Creating a Meditation Space

Home is a place where we (should) feel safe & protected. These are our basic needs, our foundations.

Your home, that you have lovingly furnished & decorated may not offer you a place that lends itself for stillness, for a meditation practice.

Does your home have a space for your soul to sit?

Consider your bathroom, is it a simply a functional space or a place that you can retreat into & enjoy relaxation & self-care rituals? Personally, I adore bathrooms & I am a total “bath-lover” & I associate my bathroom with oils & potions, a place where I can ease my muscles in a deep bath but..I know that the bath will cool off & I need get out to dry-off etc & I am without a doubt relaxing but my mind is still active. It’s more a place for me to wash, soak & physically relax.

Creating a special or sacred place in a quiet room will transform your yoga/meditation practice & ultimately offer you a place for you to come home to you. Stillness is essential & silence…

“Silence is essential. We need silence, just as much as we need air, just as much as plants need light. If our minds are crowded with words& thoughts, there is no space for us”

THICH NHAT HANH

Unless you live off-grid & are really limiting screen-time, we are bombarded with more information in ONE DAY that our parents & grandparents were in their entire lifetime. We, more than ever, need a place within our homes to retreat to.

So.. where should you create your space?

Outdoors or indoors?

If it’s indoors, try a find a quiet room & if you can only spare a small amount of space within the quiet room then that’s perfect.

Organise the space – if you are staring at clutter it will only feel like another distraction & another job. Remove as much clutter as possible.

Think about your comfort – it really matters – if you don’t like sitting on the floor then find a chair – cover it in a throw if you want it to have a different look& keep cushions close by for back support. It is worth having a light blanket nearby that will keep you warm if needed so you don’t have to disturb yourself by going off looking for these things.

Consider the colours that calm you. Explore Pintrest (the rabbit hole awaits…) & see which meditation spaces inspire you.  What colours, tones, textures, house plants  resonate with you.

When you create your space, consider a curated shelf/alter or a box covered in a beautiful piece of fabric or scarf.

You could place crystals, beach shells, beach glass, fairy lights, affirmation cards that resonate with you, fresh flowers or a house plant, pictures of places or people/gods/angels that are special or inspiring to you & beautiful candles or incense.

The flickering flame from a candle can stir something inside us. We light candles to celebrate life & birthdays, to remember loved ones, to create a relaxing or romantic vibe. Lighting a beautiful candle can signify the start of your meditation or yoga practice & become a beautiful symbolic gesture.

You could silently whisper an affirmation as you light your candle & this is said to strengthen the intention of your practice.

If it’s outdoors, even just for the summer, warmer months, take into consideration the flowers & plants around you. Do you enjoy the sound of water? Wind chimes?   Do you want to be able to watch the birds? Create a corner of your garden that allows for all that you enjoy & your innate connection to nature.

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle& the life of the candle is not shortened.

Happiness never decreases by being shared”

Buddha

Returning to your meditation space daily or when you have set some time aside, will begin to create an energetic vibe which grows into beautiful sacred energy. Your mind will subconsciously “know” when you enter your space that it will find some relief & calmness follows. Your mind will instinctively associate your space with stillness, with calm & peace & those connections will help reconnect you back to your true self.

The preparation of your space, the time you take to light the candle,  to sit & “be” before & after, maybe to write/journal, is all part of the ritual.

The ritual becomes as sacred as the meditation.

Having a space for your soul, having a space for stillness is ultimate act of selfcare.

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