Why We’re Doing Focus Meditations in 2024 And How You Can Get Started Too.
Why We’re Doing Focus Meditations in 2024 And How You Can Get Started Too.
According to a report published this year by John Lewis, one of the biggest wellness trends this year is mind management and in particular learning how to focus and then sustain that focus in one direction for a certain amount of time. For example focusing on your breath, or maybe on a sound.
It seems so simple doesn’t it, to just focus on one thing for a few minutes a day? But most of us find it quite tricky as we get distracted almost instantly by our busy mind and it’s constant chatter.
The good news is that with a little practice I believe we can all learn to improve our focus and enjoy greater calm and clearer thinking as a result. Attention is like a muscle and generally speaking the more you train it the easier it becomes to concentrate.
I’m not suggesting we become over-productive focus robots 24/7 (how boring?!) But it is nice to have options. To focus when we need it, and to daydream amazing possibilities when we feel like it too. What’s more, learning to focus is the first step on the path to effective and enjoyable meditation.
“We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us that they may see, it may be, their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life because of our quiet.”
― William Butler Yeats
Perfecting Focused Meditation
Here’s a simple practice you might enjoy, It’s easy to do and can be mixed into different day-to-day tasks.
- Set a timer and take 2 minutes to focus your attention on a single activity (I.e. your breathing or a sound) When your attention wanders, bring it back to the object of focus. Each time you return you train your brain to have a single focus. ( You can also practice focused Meditation with me, over here on YouTube)
- An alternative to focusing on your breath for 2 minutes might be to do one thing each day with your full attention. So, doing one thing at a time. When you prepare tea just prepare tea, when you walk in nature just walk in nature rather than walk and podcast or walk and talk on the phone. Or maybe water your houseplants thoughtfully and with full attention. You could even affirm to yourself ‘when I water the plants, I just water the plants’.
Why It Matters
Once we have a clear and steadily focused mind, we can use it to our advantage. Our mind becomes helpful! We can use it to contemplate, to inquire into our experience and to think amazing thoughts.
As we find focus and calm ourselves down, we’re left a little freer to discover what’s behind the mind and all its chatter…. Our own quiet, aware self which is always present but often overlooked because of busyness of the mind and the world. This self recognition is the best benefit of all.
A little bit of focus, a little gentle breathing, a little moment of silence, they may be little but they pay dividends through the week.
And so, how about you?
Do you practice meditation or would you love to learn?
If you’d like my help, we can work together here
My Top Picks For Feeling Fresh, Focused and Invigorated
1. An invigorating aromatherapy shower oil to start the day
Aromatherapy Associates Ultimate Collections, Ultimate Wellbeing – 10x 9ml Bath & Shower Oils Infused with Essential Oils – £55.25
2. Harness the wellbeing benefits of cold showers. Learn more with this fantastic guide book from award winning Ice Man Wim Hof.
The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Potential, Transcend Your Limits – £12.99
3. Dry brush for a full body invigoration. (+ Increase blood flow, stimulate collagen and improve skin elasticity)
Wild & Stone | Dry Brushing Body Brush | Gentle Exfoliating | Natural Bristle Bath Brush | Sustainable Dry Brush- £12.95
4. Set a focus timer at your desk
Mindful Focus 5 Minute Hourglass – Hourglass Sand Timer – £18.63
5. Choose a focus enhancing aromatherapy blend + diffuser
NEOM – Wellbeing Pod Essential Oil Diffuser & Focus The Mind Oil Blend – £95.00
6. Whisk and sip a luxurious matcha hot drink made with AAA grade green tea powder
OMGTEA Organic Matcha Green Tea – Japanese AAA Grade Matcha Tea Powder – £21.95
Be sure to subscribe if you didn’t already join my newsletter list yet so we can keep in touch and share ideas for living well month by month.
This post was first published in April 2021, and was updated in January 2023 with updated resources. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my link at no extra costs to you.
