This past week, I tried to meditate for 30 minutes every day, emphasis on the word tried. 

Before last week, I had never tried meditating. I always imagined it as a sacred practice that had many intricate steps to reach a peak state of mindfulness. 

As I started to look into it, I found that meditating can be as simple or complicated as the meditator wants it to be. Researching led me to find that there were many different types of meditation, with certain types being more beneficial than others.

Mindful meditation is based around observing the thoughts that pass through your mind, while focused meditation is more about using your senses to concentrate. Meditation doesn’t have to be limited in movement either. 

Different meditation styles such as movement meditation focus on moving as a way of being more aware of your surroundings. Another way of meditation that can have movement or be still is guided meditation, which has an instructor following you through the practice, helping you to focus on reaching a mindful state. Meditation is something different to everyone; it’s not one set thing all of the time. It’s more about figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

For me, trying to sit in a comfortable position and relaxing my breathing into a natural state came quite naturally. I turned my lights off, sat criss-crossed on my bedroom floor, and closed my eyes. 

What I found difficult was clearing my mind and trying to have zero thoughts in my head. Every time I tried to focus on nothing, I kept thinking about lunch conversations with my friends or a quiz that was stressing me out. Concentration was a big weakness going into this practice.

Concentrating on anything for long periods has never been one of my strengths. So when I sat down to meditate, thoughts and images just flooded into my head. For a few minutes though, I was able to reach a state of mind where my mind was blank and clear of any worries. This peaceful state never lasted long with all of my thoughts rushing back into my head.

Meditating made it so that I could take a break out of my day and not have to worry about the little details for a while. Being a student athlete and an older brother to three younger siblings, my life is constantly filled with stressful activities. Having this relaxing break made me realize that I shouldn’t stress myself out with small chores or schoolwork as much as I had before. In fact, meditating taught me that whenever I feel stressed, to just take a step back, breathe and focus on what is really important in my life.