Hello and welcome! 👋 I thought I’d start an thread here and say hello and allow everyone to introduce themselves. I’ll start. I live in South-Western Canada. I’ve been meditating for over 15 years now. I don’t feel like this is any kind of accomplishment but more like a habit that keeps me healthy. Over the years I’ve found that many of my non-meditating friends have said it’s too intimidating, hard to build a practice or they tried and failed. So I thought if we built a community of varied and new meditators we could develop and share some modern hacks and support each other. Everyday is a new day with new challenges. I try my best not to take myself too seriously. Trust me, I can use the support as much as anyone. 🙏 Please introduce yourself. I’m excited to get to know everyone!

@Jennifer Erving !!!! Jennifer is very well versed in meditation and already posted some great entries. I’m so glad to have her here!

For many meditators, the actual meditation isn’t the hard part. The hard part is making it part of your routine. This can prove even more difficult if you work a lot, are recovering at home, have children to care for, and so on. Even though I learned several types of meditation and have been practicing for several years, I still struggle to commit to the cushion some days. It's difficult not to feel disappointed in myself. What I find helps me most is incorporating meditation into my daily routine. I chose the morning. Here’s what it looks like for me: - Get up, - Get dressed, - Take the dog out, - Feed pets, - Make my tea - Quick stretch - Sit with my tea in my spot (dining table) - 5 to 20 minutes of meditation - Write or reflect for a few minutes - Brush teeth, - Walk the dog, - Eat, - Head to work See how I snuck that in there? Now meditation feels as natural as brushing my teeth. The key was finding the spot where it fit into my day — not forcing it, but letting it become part of the flow. Everyone’s rhythm is different. It begins with asking yourself: Where can I fit a pause naturally into my day?