![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/beachbody-blog\/uploads\/2019\/04\/How-to-Meditate-Every-Day.600.2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Benefits of Meditation<\/h2>\n
Meditation is a good way to help you not judge yourself in general.<\/p>\n
We all have this \u201cjudge\u201d in our head that attacks our behaviors \u2014 what we could\/should\/would have said or done.<\/p>\n
And if you\u2019re looking at your phone all day, if you\u2019re constantly processing external information, you\u2019ve eliminated your ability to process these internal thoughts, so they amp up.<\/p>\n
But this judge, these destructive thoughts, they aren\u2019t you. It\u2019s not the stuff that\u2019s at your core.<\/p>\n
This is stuff borrowed from living life, from years and years of interacting with family, other people around you, work, and school. You weren\u2019t born criticizing yourself this way.<\/p>\n
When these thoughts pile up in you, they can be destructive. They make you reach for that donut. They make you skip your workout. They make you angry at your friend. Again, remember, this stuff isn\u2019t you!<\/p>\n
The magic of meditation is that it can help you find a way to deal with these negative thoughts.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019re comfortable with taking time to slow down and breathe, set aside a time to meditate and use that time to address your negative thoughts.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t try to get rid of them; watch them in your head, like clouds. You don\u2019t need to rope them back. You also don\u2019t need to go along for the ride and follow these thoughts as they intensify.<\/p>\n
Instead, let those thoughts move like clouds past you. If you get caught up in a negative thought, stop and go back to focusing on your breath.<\/p>\n
The ability to watch those thoughts like clouds, to not get attached, and instead focus on your breath gives you a new spiritual muscle.<\/p>\n
You become an observer, and you realize these thoughts are not you, so you can let them go. You\u2019re no longer in the world of distraction and destruction.<\/p>\n
You have a place somewhere inside you that\u2019s calm. It doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t care; it doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t feel. It just means you\u2019re not reacting to those negative thoughts.<\/p>\n
While a daily meditation ritual is wonderful, there\u2019s something very important about applying this practice in your day-to-day life instead of just adding it to your to-do list.<\/p>\n
These short moments help you break patterns. They throw a stick in the works.<\/p>\n
There might be a couple of clouds that may have been bothering you for a while. These meditative moments give them a chance to pass over you a few times and then they\u2019re gone.<\/p>\n
This benefits both you and the people around you. If you\u2019re about to have a shouting match with your son or daughter, take a few moments, breathe, and look back at your child.<\/p>\n
You won\u2019t scream. You won\u2019t shout. You\u2019ll talk it out. Your child will see you use this spiritual muscle and learn from you.<\/p>\n
Just as it is with exercise and food, everyone has different needs when it comes to meditation.<\/p>\n
But at the very least, we all can benefit from looking up at the sky for a few minutes a few times a day and just breathing.<\/p>\n
Beyond that, it\u2019s not about what anyone else needs or says you need. The goal is to know exactly what you need and when you need to do it.<\/p>\n
Unstress 21 Days of Meditation<\/a><\/strong> is now available on Beachbody On Demand!<\/p>\n
![\"Meditate](\"https:\/\/howtobefit.com\/coach-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/How-to-Meditate-Every-Day.960-715x358-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n