“I can’t meditate…”

“My mind is never still.”

How many times have I heard that, a few. It’s like never running and saying you can’t run a marathon so you aren’t a runner, well… of course. Putting on a timer for 10 minutes and expecting your mind to just turn off because you said so is unrealistic to say the least. Mindfulness is a muscle, it takes time, practice, patience, consistency. 

So, what can you do? Just stop with the excuses. In particular ‘I don’t have enough time’. There is an old zen saying : “You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Unless you’re too busy, then you should sit for an hour.” Also, when you meditate often, things that take up more time, often take less. Forgetting your keys, reacting in a conversation, to name a couple. These things could disperse, or at the very least, improve, with your practice.

Start small, start somewhere. 5 minutes. Choose a time of day that works for you, many like the morning- great way to start your day, before the chaos of life begins. If that doesn’t work, try a time that you can manage consistently. There are an abundance of free courses and material online you can access. I personally love ‘Insight Timer’ . It’s an app, a free app. There is the option to pay if you’d like to download the meditations to your device. There are hundreds of thousands of meditations on there. To begin I’d recommend a 6 week course like the Mindful app (finding peace in a frantic world). The first week is free then it’s a small one-off fee after that. 

Make a commitment to stick at it for 6 weeks, daily. Maybe journal, if you can make time. See if you notice a difference in your being, your life.