Last week I did a seven-day meditation experiment for myself. This month I have made it totally all about me simply because I felt that, lately, I had not been giving myself enough "me time" or time for all my thoughts to process during the day. Meditation is supposed to reduce stress, give calmness, aid in reducing sickness and help maintain some emotional balance. I feel that this is important to do in college simply because this is the time to get to know yourself and try out a few things.
For this experiment, I meditated for just 20 minutes a day. That's all. I know that does not sound like a lot, but I wanted to do a time increment that everyone can do because everyone can find 20 minutes in my day. I did my meditation in morning, after I got up, because I would usually lay in bed and watch snapchat videos from the night before or I would scroll through Instagram for like a half hour. We all do it and there's no shame in it, but starting your day off with social media instead of your own thoughts is silly if you think about it. So I did a seven-day challenge for myself and documented some of my feelings and thoughts for each day.
Day 1
The first day for me was the hardest just because it was not only a Monday, I was also already stressed with all the things I had to do that day, it is one of my busiest days of the week. I typically wait until the last minute to roll out of bed and head to class and did not want to add 20 minutes to my morning nor was not convinced that 20 minutes in the morning would really effect me in any way. I went on business as usual, but I actually had a good day. I felt that my day was actually more productive, but I thought it was merely a coincidence.
Day 2
My alarm went off for my meditation time and I was genuinely excited to see if it affected my day. It was a lot easier to get out of bed on the second day after meditating. I did not have much to say about my Tuesday as it seemed pretty average.
Day 3
I had an incredible day by the time Wednesday came around. I felt like I not only had excessive energy, I was more productive than ever and completed just about every task on my to-do list. My workout was successful and very calm. I felt that everything lined up emotionally, physically and emotionally. My stress levels were minimal
Day 4
Thursday is by far my busiest day of the week, but by the time Thursday floated around my body was already getting used to the fact that I would get up and take my 20 minutes to relax and not think about anything, and just focus on my breathing and placing positive thoughts in my train of thought. As busy as my Thursdays are, I was able to handle the day better.
Day 5
Fridays are always happy simply because it means that the weekend is here, so I cannot completely say that my mood was just because of the meditation.
Day 6
On Saturday I woke up late but I had to workout, then took a long nap. I was being very lazy, so I did not meditate until before I went out for the evening. I took twenty minutes to relax after my shower just to feel that calmness again. I felt that it gave me a positive outlook on my night and made me feel more confident than usual. I was able to enjoy the night and not have to worry about anything or any tasks that I needed to complete tomorrow.
Day 7
By Sunday it was routine. I will say that the weekends are hard just because times can vary, but my Sundays are always lazy because it is my day off for the week. I try to be productive so mediating was nice because I cleaned and enjoyed time by myself while listening to music. I felt ready for a new week!
Though seven days is not enough to completely see a monumental flip in behavior, I did receive some immediate results. I am not saying that meditating is going to make every day perfect, but it definitely aids in keeping your mental state of mind straight. Sometimes we all just need a few moments to straighten out our thoughts. I definitely felt more energized, got better sleep and have my stressed reduced just because I took twenty minutes out of my day to focus on myself. I plan on continuing this method and I challenge you to try it too to not only better your health but add some balance to your day!
So before you start scrolling through Instagram or scrolling through Twitter in the morning, merely take a moment for yourself and start your day off right.
