Can’t seem to meditate? 7 joyful activities for you to try instead

Struggling with meditation? Don't fret. There are numerous joyful activities that can offer similar benefits. Let's explore seven such alternatives that can help you find tranquility and mindfulness, without the traditional meditation practices.

Why don’t I meditate?

Meditation promotes calm and compassion, decreases stress, and improves attention and concentration

• It is one of the most studied non-pharmacologic mental health interventions in the world, and most of the data is overwhelmingly positive
• So why don’t I do it?
• At its best, meditation felt like floating in the ocean, bobbing on waves of pure consciousness
• When I was anxious, meditation actually increased my agitation
• For some people with histories of unprocessed trauma and physical dissociation, meditation can do exactly what I’d experienced – increase anxiety, prompt flashbacks or trigger other physical symptoms
• Other approaches such as body scan meditations and mindfulness meditations are valuable alternatives to meditation

Watching Bob Ross painting videos

Some researchers believe that Ross’s soft baritone and the swishy sounds of his brush against the canvas trigger ASMR reactions, also known as “brain tingles.”

• The popular meditation app Calm has used Bob Ross’s voice in their Sleep Stories series, which is intended to help insomniac users fall asleep.

Visualization

Allows you to transform uncomfortable feelings creatively – not to avoid them but to work with them in a generative, dynamic way.

• Gives you the same kind of distance and space that many people find in meditation but engages your imagination in the process.

Morning pages

Write three long-hand pages first thing in the morning, writing without stopping and allowing whatever thoughts arise to go onto the page.

• For writers, morning pages are a way of breaking through the pressure of the blank page and opening a line of dialogue with your creative brain.

Coloring

Coloring a complex abstract design such as a mandala or a plaid pattern can reduce anxiety in a meaningful way

• The physicality of coloring may also help to those of us who tend to dissociate from our bodies
• Group drumming resulted in significant reductions in anxiety and depression, along with an increase in overall mental well-being

Walking

Mindful movement helps engage the body as well as the mind in the act of quiet reflection.

• Benefits of mindful walking include stress reduction and improved cognition among older adults, in addition to the many mental health benefits of increased physical activity that it provides.

Drumming

Research shows that rhythmic quality of drumming can be a powerful aid for mental health

• In one study, a group drumming initiative resulted in significant reductions in anxiety and depression, along with an increase in overall mental well-being
• Drumming also correlated with a decrease in inflammatory markers in the bodies of the participants
• Why does drumming promote calm? One reason may be the repetition of the sounds and movements

Cloud gazing

An appealing alternative to meditation

• Draws us outside and increases the amount of light that enters our eyes, which has been shown to reduce stress
• Amorphous clouds give the attention something calming to focus on
• Restorative and accessible
• Can be seen even in dense urban areas

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