For so many of us, the past two years have been filled with challenges. But where there is challenge, there is also opportunity – to paraphrase Marcus Aurelius, the obstacle becomes the way. 

I’ve taken this time to do a lot of self-reflection, a lot of personal development, and make a lot of changes in my life. I have qualified as a chakra dance meditation teacher. I had hoped to be a fully qualified British School of Meditation teacher by now as well, but alas, Covid meant that I had to postpone qualifying for a few months. 

I’ll admit that I was frustrated. Disappointed. Upset. Jealous of those who I started the course with who are now qualified teachers while I’m still waiting for results. 

But while that was my initial response, I soon placed things into context. A ‘not now’ is not the same as ‘never.’ Completing the course at a later date meant that I got to make new friends who were doing the course with me, so I have the advantage of getting to know people from two rounds of the course.

Being sick forced me to take a good hard look at my life, where I was going, and what I wanted to do next. I realised that I was procrastinating a lot. Things I knew meant a great deal to me were being put on the back burner in favour of doing work which no longer lit me up. It cleared out a lot of the cobwebs and finally got me to take action to manifest the life I’ve been saying I want for many years. 

Because one thing is for certain: If you do nothing, you’re guaranteed to get a result of… nothing!

Taking action, even if it’s only a small action, will get you closer to your goal. Results might not be guaranteed, but there will be a result. There will be a change!

So ask yourself: if you were to meditate for five minutes every day, then spend the next five minutes taking aligned action, how different would your life look this time next year?

Meditation has been shown to increase creativity*, make you more self-aware**, and give you more self-confidence*** – and that’s just a tiny fraction of all the benefits meditation can have. Given that I’m planning on writing more books, recording and releasing music, and running numerous events, both online and in person, those are all skills which I know I’m going to need in abundance.

So I’ve set myself a 31-day meditation challenge and you are very welcome to join in at whatever level works for you. You might like to pick just one meditation and go with that. You might like to do the meditations I’m doing. You might like to do something completely different and let this be a source of inspiration and accountability. 

I already meditate on a daily basis, so I am going to have fun with my practice by doing a different type of meditation every day in January. I’m going to practise breathwork, contemplation, moving meditations, mantra, chanting, loving kindness and more, experimenting with a range of variations on those themes. I will be documenting my progress here so you can follow along. 

Day 1: Rhythmic breathing

Saturdays are going to be devoted to breathing! It’s something we all do, so for many people this is one of the more accessible forms of meditation because there’s no stress over learning a technique. You just breathe!

(This comes with one caveat: if you have any breathing difficulties, please consult a medical professional before practising any type of controlled breathing practice.)

Rhythmic breathing involves controlling your breathing to a specific rhythm. Inhale for a count of 6, hold for a count of 3, exhale for a count of 6 then hold for a count of 3. Set a timer for 20 minutes and continue this cycle until it goes off. 

Feel free to change the count to suit your breathing patterns in whatever way works for you. I find that my breathing naturally deepens with this practise, so after a while I slow it down to a count of 8-4-8-4. You might find that 4-2-4-2 works better for you. The important thing is that your breathing remains comfortable and relaxed. 

I’d love to hear about your experiences if you decide to join in with the challenge – let me know in the comments below or drop me an email!

*https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400410902858691

** https://www.pnas.org/content/108/50/20254.short 

*** https://siyli.org/confidence-through-meditation/