2 Week Meditation Challenge – Daily Instruction Days 1-14

Day 1

Set your alarms for a time when you will be free’ish of distractions. When it’s time, get in a cozy position, set a timer for two minutes, close your eyes and follow the visual guide below. If you get distracted, no big deal – acknowledge the thought or sound that got your attention and go back to your breathing and visualization. It’s only two minutes and your brain will LOVE the rush of oxygen!

Day 2

Today we will use the same box visual – but let’s work on deepening our breathing. Take a couple of deep breaths. Is your chest rising? If so, your breathing is too shallow – your BELLY should be moving with the breath. Big belly out with the inhale, in with the exhale. Now, get cozy and set your two minute timer. You’ve got this.

Day 3

Today, we will continue with the box meditation, but this time as you inhale – breathe in a color that represents what you feel you need today.  For example, I need to be creative, so I’ll be breathing in orange.  If you feel stressed or anxious, breathe in green.

As you exhale, release what you DON’T need today – I don’t need to feel restless, so restlessness will leave my body with every exhale. Get your OM on…I knew you guys would kick ass at this.

Day 4

We’re going to bump up our time by :20 seconds today. If you’re following the box visual, that’s only one more lap around your box! Come on Jimmie Johnson! (ok, I had to look that up)

Make sure you’re breathing from your diaphragm, and if you get distracted by a thought or noise, salute it and get back to business.  Feel free to breathe in a needed color.  I’ll be inhaling blue to feel calm and exhaling overwhelm. 2:20 today. You guys are so awesome!

Day 5

Even if you’ve missed a day or two or four, step right in…you’re all good!  Today we will continue with yesterday’s practice.  Box visual, breathe in color, breathe out junk, two minutes and twenty seconds.

Day 6

Repeat Day 5.  Practice gives you confidence.

Day 7

Repeat Day 5.  Tomorrow, we will use a mantra so be thinking of a word that makes you feel peaceful and happy!

Day 8

By now, your body should have a general idea of how long a 5 second inhale and exhale is.  Today, instead of counting while breathing, slowly repeat whatever word makes you feel good right then and there.  I will be using the word strength because I need to bulk up some mental muscles after that extended-stay funk I just popped out of…right in time for the hairy holidays.

Day 9

Today you can practice any of the techniques we’ve used so far; counting the sides of the box, inhaling colors, repeating a word or phrase – whatever you need today.  Breathe from your belly, wave hello and good-bye to any thoughts that distract you and lose yourself in your self.

Day 10

Let’s switch it up! Here’s a great deep breathing exercise for anxiety or stress. Inhale for 5 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds. 10 ROUNDS. This one is fun and you can do it any time, anywhere!

Day 11

It’s a “mantra” kind of day. What do you need today? I need a lot of strength and courage so my mantra will be “I’m a total bad ass”. Swearing in your mantra? Perfectly acceptable.

Come up with your own mantra (examples below), sit in your comfy spot, set your timer for 3 minutes, close your eyes and start your breathing. Begin slowly repeating your mantra with every inhale and exhale.

~Examples~
I am actively becoming a better me.
I choose to stop apologizing for being me.
I am a survivor.
I have much to celebrate.
I will accomplish whatever I choose to accomplish.
I will be fueled by passion.
I give myself permission to both fail and succeed.
I have the ability to choose happiness.
I am exactly where I need to be.

Day 12

It’s free-for-all Friday! Use any of the techniques we’ve learned. Your timer should be set for 3 minutes. Friday is a good day to reboot, and meditation is the fastest way to ctrl alt delete!

Day 13

Sit on yo ass Saturday.  Repeat Day 12.

Day 14

For our final day, we’re going to try a visualization exercise. Set your timer for three minutes. Close your eyes and begin your deep breathing. Imagine yourself in the most relaxing space you can think of.

Start to explore that space with fine details. If you’re on a beach look at the sand. What color is it? What does it feel like on your feet? Use your senses to really engage. Smell things, touch things, taste things. Lose yourself in your space.

2 Week “Box It Out” Meditation Challenge

We live in a fast-paced world, and it’s only getting faster. Our to-do lists never end, the kids always need a ride somewhere, and the deadlines come faster than our emails we don’t want to look at.  It’s easy for everyday life to quickly become overwhelming and stressful. So, how are we supposed to keep ourselves sane?

Meditation!  You might imagine a bald monk, sitting cross-legged in a temple, repeating “Ommm” over and over again.  If that works for you, go for it! But for those of you that want to keep the lifestyle you already have, and still gain from the practice of meditation, here is your opportunity to do so.

Stacey Turis, aka #ADHD Superhero presents the Box It Out Meditation Challenge.   This is a two week challenge to show participants how easy, and beneficial it is to incorporate meditation into everyday, crazy life. Before you say “I don’t have time,” you only need 2 minutes a day.

There are 24 hours in one day, that’s 1,440 minutes, and all you need is TWO. Even if this means you lock yourself in the bathroom for two minutes, it’s worth it. Your brain and body are like a car; a nice, expensive, mid-life-crisis-convertible. Of course you value it, and want to keep it in the best shape possible. If you constantly use it, and don’t take the time to oil/gas/wash/change brakes/etc., it’s going to break down. Your body is the same; you need to oil the gears in your head.  This benefits everyone that owns a head, so ALL AGES welcome!

Here’s how it works:

Location:

Find a place you can relax without interruption. Maybe it’s after you dropped the kids off at school, or sitting in your car before you go into work. Maybe it’s even like I mentioned earlier, being locked in the bathroom for a couple minutes before you go to bed.

Position:

The position you meditate in is personal preference. You could be sitting cross-legged or in a chair, or even standing. Relax your body. Go down a mental checklist from head to toes, and consciously relax each muscle.

Box It Out:

No need for gloves or a speed bag. Follow the simple Box Meditation Exercise.

First set a timer for 2 minutes. Then, close your eyes and visualize a box. Starting on the left-bottom side, imagine traveling up the side of the box, inhaling as you count to 5.  As you go across the top of the box, hold that inhale for 5 counts. Now traveling downward, exhale for 5 counts. As you move across the bottom, hold that exhale for 5 counts. Start again from the beginning and repeat until the timer goes off.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER – You WILL have thoughts enter your mind and you WILL get distracted by noises because you are alive.  If this happens, acknowledge them and go back to visualizing your box and breathing – this is not a big deal, you are still meditating.

If you can’t focus long enough to make it all the way around the imaginary box, try using a visual aid such as the side of a tissue box, or the edge of a cabinet. Be careful though, don’t use something that already stresses you out (i.e. cell, computer).

Bing! Timer buzzes and you’re done meditating for the day! The next step is the hardest part, but it is possible.

Consistency:

It’s better to have a small amount of relaxation every day, than one large time period once a month. Think of it as clearing out your mail every day, instead of having to go through a giant pile all at once. Once you become more comfortable with the task, slowly increase the amount of time you spend meditating. Remember, you don’t have to sit still for an hour – even one minute is better than no minutes.

GO HERE TO START YOUR 14 DAY CHALLENGE!