6 Simple Meditation Hacks to Help You Meditate Better

Let me just start by saying, the fact that you actually clicked through to this post and didn’t run from the word “meditation” is a good start. Proud of you.

Coming from someone who has a million thoughts running through her brain at all times, I get it – Meditation has become a big scary thing that we all know we need to do, but we’re scared to death of the thought of sitting in silence for more than 3 seconds. But I promise meditating doesn’t have to be overwhelming (especially considering it’s supposed to have the opposite effect).

Meditation is widely known for helping with stress relief, something we can all benefit from in these crazy times. Society has somehow hardwired us to be constantly stressed, and then we label it as “busy,” “successful” and “productive.” WTF?

Stress increases the levels of cortisol in our brain and is the number one cause of inflammation, sleep loss, anxiety, and depression. Aside from that, feeling stressed out doesn’t exactly put us in the headspace to take the best care of our bodies. So before you order Chick-fil-A on Uber Eats for the third time this week, take a few minutes to give one of these meditation hacks a try.

1. Make a Date with Meditation and Stick to It

How could you fall in love with someone if you blew off every date you had planned with them? You wouldn’t, and they’d probably egg your car.

It’s the same thing with meditation. You have to be consistent, and this is easiest when you commit to a schedule. Where in your day do you have time to incorporate 10 minutes to sit quietly, uninterrupted? Before you say “ugh Alex, I don’t have any time,” shut up because yes you do.

Pick one: in the morning before you get up, right after work, or before bed. Meditation after work/before bed is helpful to settle the mind and process the day. But my new personal favorite time to meditate is in the morning. Our brains are operating in a theta-wavelength state when we first wake up, so our subconscious is more malleable and accessible at this time (#science). So instead of hitting the 9-minute snooze on your iPhone, you could be setting yourself up to have a calmer day! How bout that?

Decide what time of day works best for you, and commit to it. Literally, put it in your Google calendar. Show up to the date. Start with three times a week and see how that goes. Adjust as necessary!

2. Get Familiar with a Meditation App

This does NOT mean download 3 meditation apps and then never open them again. There are tons of helpful apps out there that will make your meditation experience 100x easier, but it’s important to familiarize yourself with them BEFORE you want to sit down and meditate.

There’s nothing worse than wasting the precious time you set aside for meditation on browsing through an app and ending up overwhelmed. I highly recommend the app Insight Timer, this is the one I use daily! Spend some time browsing through the thousands of free meditations and favoriting them so you can come back to them later.

Here are a few of my favorite meditations on Insight Timer to get you started:

For before bed:

• Moon Connection by Jason McGrice
• Bone Deep Sleep by Jennifer Piercy (love all of her stuff)
• Relax into Sleep by Mary Maddux

For getting your day started:

• Creativity & Imagination Meditation by Albert Flynn DeSilver
• Learning To Surrender by Sarah Blondin
• Morning Meditation by Andrew Martin

A few other notable apps are Headspace and Calm. I personally haven’t used these as much, but get familiar with them to decide which app is right for you! All of them have free versions, courses, and subscription options.

3. Swap Scrolling for Meditating

Do you find yourself randomly crashing onto the bed or couch and laying there for 10 minutes scrolling social media in the middle of the day? Meditate then. Do you sit in the car on your phone for a few minutes after pulling into the driveway just to get some alone time? Meditate then. These are often the times our brain is begging for a break, and that’s exactly what meditation provides.

Social media scrolling has become a mindless boredom fix for when we don’t want to face our to-do list. I’m just as guilty of it as anyone. But in most cases, the outcome of a good old-fashioned IG scroll is less than beneficial. In fact, we usually only close out the app once we feel annoyed by someone’s post or even more bored than we were to begin with. What’s the point?

Next time you find yourself wanting to scroll, I challenge you to this: Open your meditation app, pick a quick 5-10 minute guided meditation that you’ve already saved, and listen in. You’ll feel so much more refreshed afterward than you would have by just watching TikToks.

