5 Meditation Myths That Kept Me From Starting
Once I released these stories I was holding on to, I gave myself permission to start small and messy. I got on Spotify. Put my headphones in. Listened to a guided meditation. Sat on my couch and breathed. Was it perfect? No. Did my mind wander? Constantly. Did it change my life? Gradually, yes.
Because here's what I discovered: meditation didn't make my problems disappear. It didn't make motherhood easier or sobriety simple. But it gave me a way to be with myself through all of it. It created tiny pockets of space between stimulus and reaction. It helped me find my center when everything felt chaotic.
And it can do the same for you. No special cushion required, no empty mind expected, no perfect circumstances demanded.
How Sobriety Made Me Realize I'd Been Meditating 'Wrong' All Along
If you're newly sober and trying to meditate, please know: it's supposed to feel hard right now.
You don't need to achieve some zen state. You don't need to feel peaceful or calm or blissed out. You don't need to do it "right." You just need to show up. Sit down. Notice what's here. Breathe.
Some days that will feel manageable. Other days it will feel impossible. Both are okay. The practice isn't about feeling better, it's about being willing to feel, period. And that willingness is everything. It's how you stay sober. It's how you heal. It's how you rebuild trust with yourself.
One breath at a time. One moment at a time. One day at a time.
That's the practice. That's the path. That's enough.
What Is Meditation? A Beginner’s Guide to Finding Stillness
It took me a while to realize that this isn’t about “shutting off” your thoughts. Rather, it’s about changing your relationship with them. And while the outline or exploration of the process might seem simple, it can take time to have breakthroughs, time for a ha moments, time for realizations. But like we say in yoga, “practice and all is coming”.