{"id":39247,"date":"2019-10-03T07:19:35","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T11:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=39247"},"modified":"2019-10-02T07:21:40","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T11:21:40","slug":"meditation-6-things-ive-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2019\/10\/03\/meditation-6-things-ive-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"Meditation: 6 Things I&#8217;ve Learned"},"content":{"rendered":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">University can be an exciting time, but also a very stressful time. This week I bring you my story about the wonders of meditation.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have always found that there isn\u2019t much free time in university, my days are filled up with friends, classes, and clubs. If I\u2019m not doing that, then I should probably be studying. Personally, I need something to stabilize the stress and excitement I feel each day. This summer my mom noticed how anxious I was (yes during the summer ugh) and suggested I try meditation.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>What I Do<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"text-align: left\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">sit cross legged on my yoga mat, palms down, and eyes closed<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"text-align: left\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">breathe in for 5 seconds, breathe out for 5 seconds<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li>I count these deep breaths in groups of 10 (x5), but technically I do 50 breaths<\/li>\r\n \t<li>focus only on my breath (try to ignore other thoughts, be in the moment)<\/li>\r\n \t<li>afterward, I like to do 4 sun salutations just to get my blood pumping.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Note: in the summer I only did this on weekends, now I try to do it 4 times a week, with the goal of doing it every day.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0834.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-39250 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0834-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Me meditating.\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0834-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0834-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0834-768x768.jpg 768w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0834-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0834-448x448.jpg 448w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If I\u2019m having trouble focusing I like to put on a youtube meditation instead; it\u2019s nice to have a guide. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCN4vyryy6O4GlIXcXTIuZQQ\">This channel<\/a> uploads different exercises for specific moods, but it also offers different instructors, so you can choose whose voice you like the most too! Here's one of my favourite videos:<\/span>\r\n\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a-cNQDhP87w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>Six Things I\u2019ve Learned<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>1.<\/strong> It doesn\u2019t have to be in the morning, sometimes if I\u2019ve had a tough day, it is more useful for me to meditate at night.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>2.<\/strong> Meditation is about taking time for yourself, getting thoughts straight, recognizing how you feel about the events of the day, if they have passed or are still yet to happen. It is a way of being mindful.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>3.<\/strong> You don\u2019t need to meditate for half an hour, most people recommend ten minutes, but I personally think you need to work your way up to that even.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>4.<\/strong> It is important to allow certain thoughts to float through your head, you should focus on your breathing, but also allow yourself to feel without going down a rabbit hole.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>5.<\/strong> Meditation isn\u2019t the perfect cure for stress but it certainly helps me figure out what\u2019s going on in my head.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>6.<\/strong> If I'm stressed, sometimes the best thing I can do is take a couple deep breaths.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meditation has allowed me to feel accomplished in a wonderful way. Since I am doing it for myself, I am the only one who can recognize my achievements. There is no competition in meditation because it is about your own self-regulation and wellbeing.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0821.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-39251 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0821-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Art of Meditation ancient egyptian proverb quote.\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0821-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0821-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0821-768x768.jpg 768w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0821-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2019\/10\/IMG_0821-448x448.jpg 448w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes I find myself thinking that I don\u2019t have time to meditate with my busy schedule, but that is exactly why meditation is so important. We all need time to reflect and press pause for a few moments.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I encourage you to try taking a few deep and mindful breaths tomorrow morning before you start your day. Remember to be gentle with yourself and others.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nUniversity can be an exciting time, but also a very stressful time. This week I bring you my story about the wonders of meditation.\u00a0 I have always found that there isn\u2019t much free time in university, my days are filled&hellip;\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2019\/10\/03\/meditation-6-things-ive-learned\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Meditation: 6 Things I&#8217;ve Learned&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2019\/10\/03\/meditation-6-things-ive-learned\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Meditation: 6 Things I&#8217;ve Learned&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":376,"featured_media":39248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7204,62,1,58,67],"tags":[318,15677,1882,1439,9376,441],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39247"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39247"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39257,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39247\/revisions\/39257"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}