Ask the Nurse: Meditation Resources for Beginners

First of all, I want to welcome you to my new series: “Ask the Nurse.” This series is all about sharing my education and research about many wellness topics including, but not limited to, mindfulness, vitamins, sleep and stress. The best part? You can request topics by commenting on this post or shooting me an email at stylebylivblog@gmail.com

This past month I’ve been focused on meditating more and learning to delve deeper into the many benefits it allows. For me, those moments of pure bliss and peace right after I meditate are the reason I continue to add meditation into my daily routine. Plus, it allows me to re-set my headspace and start over at any chance that I need.

I’ve done lots of research on meditation and I’ve learned that creating a consistent routine is the best way to stay accountable and to continue: for example always meditating in the morning or right before bed. I see value in this however, I have struggled with creating a consistent routine. Sometimes I’m not sleeping at home. Sometimes I want to sleep in and don’t have the time in the morning. Sometimes I want to go on my lunch break and other times I have meetings. For me, I’ve found small random meditations to be the most helpful for me in my life currently but I definitely want to expand on those so that I can meditate for longer to achieve a deeper relaxation.

The other day, work was super stressful and busy. I was hustling through documentation and meeting my patients so that I could head out early to go to the Celtics game with Brandon. There was tons of traffic on the way to his house and I was hungry. Plus, once I got to this house I had to quickly change so overall, I just felt rushed. I wasn’t ‘in the moment’ and it was causing me to be in the wrong headspace. I took 5 minutes on the train to meditation and was then able to get into a better headspace and therefore, enjoy the rest of the night.

What I’ve learned this past year is that meditation isn’t intuitive. It is difficult to get started and learn whether or not “you are doing it right.”. Thankfully, there are so many resources out there to help you learn.

Some of my favorite meditation resources include…

10% Happier by Dan Harris:

This book was monumental in my understanding of meditation. Dan Harris, a news anchor, had a televised panic attack on Good Morning America and realized that he needed to make a change. He ended up learning about meditation and shares this information throughout this book. What I really liked about this was it is a mix between educational self-help and autobiography. After you read this book you will learn so much about him and how meditation has changed this life.

Throughout this book, you will learn all about your internal voice and how you can tame that through meditation. It will teach you the different types of meditation and realistically what to expect from them all.

Meditation Made Easy by Stephanie Brookes:

I absolutely love this book because it is easy to read but packed full of information. There are explanations about the benefits of meditation, the history of meditation and the misconceptions. Then, there are SO MANY guided meditations written out for you to enjoy whenever works best for you. For me, I love this book because there are meditations that are specifically targeted for events and meditations specifically targeted for spiritual benefits.

The meditations for spiritual benefits each have a specific target whether it is gratitude, stronger relationships or self appreciation. Then, there are also meditations that can be used during events such as coffee breaks, at the gym or even while doing the dishes. This book has been perfect for me because it gives me a prompt that I can use during those free minutes of my day.

YouTube: 

There are hundreds of meditation apps; 10% Happier, Calm, Hedspace and Omvana are just some of the many you can choose from. I used headspace in the beginning to do the free trial for beginners which walks you through how to meditate. Now, I use Omvana because there are a select few free ones that I really love. However, the best place that I have found for guided meditations are YouTube! There are millions of free resources to search there!

One of my favorite guided meditations is this 6 Phase Mediation.

Meditation Minis Podcast:

There is benefit to longer meditations because it allows you to delve deeper however, sometimes this #busygirl just needs to re-set her headspace. This podcast is hosted by a Hypnotherapist named Chel Hamilton. She creates mini meditations for anxiety, sleep, depression etc. These last from 10-20 minutes and are perfect for before you leave the house in the morning, before you go out for the night or even just on your lunch break. I highly recommend these mini episodes whenever you need to channel some positive energy.

DailyOM:

DailyOM is a website filled with an endless amount of resources for everyone. The website is designed as courses so you purchase a course (as a donation for whatever you choose to contribute) and then you have full access to that course and the valuable pieces of information it brings. Many of the courses extend beyond meditation and bring in fitness, inspiration, spirituality and healthy living. You can print out all of the courses once you have access to them so you can come back to this information over and over again.

If you like to have a physical meditation script to follow or want to learn more about how to target a specific area of your life: relationships, relaxation, manifestation etc. this is the place for you!

Are there any meditation resources that you love? Share them below!