When I first heard about meditating, I truly did not think I could do it. I have a very active mind- always talking (to myself or whoever would listen) and thought I would feel too restless sitting still and “getting quiet.”

The first time I sat still for a few minutes and tried to “think of nothing, and empty my mind,” it lasted about a millisecond, and then I think I fell asleep. That was the only meditation experience I encountered for awhile.

Then several years later I learned some different meditation techniques that felt more “my style” for an active mind like myself. I’ll share these momentarily.

The first key item to point out is WHY would you self love rockstars would want to meditate? What is the purpose of it? Well, grasshopper glad you asked- here are a few great reasons to meditate:

• First, nothing bad has ever come from meditating!
• Second, learning to quiet the mind opens up a deeper level of communication with ourselves and our inner wisdom
• Third, when it comes to self love, the best way to connect and send ourselves love is through meditation and being still
• Fourth, meditation can help with addictions, stress, self destructive thoughts and behaviors, and much more
• Fifth, as evolving beings, meditation helps you to grow at an accelerated pace
• Sixth, one of the best ways to learn who you truly are (and then accept yourself) is through meditation
• Seventh if you still need incentive, it will help you be a more relaxed, confident, happy person- and more fun to be around

Okay, now that we covered WHY all of us self love rockstars benefit from meditating, the next important question is which style best suits you? Here is an overview of a few kinds of meditation (keep in mind this is a huge topic so we’re mentioning a few of the most popular methods here). All meditations involve sitting up comfortably (or lying down) with eyes closed. Also keep in mind meditation can be for as short as 5 minutes or as long as you need. Here we go:

1. Breath Meditation- Focus on your breath. Simply notice when you are inhaling and exhaling and concentrating solely on that. Another variation to this is counting (up to any number for example 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) while inhaling, and then either holding for a few counts or exhaling and count in descending order (for example 5, 4, 3, 2, 1)

2. Love and Gratitude Meditation- Place your hand over your heart and imagine light/love flowing in through your heart in and out circulating through your body and healing with love as it goes. Focus on a handful of items you feel gratitude about. Do not overthink this- whatever comes to your mind works (when all else fails think of nature or a tree)

3. Spiritual Meditation- Similar to Meditation #2, you can also place your hand over your heart during this meditation. As you inhale repeat whatever your name for God is (preferably something with an “Ah” sound if possible as it opens the heart) or simply breath in “Ah” and imagine a white light coming from the top of your head flowing all the way through you healing everything and down through your toes into the earth. Then repeat

4. Sound Meditation- Select any song you like (can be instrumental or a favorite song with lyrics you love) and put on repeat. As you listen to the song over and over you will automatically enter into a state of meditation and calm..

5. Guided Meditations- For you lazy rockstars! Just kidding, we love these guided meditations. Tons of free resources are available via YouTube, or you can also purchase one you like through iTunes. Here are some of our favorites:
   • Louise Hay Morning Meditation (24 minutes)
   • Abraham Hicks General Guided Meditation (15 minutes)
   • Glenn Harrold Solfeggio Meditation (Select one from the list)
   • Vortex-Success Happiness Hypnosis (1 hour) This is a subliminal meditation so all you hear is music but positive messages play at a low volume for your subconscious
   • Open Your 3rd Eye in 15 minutes by Meditational State
   • Boost Your Happiness by Thomas Hall
   • 5 Minute Miracle Meditation (5 minutes)

One of the biggest keys to meditating is that there is no “right way” to do it. Also there is no goal except to relax. If you fall asleep, that is okay. If emotions come up, that is okay, let them come.. If you feel bored, that is okay. It is ALL okay and part of the self love and acceptance journey we are on. Once you give meditation a chance, you will want to incorporate it into your daily ritual, and you will see that even only 5 minutes a day makes a big difference! The challenge for this week self love rockstars…. Is to meditate (or try a new style of meditating if you already have a practice) and share your favorites (or questions)! Giddy up rockstars!!!

Author: Amy Carpentieri