Transform Your Mind and Body: 30 Days of Practice

You have most likely heard something about mindfulness and meditation, yoga, or all of the above, and their ability to transform your mind and body. Coming into 2021, we still hear about how people maintained healthy habits in COVID-19 quarantine. Even I wrote on this topic about a year ago. In the midst of the numerous stressors that 2020 provided (pandemic, political, lifestyle, etc.) many of us craved relief. We craved relief from the stress and compassion fatigue. We needed a break from the heightened emotions, and the chaos that seemed to loom at every turn.

Some of us chose to exercise more, and some turned to baking more bread. Others took to arguing with strangers on Facebook, and some chose to stress-eat a pint of ice cream. One method that proved to be very helpful for many, was enacting a new practice of yoga, mindfulness, and meditation. By the time you read this, I will have completed my own 30-day experiment of these practices. I committed to 30-days of a new and focused routine: 10 minutes of yoga every morning, followed by a 5-minute guided meditation with positive affirmations. The outcome has been outstanding.

Upon embarking on this 30-day journey, I was not completely new to yoga or meditation. I was, however never consistent with either of them in the past. Finally, I gave myself the challenge and commitment to stick with it for 30-days. I decided that 10-15 minutes every morning was a small sacrifice to potentially gain some of the numerous health benefits.

Little did I know, that I would fall in love with the practice.

15 minutes a day began to transform my mind and body

10-minutes of yoga, and 5-minutes of meditation jump-started my morning, my body, and my mind. This practice helped to pull me out of my miserable morning fatigue. It helped me replace my miserable mood with a mindful, meaningful intention. On top of that, it made my body feel great (even before coffee!).

Now, I have never been a fan of eating in the mornings. Supposedly it’s the “most important meal of the day.” I just have never been able to stomach food before 10:00am. (My theory is that my body physically rejects early mornings, but that’s not backed by science yet). However, after my new, mindful, morning routine, I developed a hefty appetite and would devour a healthy portion of avocado toast and two eggs with fervor. This meant my morning-resistant body was finally getting some nutrients beyond a piece of gluten-free toast to start the day!

Another exciting development was that I really came to love practicing both yoga and meditation. This new adoration was to the point that almost every day, I would also do a 30-60 minute yoga video, and a 15-20 minute meditation in the evening, in addition to my 15-minute morning practice. Soon, I started taking afternoon walks while listening to mindfulness podcasts and started absorbing all sorts of new lessons related to these topics. I was excited! Yoga and meditation, paired with peaceful podcast walks, got my body moving, my mind flourishing, and my happy hormones functioning again. Outstanding!

What About the Science Behind Yoga and Meditation?

While I obviously found great personal benefits to the daily practice of yoga and meditation, it seems that there is scientific backing to suggest that these benefits are accessible to everyone. (Please read the following sentence in a cheesy commercial narrator’s voice): You too can transform your mind and body with only 15 minutes a day!

Yoga has been shown to be helpful for individuals with anxiety and depression, and is proven to reduce stress. In the current state of affiars, I am still not comfortable going to a gym due to COVID, so I’ve explored online resources from home. I really love watching the videos by “Yoga with Kassandra” on Youtube. She is calm, clear, and easy to follow along with, no matter your level of skill. Kassandra has a wealth of yoga videos at varying levels on her channel, and I highly recommend checking it out. You have to start somewhere! The benefits of yoga are so numerous, that it is quite worth trying at least once if you haven’t before. If you want to transform your mind and body, you might as well start today!

In one of my peaceful podcast walks, I listened to Untangled- Living Mindfully: What Happens When You Meditate Every Day for a Full Year? which interviewed Shannon Harvey. Shannon, hoping to address both autoimmune and mental health issues, took on a challenge of her own. She chose to meditate every day for 365 days, beginning with shorter durations, increasing as she went along. The entire time, she partnered with various scientists who monitored her stress hormones, immune function, cellular aging, and gene expression among other factors. The outcome and results of her experiment were surprisingly impactful! To watch Shannon’s full documentary, visit her website to see the viewing options.

What’s the Difference Between Mindfulness and Meditation?

Often, we hear the words “mindfulness and meditation” phrased together. That’s because they go together like two peas in a pod, but they are not the same thing, exactly. Mindfulness is a state of being, whereas meditation is the exercise that makes mindfulness stronger. To practice meditation (as a mental work-out) is to strengthen your ability to utilize mindfulness.

To explore some introductory guided meditations, visit the Headspace app, Calm app, or type in “guided mindfulness meditation” on Youtube. I do not recommend paying for any of their “premium” upgrades unless you just really want to. I operate on a minuscule budget, and therefore will continue to exclusively utilize the free samples on the apps, and the free resources on Youtube (#ballinonabudget).

With the foundation built by my guided meditations, I have been able to practice mindfulness more intentionally in my daily routines. When I wake up, I take a moment to focus on the feeling of my soft bedding. When I go on my walks, I might close my eyes to really feel the breeze on my skin. Through the 30-day practice of yoga, I have begun to transform my mind and body. I have an increased awareness of and control over my breathing. I am now more attuned to my body’s physical signs of stress, and therefore better-equipped to calm things down. My mindfulness practice has already boosted my awareness in difficult conversations; instead of allowing my stress to overwhelm me and my heart rate to rise, I focus on my breath and work to slow things down so that I can remain calm.

Stillness has been a beautiful outcome of this yoga and meditation practice. Transform your mind and body with stillness, and awareness.

I recently wrote about the challenges that we face when trying to be still. Now I know that yoga and meditation are excellent ways to improve upon this goal. On top of that, they are enjoyable! I am a huge advocate for finding exercise that is fun for you. I’ve always found joy and exuberance in cycling, hiking, and walking. Now we can add yoga and meditation to the list!

Exercise should be fun. It shouldn’t be a thing that we “have to” do, but a thing that we “get to” do.

In moments of fatigue, or lackluster motivation, I have found renewal through this reminder: it is a blessing to be able to move my body. I am so thankful for a body that can pedal a bicycle, muscles that can hold a downward-facing-dog, and legs and feet which can carry me up mountains. For those of you who are able to exercise without issue, take joy in that! Revel in the miracle that is your moving body, and your healing mind.

One of my positive affirmations from my morning meditation is, “I am calm, and centered.” This was the affirmation of day 1, but is one which I have repeated to myself ever since.

“I am calm, and centered.”

My self-experiment of 30-days of yoga and meditation led to a new love, and a new path to further healing. I am calm and centered. I plan to continue my practice every day, challenge or no challenge. As with any exercise or practice, there is still a long road to mastery, but my journey with these therapeutic tools has just begun. If you hope to transform your mind and body, I hope that you will explore yoga and meditation for yourself. I hope that by doing so, you will find your own journey of joyful healing, and transformation.

Namaste.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it! The more readers I have, the easier it is for me to create more content for you, which I so love to do! Please feel free to leave me a comment and tell me what your plans are to transform your mind and body! Much love.