Congratulations on deciding to start a meditation practice! As a spa director, you understand the importance of well-being, not just for your clients, but also for yourself. You’re committed to building mental muscle to strengthen focus, be more present for your teams and face tough problems with resilience.
Log in to view the full article
Congratulations on deciding to start a meditation practice! As a spa director, you understand the importance of well-being, not just for your clients, but also for yourself. You’re committed to building mental muscle to strengthen focus, be more present for your teams and face tough problems with resilience.
But where do you start, and how do you ensure you stick with it? Let's explore some effective strategies and tools that can support your meditation journey.
Mindfulness and Mindfulness Meditation
Before diving in, it’s essential to understand what mindfulness and mindfulness meditation entail. Mindfulness is the practice of being in the present moment with an unattached awareness of the full experience in the body and mind.
Mindfulness meditation is a structured practice of directing attention on experiences, such as breathing, a body sensation, sound, or thought and observing the focus object without judgment. Meditation supports the deepening of our ability to be mindful, even when not meditating.
The most basic concentration practice can be done anytime, anywhere. It invites us to sit quietly, take a few deep breaths to calm the body, then turn our attention to an object - usually the breath - to start. The idea isn’t to control the breath, it’s simply to observe the natural process of breathing with a sense of curiosity. The act of focusing attention, noticing when it wanders away, then gently bringing it back to the breath without judgment, is the essence of this practice. There’s no need to try and avoid thoughts - they will naturally come. We simply let them go and return our attention to the breath.
While a pretty simple practice, it can oftentimes be challenging, especially for beginners. Many people new to meditation quit after the first few attempts because they feel frustrated that it’s not working or that they are “doing it wrong."
Related: How to Use Mindfulness as a Tool for Self-Care
How Mindfulness/Meditation Aids Can Help
Mindfulness meditation aids can significantly enhance your practice. Aids like phone apps, hardware devices, and online communities can provide structure, guidance, and accountability, all of which help to develop a sustainable meditation habit. Here are a few options that can support your burgeoning practice.
Mindfulness Apps
For many people, smartphone apps are the quickest and easiest way to find a variety of guided meditations to support a new practice. Teacher styles and voices vary. It’s worth trying a few to find those that connect personally with you. Here are a few apps that come highly recommended by users.
Headspace: This app is great for beginners and offers a variety of guided meditations, mindfulness courses and exercises to help you integrate mindfulness into your daily routine.
Highlights: User-friendly interface. Wide range of content. Offers meditation for children.
Calm: Known for its soothing visual and audio aids, Calm is a comprehensive and highly trusted source with a wide variety of tools, including guided meditations, breathing exercises and sleep aids.
Highlights: High-quality audio and visuals. Excellent sleep aids. Comprehensive stress relief tools. Large scale solutions for businesses.
Insight Timer: This app offers a vast library of free guided meditations and courses offered through a large global community of teachers.
Highlights: A lot of free content. Community support. Customizable timer for creating personalized sessions.
Mindfulness Tech – Hardware Devices
Technology has found its way into the meditation space with a lot of interesting innovations. These hardware solutions go beyond content and guided practices to provide an extra layer of support through sensory stimuli and real-time biofeedback during meditation sessions. If you want to measure the quantitative impact of your practice, these are worth a look.
Muse Headband: This EEG headband provides real-time feedback on brain activity, heart rate, breathing rate, and even posture, to help you stay focused during meditation.
Highlights: Real-time biofeedback during meditation. Tracks progress with useful health markers. Large scale solutions for businesses.
Core by Hyperice: The Core by Hyperice was created by a company that works primarily with elite athletes across many disciplines. Core is a small, spherical hand-held device with ECG sensors that measures heart rate variability (HRV) during meditation. It also sends gentle vibrations through the same sensors to guide you during breathwork practices.
Highlights: Real-time biofeedback. Sensory stimulation for breathwork techniques.
Sensate: This stone-shaped device is placed directly on the chest during meditation. It emits soft vibrations that travel through the body from the sternum to induce relaxation, directly targeting the nervous system’s stress response areas. The accompanying Sensate app provides custom audio soundscapes for an immersive experience.
Highlights: Specifically targets the stress regions in the brain. Sensory stimulation enhances the meditative experience.
Make It A Habit
1. Practice at the same time each day. Consistency is key to building a habit. Consider linking it to another routine task you do daily, like your morning coffee.
2. Find or create a quiet space to avoid distractions. Silence notifications. If at the office, consider a “Do Not Disturb” sign for your door.
3. Start small: Begin with just 3-5 minutes a day. Gradually increase the time duration as you feel comfortable.
4. Be patient with yourself and recognize that distractions are part of the process. Meditation is a skill that takes time to develop.
Incorporating meditation into your self-care routine can enhance your presence as a leader. Whether a beginner or an experienced practitioner, sometimes we need a little extra support. Luckily, today’s innovative technology offers many helpful and convenient solutions. And, who knows? You might discover something worth bringing into the spa for your clients to enjoy between services!
Gerri Sapinoso Hudson is a certified mindfulness-based emotional intelligence teacher with SIY Global and holds a certificate in diversity, equity and inclusion. Her company, Vision Bridge Leadership (www.bridgetoabetterway.com), provides organizations with mindfulness-based strategies for leadership, communication and trust-building.
