Modo’s “Be Peace” pillar is to offer our practice to the benefit of all beings everywhere.
In this project the goal is to slow down, explore your internal landscape, notice your breath, practice settling into stillness. The prompt was to choose a topic that allows you to explore a side of peacefulness you haven’t experienced yet.
I chose to begin a daily meditation practice. I began with 3 minutes a day on December 1st and have slowly been increasing by one minute per week for the month. To nourish this practice I read the book Just Sit: A meditation guide for people who know they should but don’t by Sukey & Elizabeth Novogratz.
I would 10/10 recommend this book for anyone looking to start a meditation practice but who isn’t sure where to start. Here are some excerpts from the book that I found super useful myself. I hope it helps you get on your ass too.
I've noticed a huge shift in my ability to fall asleep thanks to my consistent meditation practice. I no longer need to take melatonin or watch videos/tv in order to get some shut eye. I've also noticed that I take a pause to breathe now before responding in uncomfortable situations. It's interesting because I honestly feel like each time I sit I can't concentrate and my mind is racing with a million thoughts and yet once my timer goes off I feel so much calmer. It's incredible what a few minutes of purposeful sitting/breathing can do. If you haven't already, go look up the Vagus Nerve, you'll understand why meditation is so functional in settling the body and mind. 
There is no right or wrong way to meditate so really what’s your excuse? You sit multiple times a day in order to commute to work, to watch TV, to scroll your phone, etc. It’s really not that hard. I think Thich Nhat Hanh puts it nicely when he says “I have the impression that many of us are afraid of silence. We’re always taking in something- text, music, radio, television, or thoughts- to occupy the space. If quiet and space are so important for our happiness, why don’t we make more room for them in our lives?”
So for all of 2021 my resolution is to #committosit2021. If you would like to join me in the month of January, I am following along with free meditations from Love My Mat, you can sign up here –> https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5fecaff43a5df17f2467f732
With my life feeling a lot like a rollercoaster lately, I wasn’t expecting to find such an amazing anchor in meditation. I am so appreciative to have taken on this project and look forward to continuing on for the entire year. I can honestly say that my practice has allowed me to truly feel my emotions which is something I was attempting to avoid for a long time. I now appreciate the times when I feel happy or love or typically ‘positive’ feelings without clinging to them and I ride the wave when I experience sadness, anger, heartbreak and pain and recognize that they aren’t ‘negative’ emotions and they will pass within 90 seconds if I let myself feel them instead of trying to mentally combat them with thoughts about how awful they are… It’s been so interesting learning that my ears get tingly when I’m really upset and nervous about something. Knowing my body’s physical signs of each emotion is also ultimately helping me clue in faster to when I need to give myself a break before I reach a breaking point where I need tons of time to decompress and recharge. Sometimes a couple deep breaths is all I need to ground and recenter myself. What a beautifully powerful tool we have at our fingertips!
I hope you’ll consider sitting with me.
Love,
Yoga Mama
Yoga Mama Buddha Baby 