My Meditation Journey
the power of meditation
My hope is that you can build a ritual to support you no matter where you are in life. It can be another tool in your toolkit, helping you in your own journey of growth, self-discovery, and wholeness.
And if you do find yourself in one of those life-changing experiences, like the one that kick-started me into this journey, you’ll be stronger and better prepared to face whatever life throws at you.
When I was diagnosed with cancer 11 years ago while at the same time losing my mother to her own battle of leukemia, I remember feeling so overwhelmed and paralyzed.
It felt like the ground beneath me disappeared and all of the walls crumbled beside me.
Amid this instability and chaos, I knew I could collapse into the rubble or choose to rise above the turbulence.
I chose the latter.
What gave me strength, energy, focus and presence was my ability to prioritize and practice daily self-care rituals seeped in mindfulness.
I began to meditate each day, mindfully move my body, practice mindful eating and cooking, and process my thoughts and emotions through a healing journaling practice.
Having consistent rituals helped me feel more grounded, embodied and empowered to take charge of life.
I love thinking about these practices as rituals instead of habits.
There is a more loving energetic intention infused into the word, don’t you think?
Practicing rituals gets to be a deep form of honoring and respecting oneself.
It isn’t about being on autopilot, but instead these rituals are about being intentional with your time, energy and attention. When you build a ritual practice, you are honoring yourself, your values and the things you care about.
Centered in the City
After years of investing in my own practices and formal education, I started Centered in the City in 2015 and transitioned it to a virtual platform in 2020 so that I could serve more people.
I kept hearing this desire from my community to learn how to build and sustain mindfulness based lifestyle practices in their lives.
They craved resources, tools and practices that could help them manage the stress, overwhelm and anxiety of living in our modern day, not to mention navigating a global pandemic.
But don’t take just my word for it
When Samantha first joined Centered in the City, she wanted to build a sustainable meditation practice. She had taken a lot of yoga classes and loved savasana, but could never figure out how to bring this meditation practice into her life off the mat.
After being a Centered in the City member since we launched, she now has a meditation practice she is committed to practicing 5 days of the week.
She realizes meditation calms her anxiety and the chatter in the mind. It allows her to feel more clear headed and decisive.
As a new mom, this is so important for her. She has developed strategies to stay consistent even when she is exhausted or her daughter doesn’t go down for a nap.
Now it is your turn to take a deep breath and give yourself permission to create a ritual that supports you staying grounded and centered.