How to Meditate Anywhere

How to meditate anywhere

Inhale, exhale, begin to quiet your mind. Beginning meditation can be as simple as that. So why are so many people intimidated by the thought of meditating? 

You don’t have to fully enlightened to meditate, and you don’t have to have a sacred space on top of a mountain. Meditation can be done anywhere and by anyone. And, let’s be honest, just about everyone has had an experience in their lives where they are out in public, and a quick meditation would be extremely helpful. 

So what exactly is meditation? According to Merriam Webster, to meditate is “ is to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one’s breathing or repetition of a mantra) to reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness”, yep, it’s that simple. Meditation brings your attention the here and now and helps get rid of the distractions that you’re constantly bombarded with. By slowing down and focusing on your breathing, you can let the rest of the world just melt away. It helps you pull your attention inward and truly be and feel, which in turn brings forth a sense of calm and control of your emotions.

You can stop and focus on your breathing just about anywhere, right? So, you can meditate just about anywhere! 

There are lots of meditation tools you can use to help facilitate your practice as well including:

Counting: As you focus on your breath, begin to count to twenty, one count accompanies one breath. (Example: Inhale 1, Exhale 2, Inhale 3, Exhale 4) Once you reach twenty, count to forty and slow your breathing down, only counting with every other breath. (Example Inhale,  Exhale 1, Inhale, Exhale 2) The mental counting helps you concentrate on your breathing. 

Body Scan: Imagine your at your desk and your inbox is piling up and you start to panic. Soften your gaze and deepen your breath and begin to cue your body to relax. Start from your forehead and work down your face and jaw, then move down your arms, torso, and legs. By the end of this practice, you will feel completely relaxed.

Paint a Mental Picture: Visualization can be a great way to meditate. As you close your eyes, imagine you are painting a rainbow on a big white canvas. Take your time to picture your paintbrush dipping into each color and pulling the line across the canvas until you have a complete rainbow. 

Mantras: You don’t have to know fancy Sanskrit words to create a mantra. As you breathe, internally repeat a mantra that makes sense for you. For example, you could say I am on your inhale, at peace on your exhale, or I can on your inhale, do this on your exhale. 

These are all types of meditation that you can do anywhere anytime. You can meditate when you need a five-minute break from your kids, after you have parked your car before you head into work, when you feel uncertain before an interview, or before bed to calm your mind. Meditation is a powerful tool that helps you create your own internal calm and peaceful space. I like to think of it as a superpower that keeps me grounded, in control, and able to handle anything life throws at me. 

So go meditate! Meditate at home, meditate in a park, at your desk, in your bed, literally anywhere.

**Please don’t meditate while driving, and choose a safe space where you are aware of your surroundings for safety reasons.**

About the author

Cassidy Ricalde always found healing powers in the movement of the body. Growing up as a classical dancer, she found yoga and barre to be a way to tie together body and soul. She completed her 200-hour Yoga-Teacher certification at Flow Yoga in DC and did an apprenticeship with Ease Yoga in Alexandria. You can find out about Cassidy here. 

How to Harness A Champion Mindset

A champion mindset is an approach to thinking that enables your dreams to be attainable and approachable instead of overwhelming. Having a positive mindset leads to positive behaviours  Here is a “champion process” broken down into seven steps. 

Step 1: Awareness of Self

Having awareness of self comes first because it enables you to know what you truly want. To gain awareness of self, start meditating five minutes a day and focus on your breath and let go of everything else. 

Step 2: Beliefs

Gone are the days when we lived our lives thinking we had to see it to believe it. Now we’re moving into the quantum field where you have to believe it to see it. This is known as Quantum manifestation.

To understand this, be mindful of what you believe. Check that your beliefs are in line with your goals, rather than opposing them, as that way you will move towards them.

Step 3: Daily Consciousness

Daily consciousness practices keep you in your champion mindset and include practising gratitude, exercise, and asking yourself important questions like, “What one thing can I do today, that will make a massive difference to my life?” 

For example, a typical morning routine for me looks like this: 

  • Meditate and practice yoga. 
  • Take a walk while repeating ‘I am statements’ (who I declare myself to be), my gratitudes, my affirmations.
  • I always ask myself, “What one decision or action can I do today that will massively improve my life?” 

Other useful questions to ask yourself are: is this the best use of my time right now? Is this where my expertise lies? Is this what will drive my business forward? 

I love asking myself, “How can my life get any better?” As your subconscious mind will always try and answer it with a better way forward.

Step 4: Unlock and Transform Self-limiting Beliefs

Limiting beliefs are often deeply imprinted from our childhood. Get started by becoming aware of what yours are. For example, look at when something you’ve tried to achieve hasn’t worked out (in any area of your life). You might need to gain more awareness. 

It is useful to listen to your self-talk, as our limiting beliefs often show up there. Change this inner talk to be kind and supportive of your goals and self. You might need help, such as from a coach, or a counsellor. Once you pinpoint and transform your self-limiting beliefs, you are on your way to freedom!

Step 5: The One Percent Rule (Tiny Improvements Daily)

The Japanese principle of Kaizen is the philosophy and science of constant and never-ending improvement (CANI), or betterment or refinement. It’s the idea that nothing is ever finished or declared perfect; there is always room for improvement. Naturally, a series of small incremental improvements over time adds up in the long run. 

You just need to make the tiniest improvement that takes no effort. Ask yourself, “how can I improve what I’m doing by one percent?” John Wooden, who’s considered one of the greatest NCAA basketball head coaches of all time, got his players to do this, and they went on to win many of their championships!

For example, do just one more sit up, do your five minutes of meditation a day or listen to audiobooks in the car. If the dream seems big, chunk it down to five minutes a day, as this removes the overwhelm and makes it easier to achieve. Then start to see the transformations in your life.

Step 6: Raising the Bar to Ridiculous Heights

We are far more powerful than we imagine and because a champion mindset is not linear or logical, rather quantum and instant, we can raise the bar to immense heights. 

Often, we set the bar so low that we achieve it — rather than listening to our inner champion and reaching higher to a goal we perceived as big, when in fact it is just a series of moments.

I implore you to take small steps towards your big goals, regularly (five days a week); doing that one percent more; and remember to consciously harness the self-talk, tools, and beliefs of your champion self. 

As Muhammad Ali stated, “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it — then I can achieve it.”

About the author
Rhiannon Rees is a human behavior expert and international high-performance coach helping CEOs, businesses, elite athletes, coaches and celebrities to redefine their level of success. Rhiannon is a best-selling author, thriving entrepreneur and a global speaker, whose personal sufferings led her to search for answers and into a 30-year study of human behavior. Compelled to help others, she has continued to invest in education in the fields of self-development, neuroscience and business. Rhiannon is founder of the Conscious Coaching Collective and has demonstrated success in creating champions. An accomplished expert in her field, Rhiannon was awarded Global Visionary of the Year 2021 by IAOTP.

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