Our Super Hacks are easy ways to add a moment of positivity into your day and maintain healthy habits. This hack is brought to you by SoulCycle Instructor and Mindset Coach Victoria Brown who lives by this hack as a way to bring calm, focused energy to her morning routine!

Victoria Brown is a true hustler - from SoulCycle to Equinox to Very Best Self, Victoria juggles a lot and her schedule can get jam-packed. How does she stay energized through it all? Victoria says adding meditation to her daily routine has transformed her life. 

Meditation is scientifically proven to increase positive emotions, compassion, immune function, control over emotions, and the ability to focus. It’s also proven to decrease anxiety, stress, pain, feelings of loneliness, and depression. That said, meditation is still a practice that is relatively new in popularity in the Western world. Victoria’s here to debunk some common misconceptions!

Myth: I am bad at meditating.

It is impossible to be bad at meditation. Consider it to be the same as working out- the only bad workout is the one you didn't do. If you are setting time aside for yourself to focus on your breath, then you are doing it right. 

Myth: I can't stop thinking.

Even the Dalai Lama has thoughts! The average human being has 60-80 thousand thoughts per day, so it would be virtually impossible to stop yourself from thinking. Sometimes your to-do list will pop into your head, or what you had for breakfast, or even sometimes a memory of something that happened over a decade ago will creep in - it's all normal. Imagine your thoughts are like clouds in the sky: when one pops up, without judging yourself, gently allow the thought to pass, and come back to witnessing your breath.

Myth: You're supposed to have a magical experience.

It's very common that most days you meditate, nothing miraculous will happen during your session. The idea is that we are constantly breathing, and that our breath is the one thing happening on autopilot in the background of all that we do. Therefore, if we take time out of our day to actually focus on our breath, it slows everything down. You create space for yourself. You begin to notice the space between each breath. The miraculous moments actually happen in the moments beyond meditation. It's BECAUSE you meditate that you begin to respond to stressful situations instead of reacting to them. You’ll start to notice more space between yourself and all that is happening around you. The more you do it, the better you will feel.

How to meditate: 6 stages

1) Settle: Comfort is Queen. Settle into a comfortable position. Victoria likes sitting on a cushion or pillow, legs crossed in front, with an erect spine. She doesn't believe in good/bad, right/wrong, but lying down isn’t her preferred meditation position. If you’re just waking up, you don’t want to fall back asleep during meditation! Find what feels best for you!

2) Witness: Cultivate your ability to witness your breath. Focus on the act of inhaling and exhaling slowly. 

3) Natural Drifting: Within seconds of witnessing, we tend to drift. Our minds will wander off into thought. Don't get frustrated, feeling like "I can't concentrate.” Allow your thoughts to come, and allow them to pass, then gently return back to your breath. 

4) Judgement: We are our own harshest critic. Next time you catch yourself judging yourself, think, "Oh! I am in stage 4 of the present moment! This is ok." then float back to your breath.

5) Surrender: Give yourself permission to let it all go. Surrender to the stillness, and silence within.

6) Stillness: Experience the stillness and silence.

This all takes time, that's why it’s called a practice. Commit to your practice and you will see positive changes occur in your life. You are not your thoughts, you simply have thoughts.