I started meditating my junior year of college. Six years ago.
I was anxious, overwhelmed, and had a genuinely tough relationship with my own mind. The idea that I had any agency over it felt completely out of reach.
But I kept showing up. Imperfectly, inconsistently at first...and then with more intention.
By graduation I sat my first 10-day silent Vipassana retreat. No reading, no writing, no talking. Just the mind, unfiltered, for ten days. I joined a yoga and meditation studio in the East Village and made it my second home. I became a certified teacher at 24.
By graduation I sat my first 10-day silent Vipassana retreat. No reading, no writing, no talking. Just the mind, unfiltered, for ten days. I joined a yoga and meditation studio in the East Village and made it my second home. I became a certified teacher at 24.
None of that happened because I was naturally good at it. It happened because I simply sat down and started––at first for only five minutes a day.
When I tell people this, the response is almost always the same: "I could never meditate. It's too scary in there."
I understand that more than you know. The mind can feel like a place you'd rather not visit. A wild and untamed mind is not the most comfortable place to be.
But there is so much power, so much freedom, in learning to witness your thoughts rather than be controlled by them.
You are not your mind. You are the one observing it. And that distinction changes everything.
But there is so much power, so much freedom, in learning to witness your thoughts rather than be controlled by them.
You are not your mind. You are the one observing it. And that distinction changes everything.
So today, I'm not going to give you a 20-minute practice or a technique to master.
I'm just going to ask you to find one moment of stillness.
One conscious inhale. One conscious exhale. A mindful step between meetings. A pause before you react to something that would usually pull you under.
That's it. That's the practice.
Progress happens slowly, invisibly, and then all at once. The only thing required of you is to begin.
And by the way - Sovereign Studios meditations are coming soon.
With love,
Anushka
Anushka
