Meditation for Busy People: 3 Real Ways to Fit Meditation Into Your Crazy Day
If you’re looking for the secret to squeezing meditation into your already packed schedule, you probably get frustrated when you click on an article with a title like this one, and the author tells you to “just” do your 20-minute meditation first thing in the morning.
The truth is, when you feel busy and overwhelmed, meditation is probably the last thing on your mind. 20 minutes might sound like time better spent tackling your to-do list. If you’re not a morning person, that 20 minutes might be better spent getting more sleep.
I’ve got good news for you: meditation doesn’t have to be a formal affair. Especially when you’re just starting to add meditation to your routine, you can fit it in throughout the day, and every moment counts. Once you let go of a formal, timed practice of a certain duration, meditation becomes more approachable.
My daily practice is no longer confined to a class schedule, or my yoga mat, or whatever well-intentioned time I had tried to set aside in my calendar – I practice all day, every day. While I sometimes enjoy longer, more formal meditations, I more often enjoy bite-sized meditation “snacks” throughout the day.
Here are three ways you can fit meditation into your schedule, no matter how busy you are:
Whenever you remember throughout the day, notice if your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth. Take a deep breath, and let your tongue soften towards the bottom of your mouth. If you have an extra minute, start to explore any areas of tension in your face (for me, my jaw and the spot between my eyebrows are often tense) and try to encourage a little more softness in those areas.
Anytime you arrive somewhere a few minutes early, sit in the car and set a timer for 5 minutes. Do a guided meditation or just watch your breath flow in and out. (Dani March’s Refuge meditation on Insight Timer is my go-to 5-minute meditation, and the app also has a timer feature if you prefer to be on your own.)
Before you go to bed, turn on a guided meditation for sleep (Insight Timer has plenty), or take a few minutes to notice your breath and any sensations in your body. This is especially helpful if you have trouble falling asleep – the guided meditations always knock me out before the end. (My teacher Sally Miller’s Mapping the Meridians are my favorite nighttime meditations. Insight Timer has several options as well as a “sleep” setting that will stop the meditation for you if you fall asleep before it’s over.) Too tired to meditate? Don’t. If you feel tired enough to go straight to sleep, your body needs sleep, not meditation.
Your practice should bring you joy and make your life better, so if it’s making you miserable, don’t do it! If sitting for a 20-minute meditation feels like a chore and drags you down, skip it. Try the practices I described above, and maybe meditation will start to feel like a treat instead.
