Five Soul Faves: Tips for Making Your Meditation Practice Stick! (For Good)

I’m a mission to make meditation something you get excited about.

Not something you feel as though you ‘should’ do.

Not something you resist, or sorta-maybe contemplate.

Something that lights you up from the inside out.

Something that renders you hopelessly addicted (in the best possible way).

Here are my 5 tips for creating a meditation practice worth shouting about.

1. Make a magical mesa

I’m privy to dropping to my knees at my altar any day of the week, but after being introduced the concept of a mesa (a portable version) at a recent cacao ceremony, my deep love and respect for the mini-temple intensified.

Even gathering the sacred elements is a beautiful experience. Deciding which items make the cut, which of them hold symbolism, which of them remind me of depth, joy, love, laughter… each piece was meticulously chosen with care.

My mesa includes a Thai silk given to me by a dear friend a few years ago, crystals that represent each of the chakras, a sacred geometry card gifted by a client (which acts as a centrepiece and compass), mini black tourmaline points (each one looking at one of the four directions), a mini statue of creative goddess, Saraswati, a pyramid (my master soul essence) made from hematite, and items that represent the elements: sage for earth, feathers (attached to leather) for air (I wore this around my wedding dress, and I also use this to bind my mesa when I pack it up), a candle for fire and ‘Let Go’ alchemical oil for water.

I also have some larger crystals (malachite and labradorite) which I often hold in my palms while in meditation. A double terminated quartz directs the energy back at me, to seal the deal.

Mesas, like all altars, are deeply personal, so enjoy the process of collecting your personal items and arranging them in a way that fits your soul. Also, bigger ain’t necessarily better. Maybe your mesa comprises of just a handful of special little somethings, and that’s absolutely perfect.

2. Sadhana Touch: an iPhone app that keeps me still

This is a groovy app is for anyone wanting to deepen their pranayama practice, but the reason I most adore it, is because it allows me to meditate in intervals.

For example, in my own practice, I set my meditation timer for 45 minutes, with a delightful bell chiming in every 15 minutes. The first 15 minutes of my practice, I do EFT and some breath work (pranayama), the second 15, I cleanse my chakras, and the final 15 is a mixed bag of either soul essence journeying, creative visualisation, vipassana meditation or simply mindfulness.

Again, this is personal, dear ones, so there’s no need to try my approach (and I definitely recommend that you avoid starting off with a 45 minute practice).

Maybe you want to try sitting for 15 minutes of meditation: the first 5 so you can watch your breath, the second 5 so that you can feel your heartbeat, and the final 5 so you can repeat a mantra.

Catch my drift?

All I know is that compartmentalising my meditation keeps me inspired, and keeps me still.

I find this is also a bah-rilliant app for a home yin yoga practice. Set your timer for a hour, with 3-4 minute intervals, and that sweet bell will chime when it’s time to shift to your next position.

(In yin yoga, poses are held for between 3-5 minutes)

3. Move into it.

I mentioned above that I tap before I begin my meditation. The Emotional Freedom Technique has become a fixture in my daily practice because, along with yoga, few things shift stagnant, limiting energy as effectively! I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that it has altered my life – energetically – and it’s making a HUGE difference in my clients’ lives, also.

So what do I tap on?

Anything. Everything.

If I wake up achey and sore – I tap on the tension in my body.
If I wake up feeling an immediate sense of stress, I tap on the sensations of overwhelm.
If there’s a relationship in my life that’s bothering me, I tap on it.
If I wake up unmotivated, I tap on feeling lazy.
If I’m busting through some huge limiting beliefs (fears of success, of tuning into abundance, of expanding my business) I tap on the discomfort of it all.
If I’m resisting any of my projects, I tap on procrastination.

You get the idea.

‘Better out than in’ is a mantra of mine, so consciously vocalising what feels truthful to me in the moment, while tapping on the acupressure points, not only tells my flight-or-flighty amygdyla to calm the eff down, but it unlocks emotional and energetic patterns that hold me back. And – as a bonus (I’ve seen this happen in the moment with both myself and my clients) – eventually, a more empowering truth starts to surface.

‘This neck pain is driving me crazy’ becomes ‘I can feel the tension easing.’
‘I’m overwhelmed at everything I have to do today’ becomes ‘My to-do list serves me, not the other way around. I’ll take it one item at a time.’

Imagine how much more potent your meditation could be if you cleared your funk before you even closed your eyes?! That what I mean when I say ‘move into it.’ Move the energy in your body. Shift it. Transmute it.

Alternatively, you could do a few rounds of cat and cow, and some press backs between plank and downdog to awaken your spine.

4. Breathe, babe, breathe.

You know how important your breath is, right?

You know that it’s the sacred place where the form and the formless mingle with one another?

You can appreciate how much of a mystery it is?

Well, let’s learn to appreciate it just that little bit more.

In the yogic tradition, both asana (movement) and pranayama (breath work) traditionally come before meditation (which is why I like to move, and then practice pranayama before I settle in). Mastering the mind by focusing on the breath creates an environment where you’re likely to feel less distracted in your meditation.

Feel your breath fill your belly, your ribs, your back, your chest.

Feel it fall out of your chest, your back, your ribs, your belly.

Consciously slow the breath, keeping count of the seconds that you both inhale and exhale (ensuring that they’re timed evenly).

And when you feel present, plugged in, and here, then, enter your meditation.

5. Seal it with love.

Energise the closing moments of your meditation by breathing in love, and exhaling compassion. This is a technique I picked up at vipassana last year, and I simply adore it. I like to imagine that I’m breathing in vibrant pink light, and that each time I exhale, I extend healing, golden, compassionate light a little further around the globe. It feels loving and dynamic in my body. Connection and contribution, for the win!

Well guys, I hope this post has left you hankering for a few moments of juicy silence. My dream here is that you’ll embrace the change that a meditation practice brings to your life, and continue to honour yourself for each and every moment of stillness that you carve out for yourself.

Few things in life are as fulfilling as our own willingness to deep dive into ourselves. (Tweet that!)

Did this post strike a chord? Inspire a few ideas? Let me hear it below.

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