4. Get Outside

Meditation doesn’t always have to mean sitting with your eyes closed in silence and stillness (although that is 10/10 beneficial). It can also mean going for walk outside, getting into a quiet flow state, or sitting and watching the world go by.

Next time you’re craving some solidarity or feeling tense, try heading out for some fresh air. It doesn’t hurt that you’ll get the mood-boosting benefits from your daily dose of natural Vitamin D (hello sunshine) within 10-15 minutes outside!

So grab the dog and your headphones and take a nice long walk while listening to a guided meditation. Walking is a relatively involuntary action, so you’ll be able to get into a focused meditative state pretty easily as you listen along. Or try sitting on your patio or finding a spot to relax at a park. Notice the breeze on your skin, the leaves on the trees, the sounds around you, and the clouds as they move. Bonus points for walking through grass with bare feet for some serious grounding!

5. Try a Breathwork Exercise

When was the last time you actually paid attention to what your breath felt like? One of my favorite meditation hacks is to do a simple breathwork exercise. Breath is the most powerful tool we have, and we don’t even realize it! Breathing deeply actually changes our physiology (how cool is that?) to bring us into a calmer state, naturally.

Next time you’re feeling tense or want to meditate without the whole process, try one of the following breathwork techniques:

• 5-5-7 Breathing – take a deep breath in for a count of 5, hold for another 5, and release slowly for a count of 7. Repeat a few times to start (start with 2 rounds, and increase over time to 6 – or however many you need) and notice how much more peaceful you feel!
• Box Breathing – this is another simple technique that focuses on the same length inhale and exhale, with the same length pauses. For example, breathe in for a count of 4, hold for 4, release slowly for 4, and then pause for 4 before you inhale again and start over.
• Just take a big ole breath – here’s the easiest one of all. Close your eyes and breathe in as deeeeeeply as you can, and let it go with a nice big sigh. Ahhhhh.

If you’d like to really zen out with some breathwork, there are plenty of breathwork exercises on YouTube and Insight Timer too!

6. Use Essential Oils

There’s more to essential oils than just good smells and hippy things. Let me drop some science on you real quick: emotions are stored in the limbic system, and the only way to access this part of your brain is through your sense of smell. By inhaling specific scents from pure essential oils, we can access and release areas of the body that are holding onto stress and emotions. *insert head exploding emoji*

I’ve been using essential oils for over a year now to help me naturally move past emotions. Here’s a quick cheat sheet for which oils are best for which emotions:

• Frankinsense – helps alleviate feelings of anger and anxiety
• Lavender – helps to calm the body down and prepare for sleep
• Peace & Calming – when you need a cozy hug, reach for this oil
• Joy – the perfect oil for when you’re feeling down or sad
• Valor – helps promote feelings of confidence and courage
• Stress Away – helps when you’re overwhelmed or anxious
• Sara – the queen of emotional support, for when you’re feeling frustrated or stuck
• Release – helps you let go of feelings or emotions that are holding you back

I put together this “Meditation Favorites” bundle to make it super easy for you to grab any (or all) of these oils! If you have any questions about essential oils or Young Living, I would be more than happy to help! Shoot me a quick email alex@namastebythebay.com or a DM on Instagram!

Most importantly, make it your own.

The most important thing to remember about meditating is to make it your own. It’s a time to tune in with yourself and reset. I know that new things can be hard and intimidating and that sitting with your thoughts can be a lot to handle. But you don’t have to spend 30 minutes sitting in silence, start small with a few minutes once a day and know that you’re not alone in this! That’s why there are apps to help!

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, and take this time for what it is: a few moments of solace from the overstimulating world we live in.

Keep coming back to this practice and I promise it will pay off. You won’t be “good at meditating” right off the bat, but listen, that’s OKAY. Spending a little time with yourself is never a bad thing!

What are your favorite ways to meditate or best tips and tricks? I’d love to hear more in the comments!