Thursday Thoughts: You Shouldn’t Be Meditating First Thing In the Morning

I can’t tell you the number of times I have tried to stick to a morning meditation routine and failed. I’m highly motivated by all the research and stories of how morning meditation can improve mood and focus, relieve stress and pretty much change your life.

But here’s the thing: any time I try, I don’t personally experience any of those benefits. In fact, it just seems to make everything worse. I won’t bore you with all the details, but I give up on it pretty quickly because I ain’t no fool. There are enough other ways that I irritate myself in a day and I don’t need to add morning meditation to that list.

So why do I think you shouldn’t be meditating first thing in the morning?

First of all, if you aren’t already doing it, then you’re probably not going to wake up tomorrow and be the type of person that will suddenly stick to a morning meditation practice. Maybe one day, but for some reason, it’s just not happening for you right now. Your morning routine is hectic, or disorganized or you work shift or your bladder won’t cooperate or… something. I want to say that I understand and I support your lack of morning meditation.

I believe you will receive greater benefits from meditating later in the day.

Let’s take a look at the typical day for the typical person and the typical issues that come with that. Most people wake up earlier than they would like and are instantly greeted with obligations. They commute to a sedentary job and stare at a screen. Later, they commute home only to spend their evening staring at a different screen. The result is often a person who feels tired and stressed and complains about a pain in their neck, shoulders, back, hips or somewhere else. I’m not sold on the idea that sitting for 5 minutes before work is going to help this no matter how much the wellness podcasters tell us it will.

I propose a different solution: an evening meditation.

Ground breaking, I know. But bear with me while I attempt to sell you on all the benefits.

1. Tension relief
   Sitting at a desk all day creates tension in the jaw, neck, chest, arms and hips. A supine meditation relieves this tension by resetting the posture lying flat on the floor and providing and opportunity for rest.
2. Pain relief and posture support
   Sitting in a chair creates poor alignment and weakens back muscles. A seated meditation on a cushion builds these muscles to reduce pain. Apologies in advance for the sore muscles you will have as you develop the core integrity required to sit upright. I promise it is worth it!
3. Reduces swelling in the feet and legs
   Sitting, standing and commuting can all cause swelling in the lower extremeties. A supine or legs-up-the-wall meditation gives the body an opportunity to filter out this swelling and leave you feeling lighter.
4. Energy support
   If you feel drained when you get home from work, meditation provides and opportunity to uplug and refresh. FYI: for some, dozing off during meditation is a wonderful benefit of supine meditation, but for others this disrupts night time sleep so they prefer to sit up.
5. Stress relief
   Mornings are hectic, work is nuts and then we come home and keep stressing ourselves. A consistent practice not only helps us recover from stress, but helps us to feel less bothered throughout the day. It’s a one-two punch of recovering more easily from life events, and finding life less stressful to begin with.
6. Improved sleep
   I saved the best for last! In my personal opinion, meditating for the purpose of improved sleep is going to get you the best bang for your buck. As a yoga therapist, sleep is my specialty and I LOVE to see the results my clients get from incorporating a meditation for sleep in to their routine. It can be a traditional meditation, guided relaxation hypnosis, tapping or any other style that you find helps you drift off to sleep. Yoga nidra is always my go-to, but at the end of the day, the one that you like the most is the one that you are going to stick to.
   For guided practices check out:
   Yoga nidra audio – Playlist here
   Sleep and relaxation practices – Playlist here

TL;DR Since I have given up on morning meditation and started practicing in the evening, I have had less back, less tension, less stress and better sleep. Yahoo!