension of your meditation.   In that state, your mind can engage the imagination to visualize any images and ideas that you want to have (normally positive ideas/affirmation)

GROUNDING

Grounding for me is a simple way to be connected to the mother earth and to practice mindfulness (aware of my physical sensation or being present).

If you want to know more about grounding here are some great articles that you can read:

  1. Grounding techniques https://scottjeffrey.com/grounding-techniques/
  2. A PDF version of grounding techniques

As for me, I do it early in the morning with the techniques mentioned below:

  • Standing on the ground with a bare-feet. If possible, I recommend making sure that you stand up directly on earth elements such as ground/grass or water.  Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width distance apart, and hands on your sides with palms facing forward.  Make sure you are standing tall but relax your shoulder.
  • Start breathing deeper and slower in and out from the nose. Notice every sensation going on in your body.  Starting from the crown of your head, and slowly going down to your feet.
  • Once you feel calm and relax, imagine that there is a root growing from your feet, it continues growing more in-depth into the ground until it reaches the center of the earth. Feel the connection, the exchange of energy flowing in and out from the root.  Feel it energize your body.
  • Be mindful of your surroundings, of your breath, of every sensation.
  • Do it as long as you want. If standing is not possible because you might look awkward in that position, then you can sit down as long as you are sitting tall with a relaxed shoulder.

Grounding is a truly humbling practice, so simple yet so powerful.  I Realize how blessed I am, with health, with peace and tranquility, with love in my heart, with safety, and with happiness.

AFTERNOON / NIGHT

My afternoon or sometimes night meditation or self-hypnosis, I like to do it with a proper ambiance.  I decorate our study room with candle and aromatherapy diffuser to create a zen-like meditation room.  I sit in the dark, with my meditation playlist playing in the background.

While Hypnosis is different than meditation, I found it equally beneficial in every aspect of my life.  I am not an expert in hypnosis, but I do a bit of proper study on this subject with a certified hypnotherapist as a mentor.

When I am on a mission to address some negative feelings, or if I have some behavior/habit that I would like to change, I put my playlist with affirmations related to the emotions I want to address.

Positive affirmations combined with sounds that can slow down your brainwave to reach a particular state (binaural beat) is how the hypnosis works.  The positive affirmations that are specifically created to address a specific emotion are planted into your subconscious mind.

I usually put half to one hour to do the afternoon meditation.  One thing I love about guided self-hypnosis/meditation is that it still works even if you fall asleep listening to it.

Three Guided Meditation Youtube Channels

If you want to try a guided meditation or sleep hypnosis, I love and recommend these Guided Meditation channels:

  • The Honest Guys: I Listen to many of their guided meditation because their programs suit my needs.  Based on the topics, the length of the program, the music, the affirmations, and their voice is very soothing and relaxing.  I LOVE THEM!  I listen to many of them, but I love the one to overcome insecurity and finding your purpose guided meditation.
  • Michael Sealey: He has thousands of subscribers and numerous guided meditations to listen to. I like his Deep Sleep hypnosis for Journey to become your ideal self, and to overcome over-thinking.
  • Louise L Hay: This lady is a Godsend.  She has a guided meditation channel and listening to her voice is like listening to your grandma telling you stories.  It is very relaxing, soothing, and comforting.

Let me know if this article inspires you to try on meditation/grounding.  For all of you who also believe that meditation is beneficial, please share your story and some tips to improve your meditation routine.

Thank you for reading this post, and God bless us.

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