Creating a dedicated meditation space in your home is a supportive way to make you more likely to develop a daily meditation practice.
From reducing levels of stress, anxiety, depression, physical pain, heart rate, and high blood pressure to increase and enhancing emotional health, attention span, immune function, brain functioning, mental clarity, mental focus, a sense of calm, and sleep, the long list of health benefits of meditation is evergrowing.
It’s one of the simplest practices you can do for your health and since it can have such a big impact on your eating habits, we encourage all of our clients to develop the practice.
When you’re first getting started, it can be challenging to get into the meditative state, especially if your surrounding environment isn’t providing a calm, serene atmosphere, but with a few simple steps, you can have a mediation area that supports you in developing the habit.
What to Include In Your Meditation Space
Here’s the thing, meditation and your unique practice can and should happen wherever you are! As in, you don’t need to dedicate an entire room or special space to meditation, because meditation can be found in so many ways throughout your day. I know it would be dreamy for all of us to have an extra room in our apartments or homes that’s dedicated to meditation, that’s not normally the case and you don’t need a dedicated room.
However, we know we’re creatures of habit and that our environment impacts the behaviors we engage in, which is why it’s ideal and most supportive to have a special space for your practice.
Your mediation area can be a corner, nook, a room that you don’t use often, or anything else that works for you! Once you have a spot in mind, add these tools that will help you make it feel like a peaceful space that you’ll look forward to visiting daily.
1. Comfortable Meditation Cushion
Sitting still can be challenging, especially if you’re just starting your mindfulness journey and if you’re a dedicated meditator, you know how important it is to be comfortable. Having a comfortable place to sit that’s dedicated to your meditation is key.
I love the Avocado Mattress Meditation Pillow because it’s green and organic vegan materials and features a buckwheat fill, which creates a firm but comfortable base that adjusts to your unique body.
I’ve been a long-time customer and fan of Avocado Mattress because they’re committed to making products that are both high-quality and also better for your health, farmers, and the planet, which is so important to our wellbeing.
2. Journal
I can’t recommend journaling enough because it’s one of the most powerful tools I teach in my Mindful Nutrition Method.
You can use a journal to support you in many different ways from food journals (i.e. what you ate, when, how does it make you feel, what was your hunger like, cravings, digestion issues, emotional health around the meal, etc.), to journaling about stress from the day as a way to reflect, to journaling about what you’re grateful for each morning, etc.
Physical journaling with pen and paper has been shown to help increase cognitive function and information retention rather than using a digital one – so try the old fashion way and check-in with yourself.
After your mediation practice, take a couple of minutes to write and reflect on how you’re feeling, what came up during the practice, and your intention for your day (or the next day if you’re meditating at night). This moment of mindfulness after a meditation practice guides you in tuning into your mind and body more and can help you deepen your practice.
3. Meditation Books to Support You
If you’re learning how to meditate or exploring different mindfulness practices, having a few books that you can easily pick up and find a little bit of guidance and inspiration for where to start can be really helpful.
A few of my favorite books that can support your mindfulness journey include:
4. Atmosphere Enhancers
If you want to make your meditation area feel really special while also supporting you with entering a very peaceful state of mind, you can add some enhancers. These aren’t necessary to start meditating, but they can help make the experience more enjoyable which helps you build consistency.
Scents
I love how a calming scent can put me into a more state of mind that’s more relaxed for meditation, so you may also find that an essential oil diffuser, room spray, or incense may be helpful for you as well. Just be mindful to purchase non-toxic
Sounds
I also enjoy having a singing bowl nearby as part of my practice. Having an element of sound is a beautiful way to deepen your experience, I really enjoy starting and ending my meditation session with a sound session.
Nature
I now have a dedicated meditation room in our home that has beautiful windows looking out into nature. I also keep plenty of plants in the room to create a spa-like relaxing retreat. Whether you have a window you can sit near or picking up a few plants to keep nearby, having a bit of nature is shown to reduce stress.
Creating Your Meditation Space
Each of our meditation spaces will look unique depending on our wants, needs, and space. The key is that you uncover what setup would make you feel drawn to go to that space every day to cultivate your mediation practice.
Now that you have a few ideas for what you can include, commit to setting up your meditation space this week!
⭐ Key Takeaway: Building a unique mindful meditation practice is one of the best free things you can do to support your wellbeing.