Recently, my rates of stressed induced headaches have been on the rise. The headaches started to happen almost daily and last week I’ve had enough. To add to that, my eye lid kept twitching – something it does whenever I’m overloading myself. There were only so many Aleve’s I could take! My brain’s been going a million miles an hour as I work on a side project on top of my work load and I felt that it was my head’s way of telling me to take a break. So what did I do? I decided to turn to meditation.
I remembered that Lululemon had a podcast where Danielle Mika Nagel leads listeners through 12 minutes of mediation for 7 days and I jumped on it. I mean it was free so why not.
Day 1-2
When I started, the podcast really helped guide me on what I was “supposed” to do. However, I still had trouble. My mind was still wandering during the “sitting silently for 7 minutes” portion. Things that went through my mind included am I doing this right? Am I breathing too fast? Is this what meditation feels like? Can you even meditate wrong?
Day 3-5
Determined to continue on the 7 day challenge, I kept pushing forward. This time instead of letting my mind wander, I focused on my breathing. I tried to work on taking slow deep breathes. So far, half way through, I’m not if my headaches were going away with the meditating but I definitely felt more relaxed after 12 minutes of being still and calm.
Day 6-7
I’m definitely starting to get into the swing of things! My mind has started to relax itself and not wander off, I’m feeling less stressed out, my eye lid’s twitching has decreased and my headaches have stopped plaguing me on a daily basis! I was feeling good!
Conclusion
So I can’t say for certain the 7 days of mediation challenge helped clear up everything for my as I don’t have any scientific proof to back it all up but it felt like it really helped. I stopped waking up feeling stressed out about all the things I had to do that day. I felt like I was ready to tackle the day after the 12 minutes of meditation in the mornings.
Want to give it a try yourself? Here’s the link to the podcasts.
[Tweet “Try it Tuesday: One Week Meditation Challenge @lululemon @lululemonTO @danimikayoga #thesweatlife”]
QOTD: Have you tried meditation? How do you feel about meditation?
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Stephanie says
I have not tried actual “meditation” but I do pray regularly so I am sure it has the same effects. It definitely helps to calm my mind when it is overloaded.
Ange // Cowgirl Runs says
I suuuuuuuuck at meditation. Mostly because I forget to do it.
Carmy says
Ha! I forced myself to do it the second I woke up! But for sure, the first few attempts I was like AM I DOING THIS RIGHT?!
Jen @ Pretty Little Grub says
I tried the headspace app for a while but I gave up pretty quickly. I like the idea of challenging myself to do it for a week. It takes a while to make it part of a routine.
Carmy says
I forced myself to do it first thing when I woke up. I mean I spend the same amount of time playing on my phone in bed anyways haha
Janelle @ Run With No Regrets says
I think meditation is a great way to relieve stress. I haven’t tried it in a really long time but you’ve inspired me to look back into it! Seems like a great way to start the day. Glad it helped with your headaches!
Sandra Laflamme says
We did meditation and visualization when I was in college on my crew team and I feel that it really helped. Silencing the mind can be challenging but the practice can definitely help you to cut stress levels!