I strongly believe in the power of meditation and still mind. It took me a long time to get there, but I was blown away once I did. I want to share my story of how I found my way to meditation that actually worked and what I discovered in my life. I am hoping that my story will inspire you on your meditation journey, and it will bring the amazing benefits into your life.
My story
I don’t even remember when I first meditated, but it must have been good 12 years ago. I had phases in my life when I was meditating regularly or not at all.
I thought that meditating meant that I had to keep my mind still and not think about anything. But I was experiencing quite the opposite and did not feel the massive benefit of meditation. Until 2019, when my husband and I decided to go on holiday to Sri Lanka and spend five days in a Yoga & Meditation retreat in the south.
I fell in love with the vibe of the retreat center from the moment we arrived. There were multiple ‘huts’ spread across the retreat complex with three different yoga and meditation centers, all outside and close to the beach. A large swimming pool and dining area in its center serving only vegetarian cuisine.
In our five-day stay, we had a few fixed activities in our schedule, and the rest of the time, we would walk along the beach, swim, or chill by the pool. The first day started with a walking meditation all across the beach. We needed to walk mindfully (and very slowly), paying attention to every step for about an hour. It felt very awkward at first because our speed was not an average walking pace. Once I got the hang of it and stopped caring about people walking by, I focused entirely on my body.
That is when I noticed a sharp pain in my lower back.
As I had performed each step with full attention to the movement and in a very slow motion, I realized how bad of a posture I had in general. It was a new insight for me, as I did not notice it as much in day-to-day life because I moved much faster and not mindfully.It was an enlighting experience, to say the least, but I cannot say that it was ‘my thing.’
We practiced yin yoga every evening in the coming days, followed by meditation. I felt a significant release of tension in my body already from the first two times. All the stress I had built up in my body from long working weeks could finally dissolve. It was amazing to notice how deep breathing techniques combined with specific asanas (= name for poses in yoga) brought this extraordinary relief.
Even though I felt a significant release in my body at this point, I still could not relax my mind.
I recall that during each meditation, I kept wandering in my thoughts. I was thinking of the next day’s plan, about work, the environment I was in, etc. Finally, on the third day of regular meditation, I noticed moments of stillness in my mind. For the remaining days, I embraced meditation and relaxation even more and allowed myself to let go. The more I did, the more relaxed I felt, and the calmer my mind became.
I noticed feeling kinder (not just on the outside, but also in my mind), I saw the good around me, and I felt more centered.
This retreat in Sri Lanka, was a fantastic start to my meditation practice and one that I continued building on once we had returned from our holiday. Back home, I started using an app, which got recommended to me by one of the meditation teachers in Sri Lanka. I felt that it had deepened my practice, as it walked me through a 12 day programme explaining one specific meditation technique.
Comment below or email me if you want me to share it with you. It’s completely free to download.
tipping POINT
While the meditation and yoga retreat were amazing, I felt that the real benefit came in ‘real-life,’ back home, back at work.
I still vividly remember my first day at work after this holiday. I felt as if I was in constant presence and awareness. I felt as if the problems my team and I were dealing with at work were tiny in a huge scheme of life. I felt deeply connected to people in my team, and I could be fully myself.
There was no fear or worry, no need to hold back or people please. Only pure experiencing - moment to moment.
On that day we had a major escalation at work, and I ended up working until 22.00 in the evening, being in a call checking with the rest of the team if the issue got resolved. Under normal circumstances, I would have felt drained, stressed out, and frustrated, but I felt calm, relaxed, and even joyful this time. It was all thanks to the peaceful state of my mind I had thanks to my new meditation practice.
I learned through experience how powerful a calm mind is. I learned that it is not about what happens out there but about our inner state, which is the source of all happiness and power we will ever need.
my Key learning
Calm Mind is the key to a happy life
It is not about what happens 'out there', but how we feel inside that brings us true peace and happiness
Meditation is a practice of constantly returning to the present moment that with enough repetition we start to experience in real life
What is your experience with meditation? I would love to know. Would you like to learn more about the app I used when we returned from the holiday? Feel free to reach out, and I am happy to share it with you (completely FREE to download).