3 years of daily meditation

Today it’s been 3 years I meditate every single day. I haven’t skip a day, even when I’m traveling, even when i:m at Burning Man! I meditate for 5 years, but I was not regular until November 20th 2016.

I can definitely see the change in the way I think, in the way my mind works, and that’s the reason why I want to share my experience with you: because it works.

I’ve started practicing only 5 to 8 minutes every morning. At first i was on my own, sitting on my bed in silence, but after a while a friend of mine talked about an app named insight timer, so I’ve started using it.

I have to say that it made my practice easier, because it gave me some guidelines. I didn’t know exactly what to do before, i was just sitting and trying to quiet my mind and stop thinking.. And I also like that it keeps tracks of my practice (that’s how I know it’s been 1095 days in a row today).

Let’s be honest with the « stop thinking » thing , it’s hard and I’m pretty sure no one (except may be some sadhus in India, or some monks in the Himalayas) stop thinking for hours. What I usually do is observing my thoughts, try to reduce them and may be stop them for a few seconds so I can fully be in the present moment, and as soon as I realize I’m thinking again, I make peace with it and try again.

I tried guided meditations, and some of them really work. I’ve really appreciated one about forgiveness, and a few about anxiety.

Speaking of anxiety, it’s an issue I have and meditation really helped me with that. I’m not saying that I’m not anxious anymore, and that I’m the most zen person in the world, but it helped me put thing in perspective. And trust me the past 3 years have been an emotional rollercoaster so I’m really glad I hat my meditation practice to help me practice mindfulness and detachment.

Month after month I’ve managed to increase the duration of my practice, and to identify what kind of practice benefits me the most. But as I’m a little bit adventurous I still try new things once in a while.

Meditation definitely helped me to see life from another perspective, I feel more detached from all things, and I also live more in the present moment (which helps decrease my anxiety crises). It also helps tremendously to quiet my mind, specially when I wake up in the middle of the night and that my mind wanders towards the dark side lol. I can now manage that pretty well, and the quality of my sleep increased.

I now meditate between 20 and 30 minutes every morning, sitting comfortably on my bed (this is my next goal, to sit in a more ‘yogi’ way), sometimes with the music of singing bowls, sometimes with a guided meditation, rarely in silence (may be another step to reach?) and I’m ready to start my day.

There are many different apps and they help to know what to do at first. If you haven’t meditate yet, try, and do not hesitate to leave a comment, so we can all discuss and share our experiences.

My favorite yoga related stores

I have to confess, i used to be a major shopaholic. (and a party animal, but that’s another story!)

Since I practice and teach yoga I’ve become more conscious of the consequences of massive consumption, therefore I don’t shop as much. Every time i’m in front of a new item i like, I ask myself a few questions: Do I need this? Do I have something similar at home already? Does the fabrication of this item involves suffering of a living being (and yes that includes animals)?

I try to avoid those brands that make clothes that last one season and then you have to throw them away, and when I travel I buy from local manufacturers or designers.

I’m gonna share with you a few brands that I like and I think are eco friendly (or at the very least more eco friendly than the big names of the fashion industry)

I’ve discovered www.yogisonroadtrip.com a nice little ethical web store with the cutest eco yoga mats, various decoration items, even jewelry from local manufacturers. The owner brings some of them back from her travels, or from France where she lives, and make sure everything sold in the store is ethicality and locally made. And she has great taste! (Did I mention you can book a yoga retreat and/or trainings through her site as well?)

It’s not a secret that I’m an ambassador for the brand www.myinnerfire.com for years now. I simply like the fact that their yoga pants are made of recycled plastic bottles and have original designs. (you can use the code Cheyenne when you order for a discount)

Also, as a yoga teacher I carry a few things around when I go and teach privates and to carry those things I use my www.ricelove.org backpacks, when you buy a bag they give 1 kilo of rice to a family in need. I can’t wait for them to create a yoga mat bag! Their bags are SO cute!

I hope that this (short) list will inspire you before Christmas, but don’t forget, the supplies provided by mother Earth are limited.

Namaste y’all.