7-day meditation journal
Detailed Instructions:
Each day, immediately after your meditation fill in the following information into the project section. You are to note down the date, time and duration of each sit, as well as any highlights and issues that occurred. You can be as specific as you like, but don’t dwell on it for long.
Upload your journal each day - this will enable me to give you feedback and address any issues or questions that arise.
Day #1
- Date: Saturday, April 20, 2019
- Time: 6:22am
- Duration: 1 minute
- Highlights: I was able to get to 7 inhales/exhales within 1 minute
- Issues/questions: Found it challenging to focus with all the street/car noise outside (I live in a city so it is constant). I tried to bring my attention back to the breath (in/out of the nose) but then was fixated on the exhale which I am used to doing out of the mouth, then I wasn't sure if I should change to exhaling out of my nose instead?
Day #2
- Date: Sunday, April 21, 2019
- Time: 7:12am
- Duration: 1 minute
- Highlights: Inhaling and exhaling through the nose was so much better, so thanks for the tip! The time flew by this time around. Sundays are quieter on my block, so it was easier to focus.
- Issues/questions: Street noise wasn't the distraction this time, my inner voice was the distraction! I guess I was so focused on the change in breathing that I wasn't able to keep track of the number of inhales and exhales. AND, I got so excited that the new breathing was working that I kept cheering myself on lol!
Day #3
- Date: Monday, April 22, 2019
- Time: 6:09am
- Duration: 2 minutes
- Highlights: I did 2 minutes and it almost felt too easy. Moving on to 3 minutes tomorrow! I found that saying "inhale" for the duration of the inhale and "exhale" for the duration of the exhale was helpful. Didn't notice much external distractions. Internal voice distractions came up a few times, but when they surfaced, I came back to focusing on "inhale" and "exhale"
- Issues/questions:
Day #4
- Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2019
- Time: 5:27am
- Duration: 3 minutes
- Highlights: I completed 3 minutes and I stayed with the inhale/exhale technique. The durations for each felt longer and deeper than I've been able to do them usually. My body felt relaxed and calm
- Issues/questions: Today truly felt like a challenge, my body felt calm and chill, BUT my mind was full of chatter for what felt like an eternity. I will stay on 3 minutes tomorrow.
Day #5
- Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2019
- Time: 6:40am - Duration: 3 minutes
- Highlights: I completed 3 minutes and it definitely felt better than yesterday. I managed to bring my attention back to inhale/exhale whenever I got distracted.
- Issues/questions: Yes, you are right, the awareness of the internal chatter is certainly heightened now!
Day #6
- Date: Thursday, April 25, 2019
- Time: 6:25am - Duration: 5 minutes
- Highlights: I completed 5 minutes! It honestly wasn't as bad as I initially thought. There were only about a handful of times I found myself wondering how much time I had left, which was probably as much as when I completed 3 minutes. I think once I was able to make peace with being in the present and relax into it did my mind relax. And by then, the time was up!
- Issues/questions: Moving forward (beyond day 7), how would you recommend knowing when to increase meditation times?
Day #7
- Date: Friday, April 26, 2019
- Time: 6:46am
- Duration: 5 minutes
- Highlights: I completed another 5 minutes! And I can't believe today was day 7 -- time flew by!
- Issues/questions: I am excited to keep this going, thanks so much for all of your guidance!