Are You Sitting Comfortably?
Then let’s begin…
Welcome to Sit, Breathe, Meditate - a site about meditation, mindful living and the simple joy of daily practice. My hope for this space is that it becomes an online resource for anyone looking to lean towards a life lived mindfully, with more awareness and less time spent lost in thought.
In January of this year, I decided it was time to prioritise calming this mind of mine, and I was ready to experiment with consistent practice. I committed to making the time to sit every single day, no matter what - and to date, I have kept this promise to myself.
The journey began a decade ago in a yoga class in Sydney’s inner west. The few minutes of mindful breathing at the end of the session gave me a taste for meditation, though I didn’t pursue it at the time. Eventually I came back to mindfulness through therapy - for anxiety, depression and panic attacks. My therapist gifted me Thich Nhat Hanh’s classic ‘The Miracle of Mindfulness’, and showed me how to work with my scattered attention. For five years I practised on and off, attended a couple of courses and read widely on the science and art of meditation. This year has seen me make some big changes in my professional life - heading back to study science after five years of working online. I knew the time was right to make daily practice happen, I knew I would need the calming regularity to help me make the most of this shift in direction.
In May, after sitting daily for 3 months, I was inspired to help others do the same, and in July I launched my first online course, 90 Days of Meditation. Creating this course was a huge undertaking, and along the way it occurred to me that I want to write more about meditation. The idea for Sit, Breathe, Meditate was born!
Daily meditation now feels natural, normal and sacred to me, and has helped me develop a more mindful approach to life in general. When I sit in the morning I am reminded to lighten up, relax and let be.
There are no grand plans for this site, much like my practice it is an experiment in finding what works. Part blog, part online resource for those looking for guided meditations and info on how to get started - I’m inrtigued to see where this goes over the next couple of years. My promise is to keep it going for at least 12 months, a record of this phase in my journey, this point in my life.
I never, ever (ever) thought I could be someone who would be able to sit still for 20 minutes a day. It seemed impossible to me that meditation could change my brain, my anxious mind, and help me come back to the present when stress kicks in. So far though, it has helped me an incredible amount and my only wish is that I had started sooner.
I hope this space can inspire you to do just this - start now, create a simple, grounding practice that can help you live more mindfully and invite stillness into the everyday. My intention is to share with you all that I can to help you achieve this.
I hope you’ll join me in starting an experiment of your own.
Here’s to the future unknown.
Emily xx
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