In honor of National Meditation Month, on this first day of May, I want to share with you my personal experiences with meditation, how it has changed my life, and the practice I use on a daily basis. I remember not too long ago when I was a kid, my mom would tell us every morning and every evening that she was going to the back room to meditate. At this time, meditation still seemed very woo-woo and strange. In fact, my dad and I would tease her, asking her what she really did back behind those closed doors. Though I didn’t understand what it truly was at the time, I have been aware of the importance of a meditation practice for the majority of my life, and I am so grateful for it.

Even with this long history of meditation in my life, I didn’t decide to incorporate the practice into my own life until pretty recently. While in my 200-hour yoga teacher training, I started to hear more about meditation, my teacher preached the benefits, my classmates discussed their practices, and I began to realize that this practice that my mom had been doing for years wasn’t so foreign or woo-woo at all, it was legitimate; it was a true way of life.

Now, I meditate everyday, twice a day. It is a true part of my daily routine like brushing my teeth or eating meals. Since incorporating my meditation practice into my life I have noticed:

• A stronger connection to myself and to the world
• More self-confidence and self-awareness
• Less stress and anxiety
• A deeper sense of knowing and stronger intuition
• Stronger feeling of guidance and living life in the flow
• Confidence to say no to people, places, and things that don’t serve me
• Clarity to know what I want
• Drive to go after what I want
• Willingness to forgive and release those who have hurt me
• Surrender to the unknown
• Find peace with my physical form

…to name a few.

If you are new to meditation, take it day by day. Spend a minute of silence each morning before getting on with your day. My teacher Gabby Bernstein always says to those who say they don’t have time to meditate, “Do you have time to feel like shit?” And it’s true. Take the time for you, for your practice, so that you can be the best version of yourself daily. Don’t try to be the best or compare your practice with others. Cultivate the practice that works and feels good for you. When you’re intimately involved in your daily practice, you want to practice it, and you enjoy the time spent in stillness. You grow to truly love and cherish it.

If you already have a meditation practice, I would love to hear your daily rituals and routines in the comments below!

Happy meditating!

xoxo, Michelle

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Michelle is Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life's Creative Director and resident writer. She has a degree in Journalism from Indiana University and is also a certified holistic health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and registered yoga teacher with trainings with Anuttara Yoga Shala and Strala Yoga. Michelle has a deep desire to help people find happiness in all areas of their lives, and truly believes the Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life movement will bring lasting change to the world. Michelle splits her time between Florida and New York City and loves connecting with people from all over the world. If you'd like to contact her, she can be reached at 

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