Mindful Musings

A 100-day meditation challenge. 

Being immersed in the fitness and nutrition world, I am well aware of how much time and energy people put into not only working on their goals but also pontificating about whether they need to be following this or that protocol from the newest guru. 

It seems like more often than not, a lot more effort goes into jumping from one bandwagon to another without enough time being spent getting after it and actually making progress towards a goal. 

We all want the assurance that we are doing the right thing; picking the right path means hopefully saving a lot of time on the journey to our goals. 

With all this time being spent on our fitness and nutrition goals, there’s not a lot of effort or energy left being put towards strengthening our minds.

"Mens sana in corpore sano” - A healthy mind in a healthy body.

The mind and body work together as one and most often becoming healthier in one aspect will benefit the health of the other. We all know that mental health is a hugely important subject that’s not to be taken for granted and it’s the small steps in mindfulness and mindset challenges that can lead to positive outcomes for both mental and physical health. 

I’m starting a meditation journey and I want you all to consider starting your own mindset challenge in addition to the physical goals you have for yourself this year. 

My current goal is to meditate for at least 20 minutes a day for the next 100 days. 

Ok, I’ll admit that I’ve got a bit of a head start since I’m already 16 days into it, but that doesn’t really matter since it’s the journey and not the end point that really counts. 

It’s been more than half a year since I’ve meditated consistently for a long stretch and in the past, I don’t believe that I’ve completed many consecutive sessions of at least 20 minutes per day. I’ve gotten over the 100-day mark in the past but many of the sessions during that rally were only around the 10-12 minute mark. 

As research and experienced meditation practitioners attest to, the magic of mindfulness really happens when your sessions run at least 20 minutes. 

While it is beneficial, you don't necessarily have to practice meditation to build a stronger mindset. Wim Hof, the Iceman, invited everyone along with a cold shower challenge at the start of January which includes forcing yourself to relax into a few minutes of showering with the tap fully turned down each day. 

There are many ways that you can strengthen your mind for better health and well-being. 

How many of you have a regular mindfulness practice? If you think you can benefit from your own mindfulness journey, leave a comment below and let me know what kind of challenge you commit yourself to.