I don’t know about you, but day-to-day life, especially during this pandemic, can be anxiety-ridden. When I was approached about trying out meditation for a week, I was very open to the experience and really wanted to ascertain the effects on my daily anxiety.
I conducted my experiment with the same 10-minute guided meditation video on YouTube around the same time every day. I will preface this by saying that everyone will have different experiences, but this is just my experience with meditation.
Day 1: Monday
At the start of the day, I was feeling higher than normal anxiety as my workload is usually busiest on Mondays. Taking the 10 minutes for myself was a welcome break from my day. During the meditation, I felt almost glued to my bed (you can meditate while sitting or lying down, but I chose to lay down for my experiment). All of my muscles felt very relaxed, especially some of the muscles you don’t realize are clenched, like your jaw and mouth. With just this one 10-minute break, I felt my stress level significantly decrease and I felt re-energized to get back into work.
Day 2: Tuesday
Although not as busy as Monday, I dealt with some stressful emails before diving into meditation. Again, I felt super relaxed during the meditation and started to experience some tingling sensations in my hands. You may be thinking my hands were falling asleep, but it was more like electricity. After doing some of my own research, this is just one of many sensations you may experience during meditation. Unlike yesterday, I wouldn’t say there was a super significant decrease in my anxiety, but it definitely did help.
Day 3: Wednesday
Wednesdays are generally an easy day for me, so I was feeling less stressed than the days prior before entering the meditation. Unfortunately, my surroundings may have sabotaged my experience. I live in a house with cats and other roommates who work, so a crying cat and loud sounds really interrupted the meditation. Even though I didn’t relax as deeply as the days prior, I still felt re-energized to continue the day.
Day 4: Thursday
After some difficulties on Wednesday, I took some precautions to ensure a more relaxing experience. I closed my door and tried to soundproof it with a towel. I wasn’t super stressed today, and I started noticing my stress levels at the start of the day decreasing over this trial. While I laid down and focused on my breath, the slight tingling sensation returned and really calmed me. When I returned to work, it was harder than the other days because my body felt so asleep but very relaxed.
Day 5: Friday
Again, my stress level going into the day was pretty low and excited for the upcoming weekend. The tingles once again made an appearance and extended to my feet. More so than other days, I really wanted to extend the meditation and bask in that feeling. To keep in line with the experiment, I did not do that, although I really wanted to. My anxiety felt so far away, it was a very nice feeling and I returned to my work.
Day 6: Saturday
I don’t work weekends, so I slightly deviated in my meditation time but still managed to get it in. I had plans with a friend (still maintaining social distance), so I felt a little rushed, which may have led to a lesser level of relaxation. The meditation still helped me relax a little bit, but it didn’t feel as deep as the days prior.
Day 7: Sunday
The last day of the experiment was an interesting one. I woke up with some neck pain, so I was really hoping the relaxation would help alleviate some pain. I really committed to the meditation, and I once again felt the tingles in my hands and feet. Once the meditation was complete, my neck did feel a little bit better.
My takeaways
I really feel that committing wholeheartedly to the experience (creating a silent environment, trying your best to not let your mind wander, etc.) can really improve your time. As the days went on, I felt like there were immediate benefits, but I also noticed my anxiety decrease over the entire week. This may have to do with less stress and workload, but I would like to believe that meditation played a small part in that. Even if you are unsure about meditation or don’t believe in it, I think taking time for yourself daily to fully relax can be very beneficial!
So you may be asking yourself, is she going to continue meditating? The short answer is “yes.” Outside of an experiment I may be less rigorous about my standards, but I really do think a daily break for meditation can really help. Plus, there are so many free videos out there. I wish you many anxiety-free days, friends! Thanks for reading!