What Changed My Perspective on Meditation

How I started making more space for meditation in my schedule.

Shradha Cripe

Articles\Mindful

60 day challenge, breathe together yoga, challenge, meditation, mindful, mindfulness

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If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say something along the lines of, “Meditation is not for me… I don’t enjoy it… It’s so boring…,” well, I’d be a very rich woman. I totally get it. I said these words for decades myself!

I grew up hearing I should meditate. I resisted it. I said the words above, and then some more. As I got older, my stress-relief strategy was focused solely on fun escapes: time at the beach, massages, relaxing getaways. But the stress was still there when the escape ended. Perhaps this sounds familiar?

I started my yoga practice at Breathe Together Yoga during their first year and their first 60-day challenge. During that year, it was 60 days of any combination of yoga and meditation classes. I was in! Except…I had a super-busy schedule at that time; it wasn’t a calm and quiet year. But, I had a few friends who were all in, and so was I! I had both determination and the ever-so-influential #FOMO, fear of missing out, on my side.

Yoga was an hour plus; meditation was 30 minutes. Meditation wasn’t my preference; there were no arm balances, sweat, or music. But, it was a no-brainer. I was short on time, and meditation would “check the box”.

As I checked the boxes though, some amazing things started to happen:

7 days in: I no longer dragged my feet into meditation. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.
15 days in: an awareness formed to habitual patterns I hadn’t noticed before.
30 days in: I noticed my first calm pause amidst chaos and noise. Just a few magic memorable seconds, but it took my breath away.
45 days in: I seemed to flow through my day a little lighter, with a little more ease.
60 days in: I began to understand the term “moving meditation,” as I noticed changes to my physical asana practice.

After the 60-day challenge, I started making space for more meditation in my schedule. Sometimes it was 20 to 30 minutes; sometimes only five minutes in my parked car, before heading into work or coming back home. It didn’t matter; I was starting my practice.

Recently, while taking BTY’s Summer Meditation Intensive, I’ve been thinking back on that first challenge. Along with new styles of meditation and a new understanding of the science and studies of meditation’s impact on the brain, I had a few moments of déjà vu. The familiar sensations of a new level of self-awareness, magic, memorable moments of calm pause, and finding myself making space for more.

Shradha Cripe

Shradha Cripe began a steady yoga practice in 2010. With a lot on her plate – work, grad school, and motherhood – she began to look forward to and make time for the brief respite on her mat. As life continued, so did her practice. It transformed from respite to devotion. Again and again, her mat brought her back to herself, helping her connect, regain strength, and find calm and stillness. Eager to give back to a practice that gave her so much, she completed her 200-hour teacher training in Spring 2020 and is currently pursuing her 300-hour certification.

One reply on “What Changed My Perspective on Meditation”

Amazing article, insight and journey, I am sharing with my wellness and health groups… Thank you so much for an amazing piece of wisdom

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