My Week: The Power of Yoga and Meditation
By: Sadie Lee
Tags: Health, Challenge, Yoga, Mental Health, Meditation

I have OCD and ADHD. What does that mean? It means you have no excuse! But seriously, let’s make this the last “self-help” article you read about the benefits of yoga and meditation!

Obviously, you know this stuff is good for you. Unless you’re Patrick Star and grew up under a rock, we all know yoga and meditation has a slew of benefits. I was able to scrape together 20 minutes every day to make my mental health a priority and you can too!

I started with a 10–15 minute yoga session and finished off with a 5 Minute Guided meditation:

Monday Night

Before:

I don't want to do it. Hence why I am procrastinating this Yoga Meditation and writing in Medium instead. I am going to do some laundry and check back…

After:

…I feel incredibly antsy. Possibly more so. Maybe I am more aware of feeling antsy? I don’t feel better. I don’t feel worse.

Pexels: Pixabay

Tuesday Night

Before:

I am feeling less annoyed about doing this tonight. I am not wanting to do it. But I am also not dreading it.

After:

It was much more relaxing than last night. During the meditation point, I felt very peaceful and I almost thought about doing the 10 minutes one too! Plus my partner joined me, which was nice.

Wednesday Night

Before:

I didn’t feel like doing yoga again tonight. But I was excited about the meditation.

After:

My partner joined me again. I think he is getting roped into my routine without realizing it! This is very beneficial because he struggles with some anxiety himself. I think the fact we are doing it together is a great sign!

Pexels: cottonbro

Thursday Night

Before: Nada.

After: Zip.

I thought about lying to you in this post and saying that I did it on Thursday. But the truth is I didn’t. I wanted to include this reality because I think if we try and do everything too extreme and then beat ourselves up for not meeting an expectation we are setting ourselves up for failure. So Friday? I got right back up on my horse.

Friday Night

Before:

I actually could not wait to meditate. I was less excited about the yoga.

After:

I felt so much better afterwards. My partner joined me again. He likes the rhythm of it. He says he feels nicely stretched out and more flexible afterwards. He also said that he “can’t turn my brain off” during the meditation.

Pexels: Cottonbro

Saturday Night

Before:

This time my partner reminded me about yoga!

After:

Afterwards, we felt really relaxed and ready for bed. The next morning I was driving in my car and noticed I actually felt more relaxed and calm. I was less anxious and I also felt like my thoughts were not moving a mile a minute.

Sunday

Before:

I had finished with a long walk and was excited to stretch out, but mostly excited to meditate!

After:

I was actually excited about being done with the whole challenge. I shared some of my observations and thoughts below!

Thoughts

I don’t think I will do yoga every day. I like writing, running, walking, and I don’t have time to squeeze yoga into my daily routine. I think I will treat myself to a longer yoga session every Sunday morning though. Maybe crank the heat and make a mango smoothie and just relax into the Sunday morning with some self-care.

I absolutely want to keep meditating. I am terrified of being bored and having to do 10 minutes every day. But I also think I am ready for the 5-minute increase. Meditation is not a fitness hobby. It’s mental health maintenance and I need to add this to my daily routine.

Running, yoga, and meditating every day has helped my mental health so much. I think this year is the year to utilize everything mental health experts are saying, and do those things to the fullest. This challenge showed me it is possible to incorporate into my routine.

I think yoga is so enjoyable and I want to add it to my self-care weekly unwind routine. I think, especially after a run!

Meditation and yoga helped some of my restless thoughts. I found it was easier to relax in-between sessions. It's something I want to keep working at and I think everyone would benefit from even a five-minute practice like I did!