Donāt believe everything you see on Instagram. If you’ve been following our Alaska Highway journey, you know that the full-time RVers life isnāt always picture perfect. During the past year I’ve found a key to managing the highs and lows: RVing with daily meditation.
RVing with Daily Meditation for One Year (and counting!)
Last weekend I reached a milestone. I’ve meditated every day for 365 days straight with Headspace. Other than brushing my teeth, I canāt think of anything that I have done every single day for one year. So Iām quite proud of this achievement.
Previously, laughter yoga was all I really did to keep my mind healthy. But two years ago I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and that changed everything. āItās genetics,ā they said. āNot much you can do about it.ā I called bullshit.
A chronic health condition is not an option for either of us. I started eating better, drinking less and working out more to get off the meds. Conventional doctors told me this was probably not going to happen. But I got a second opinion from a MD / ND (naturopath), and was told that maybe in a year or two, better habits might help me reach that goal. He recommended meditation as one way to get there.
All the Cool Kids are Doing It
Meditation always seemed so out of reach for me. I couldnāt picture myself sitting in total silence for more than a minute or more. But I wanted to get off the pharmaceuticals and sat for my first three-minute session last July.
What I immediately loved about it was how Headspace makes meditation attainable. It unwraps the process and shows how this simple act can make a difference in anyoneās life. And for me, it has.
https://youtu.be/t_yXe_6mYTA
Every day, whether itās for just three minutes or as much as twenty, Iāve managed to clear my mind and just breathe. To his credit, Jim has done it every day with me, so props to him too.
How Meditation Makes RVing Easier
Breathe in, breathe out. Just be. This simple act hasnāt made me as wise as Yoda, but overall RVing with daily meditation has helped in many ways, like taking the edge off life’s most stressful events.
- I’m more aware of how I react to my environment and those around me
- It’s easier to observe and accept that the situation is the boss
- I’m more cognizant of critical, judgmental and reactive behavior
- And my blood pressure has gone down. Way down.
I am almost completely off medication. My ND guesses that in another year I might get to cut it out completely. “Meditation is often the most powerful thing I prescribe,” he told me.
This isn’t our usual post about our travels or RVing, but Iām sharing it with you because honestly I’ve found it to be the best thing to deal with the wild swings that often lay just around the corner of this adventurous lifestyle. I hope you’ll give it a try.
I’m so glad you posted about health issues and how you handle them. I love medication and prayer to calm me and help me handle the every day stress of life. I camp as much as possible and when I can’t anytime in the outdoors is relaxing to me. Love reading, listening to the birds, or just taking in nature. This takes planning, but well worth the effort to help yourself relax for you well being.
Sherri you are on the right road to good mental (and physical) health!
Thank you for sharing all of that Rene, i love it!
I have been using Calm, i really love that they have plenty of free as well as paid meditation. I just renewed my subscription not long ago. I always feel better after, but still cannot get myself there every day. Working on similar “things” you just gave me the motivation to try harder, thank you ā¤ļø
Jackie
You are so welcome Jackie. I like Calm too, the only thing is it requires the internet to use it. Since we have to be careful with our bandwidth usage I look for apps that you can use when offline, which is one reason why I picked Headspace. I’m so happy that you are enjoying the meditation process and working on doing it more often. It makes such a difference doesn’t it? Kudos to you!
This is something I have tried on my own and failed
I will try your program … I need something to calm me down. No blood pressure issues but I think meditation would help my well being.
Hey Patti, I wouldn’t look at it as failed, but rather that you weren’t in the right frame of mind at the time. I wasn’t for a long time either, Jim was ahead of me in this area. I hope you like the app, let me know!
Hey Rene, so Awesome!! Screw genetics girlfriend, you are kickin’ it (and Jim is too)! I couldn’t get enthused about headspace when you recommended it to me (something about the cartoons and having to pay was offputting to me) but I found another app called Insight Timer that has tons of free content and is cartoon free as well š I’m like you, I can’t think of many things I do every day, especially things that are good for me, but I am at 123 consecutive days of meditation and lovin’ it!
Martha that is GREAT! Wow I had no idea you were practicing every day, that’s wonderful! Congrats! But whatcha got against cartoons, lady? š Woot! Woot! Here’s to having a clear mind.
I don’t know if I can stick to anything for a full year, but it sounds like it’s worth a try. I’m on my personal hotspot, now, so I can’t play the video to see what it’s all about, but I’ll come back when I’m on WiFi and watch. Maybe it will help me, too. Certainly can’t hurt. Thanks for posting about your success with Meditation.
Nancy I hope you will give it a try. Let me know if you do. Thanks for reading!
YOU GO GIRL!, glad to see you are doing the lifestyle changes, continuing your meds while decreasing them under supervision. Hypertension, aka High Blood pressure is serious stuff. They don’t call it the silent killer for nothing. Good luck getting your numbers down and getting of the meds.
I had to laugh, though, sharing your BP numbers, but weight is NA. Very funny, typical girl stuff. LOL I’m sure that number is also good.
Hugs to you and Jim
Hey thanks mister. You were a huge help during my panic attacks when I went on the meds. Haha I didn’t want to acknowledge my weight back then, so I didn’t record it. You will see in the next post I’m much more confident about that number now š