Summer Challenge Launch

20 Days of Meditation

Lagoa Azul in São Miguel

Hello lovely people and welcome to the summer meditation challenge!

I am so excited that you are here!

We are going to break up our challenge into three parts to make it more doable for us all. We’ll begin with meditation, next will be movement, and then the last part will be journaling.

Here is everything you need to know below. 

How This All Started

I started practicing meditation twelve years ago when I was recovering from a newly diagnosed chronic illness. It had such a transformative impact on my health that I began teaching it. 

In 2016, in desperate need of some clarity, I decided to try something different. I combined meditation with movement and journaling. Afterwards, I felt so much more grounded in mind, body, and spirit.

Fast forward to a pandemic, moving to a new country, and becoming a mother, I lost the practice altogether.

I am starting this challenge to reconnect with my practice and this time I’m inviting my community to do it with me.

Now that I’m a mom to a wild two year old boy, this will be fun! Sooo, let’s go!

Our Meditation Plan:

We are going to take it slow and work our way up with meditation.

Week 1: July 1 - July 7:  2 minutes of meditation

Week 2: July 8 - July 14: 5 minutes of meditation

Week 3: July 15 - July 20: 7 minutes of meditation

What You’ll Need or Pre-Challenge Prep:

Step 1. Tell your partner, family, or housemate that you are participating in this challenge. I always found this helpful in my practice, especially when I was living at home with my parents. Even if you have small children - explain to them that mama or papa is going to do a meditation challenge. Children understand more than we think they do, and there is power in communicating our intentions.

Step 2. Choose a quiet, comfortable, uninterrupted space to do your meditation. It’s preferable that you meditate in the same place every day, but if that doesn’t work for you, that’s okay! This challenge is about making it work to fit YOUR needs.

There are a few different ways you can do your meditation. 

• You can opt to sit in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the ground and your back straight, and your hand gently resting on your knees with your palms facing upwards.

• If you have a yoga mat, you can use it seated on the floor with your legs crossed and your back straight. You can place pillows beneath your knees and/or sit against a wall to help support your back. 

• You can do your meditation lying down. That’s my favorite way!

Step 3. Download and use a meditation timer. 

Set a meditation timer to signal the beginning and end of your meditation. You can use this free meditation timer on your desktop and phone or download the Insight Timer app. (Try to resist the urge to check your other apps immediately before or after your meditation. I know, it’s hard!) You can also find tons of great meditation playlists on Spotify and YouTube to use during your meditation if you’d like to.

A few suggestions on when and where to meditate:

First thing in the morning when you wake up and after you use the bathroom.

Right after school drop off - yup, in the car!

During your lunch break immediately before you eat your meal - at your desk.

Right before you go to sleep - in bed.

In the bathroom while you hide from your children!

If one spot doesn’t work for you, switch it up. Feel free to experiment with this challenge.

How to Meditate:

Step 1. Get comfortable in the place and position of your choice. It might take you some time to get settled or you may feel uncomfortable or agitated when you first begin meditating. That’s normal. Allow it to come to pass.

Step 2. Gently close your eyes. Begin with about one minute of deep breathing. (You don’t need to time this.) Breathe in through your nostrils on a three count and exhale through your mouth on a three count. Take stock of your body and notice how you feel. Pay attention. Really pay attention to how you feel.

Step 3. Set your meditation timer for two minutes and go.

Gently close your eyes again. Take another big deep breath. As soon as you try to quiet your mind, plenty of thoughts will likely arise. Allow the thoughts to come without trying to resist or force them away. Just let them come up and acknowledge and release them.

You can even say this to yourself silently if you find it helpful. “I acknowledge the thoughts that arise, and I release them.” If it helps, you can also visualize a specific image. Clouds slowly drifting, waves gently crashing, trees standing firmly. (We’ll go more into visualization later in the challenge.) When your timer signals the end of your meditation, gently open your eyes. 

If you feel anxious or unsettled, you can always return to your breathing.

Step 4. Give yourself one minute to be still after your meditation. Don’t rush out of it. Take stock again of your body and how you feel. Do you notice any differences? It’s okay if you don’t. This is just meant to help us bring awareness to ourselves. Take another deep breath before you rise and move onto the next thing.

Step 5. Tell yourself thank you. Yes, thank you. Say it out loud. Hear the words. Acknowledge that you showed up for yourself today. You did it. You deserve it.

Things to Remember:

Every single meditation experience is different. There is no right or wrong in this. Meditation can be peaceful, calm and euphoric but it can also be emotional and intense at times. Honor whatever it may be for you in that time without judgment or expectations. 

This doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s okay if you meditate 1 or 7 times this week. The most important thing is that you are showing up for yourself in the best way you can. 

But I promise you that if you continue to show up, you will feel the tremendous benefits of this powerful practice. 

Let’s help each other:

When you finish reading this, let me know in the comments below when and where you plan to fit your meditation in so we can help each other stay accountable and laugh at our shared failures, because they will happen, and that’s okay too!

If you have any questions at any point throughout the challenge, please let me know. I’m here to support you, and I love hearing from you.

I’m so excited to begin with you! Here’s to our summer together!