How did you get into mindfulness?
I hope this finds you a lovely Thursday~~
I started with meditation by using a mobile app called headspace about 6 years ago. Since then, mindfulness mediation has been an important part of my life in decreasing stress, sleeping better, and living a more meaningful life. I used to spend about 60-90 minutes each day riding on the tube or bus and playing the meditation app was a great way to spend the transport time.
So my ice-breaker for you today is:
"How did you get into mindfulness?"
@RumpleSteeleSkin @RationalMe7 @Optimisticempath @tami150
Hey @kindLemonade , lovely to know you've been practicing mindfulness and meditation from a long time, I've heard about this app and would certainly try soon ! Thanks for sharing your experience ❤
As for me, i remember having these yoga, mindfulness sessions during school ~ I had developed an interest even then but couldn't really pursue it often, so I'd say in a good sense being on 7 cups (the mindfulness community, forum and chatroom events, mindfulness exercises ) has helped me realise so many benefits of mindfulness and encouraged me to begin practicing it too !
Very much a beginner though lol , I am slowly incorporating it more in my daily life now. 😇
Would love to know y'alls experience with the same , @DonaldDraper , @soulsings , @amiablepeace77 😃
@Sunisshiningandsoareyou
Oh wow! It is inspiring to hear that your school has mindfulness and yoga sessions. This show that they value mental and spiritual well-being! I think yoga or Taichi are great forms of moving meditations because they teach us how to synchronize our movements with breathes.
There are many other apps apart from Headspace. Nowadays, I use Medito and Plum Village apps. They have incredibly soothing tracks for sleeping well.
I am happy to hear that 7cups is motivating you to keep practicing mindfulness. I think in a way, we are all beginners and it is sometimes even cooler to have a fresh beginner mind to truly learn something.
❤️Thanks for sharing your experiences and for tagging your friends!
Thankyou lemm, you put it in a very apt way ~ even cooler to begin learning something afresh ❤ @kindLemonade
@Sunisshiningandsoareyou yay Shine. Kudos for finally getting some hang of mindfulness. Glad to see that you are starting to see its benefits,
I have been always into self-improvement (even since childhood, now that I think of it)
And while I was reading stuff about self-improvement and other things (manyyyy years ago), meditation was the top thing that was repeated as a suggestion.
Even now, when someone suggests some kinda life improvement, meditation/mindfulness is one of the top 3 suggestions.
And soon, I began to try it and slowly saw its effects. I used to be a short-tempered person. And some time later, my friends pointed out that I dont seem to be so anymore.
That was when I realized how meditation can impact us and have been following it since. Although, I would wanna increase its frequency. It could be any time soon. 😇
@kindLemonade
I got a book about yoga from the libary when I was around 16 years old, and it explained the concept at the start of the book.
@resourcefulPond1641
Sounds like you found mindfulness from an early age. I think I discovered its benefits and started practicing when I was about 20 or so.
Yoga is great as well and it makes me happy to know you came across mindfulness through yoga. A nice combination ❤️
@kindLemonade
Yes, I had suffered a lot of trauma. And was afraid to leave the house due to agoraphobia. But my older sister persuaded me to go with her, because she knew I loved to read books. And I got out a yoga book, and that book greatly helped me and influenced my life and my ability to cope with adversity.
@resourcefulPond1641
I am so sorry about the trauma you had gone through, it seemed to cause so much pain. In an unexpected way, reading books can be so healing and calming. I hoped your pains were eased, glad that you had your sister's supports ❤️😊
It must not have been an easy journey for you but you have been so strong enduring through it all. I am glad that you are here now with us!
@kindLemonade
Thank you for your empathy!
@kindLemonade
I'm gonna be completely honest here. In the beginning I wasn't a big fan of mindfulness or meditation. It was eye-roll inducing. To me it seemed like just another way people could ignore their problems and pain in life instead of working through hard situations, and that just didn't sit right with me. It didn't sound realistic, and for a long time I associated it with things like toxic positivity.
Lately though, I discovered that it's really all in how you use the mindfulness tool that matters. For instance, when I moved into a new place for work, yoga stretching was very relaxing and helped with muscle tension form all my bad posture habits. I think that was my first step into giving it more of a chance, and I soon found myself doing yoga poses a few days a week. I also think now that noticing what's in front of you and the little things (which is what being mindful really is about) is very important in these times when people just move on auto throughout the day.
@cafedaydreams
Thank you for sharing your honest experiences. When I was a teenager, I did not have a good impression of meditation either. I thought it was boring, daunting and suitable for ‘old people’ like my grandparents only.
I think it is really awesome how you change your mind instead of having a fixed mindset that “mindfulness is not for you”. You showed openness towards change and that is a wonderful characteristic.
My friend in sophomore year of high school had these brain training games and I was like I want to beat her in those games because I wanted to stand out, but I stumbled across Balance and Headspace when I was trying to find the best brain training app but long story short I abandoned the brain training games because they didn’t work but I sticked to meditation instead and I want to become a mindfulness teacher or a therapist that uses mindfulness in the future. Now I’m a senior in high school and the concepts of meditation from Headspace really helped me see things more clearly (like changing your perspective on thoughts and emotions, a beginner’s mind, impermanence) in a way that I never expected. I’ve been using them to change my relationship with stress. Oh and there’s a lot more to tell about how I got into meditation but I’m short in time rn so this is just the short version of the story.
@SkyblueClementine1798
oh yay, *hi5 to fellow headspace’s fan. ✋
I would love to know more about your experience with mindfulness/ meditation when you have more time then. Enjoy your weekends 🧘♀️🧘♂️
@SkyblueClementine1798
Yeah, I use to love those brain training apps too; although I got into meditation before I found them.