A Moment to Manifest
Written by: Isabella Diaz-Kelly | Illustration by: Aliya McDonald
Boost your health and wellness in as little as fifteen minutes a day.
Taking a moment in your day to meditate and find stillness in your body and mind is an effortless yet valuable practice. As college students, we sometimes get lost in the shuffle of our hectic schedules, but in the practice of meditation, you can find comfort and clarity in just fifteen minutes.
There are many ways to meditate, some more formal than others. You can find meditation from a standard seated yoga pose, lying down flat on your back, or sitting up against a wall. For traditional seated meditation, it’s helpful to guide yourself through some focus points or chakras. Chakras are points in your body that hold energy, and these vital points correspond with nerves and areas that often hold tension and affect our emotional and physical beings.
Below is a list of the chakras and their locations on the body. Try locating these points for yourself as an easy way to start your meditation practice.
Root chakra – the tailbone
Sacral chakra – the sacrum/lower back
Solar chakra – the center of the spine
Heart chakra – the heart/chest
Third chakra – between the temples
Crown chakra – the top of the head
Essentially, you find stillness by visualizing yourself directing the energy throughout the body, starting at the feet, making your way up through each chakra, and ending with the crown of the head. While practicing your meditation, take your time to release at each chakra and pay attention to the areas of your body that may need a little extra attention, i.e. releasing tensions in the neck or lower back. When you find an area of tension, fully acknowledge it, and take a few extra breaths before redirecting your energy. To get the most out of your meditation, try to spend at least two minutes at each of the six points. After approximately twelve minutes of breathing through your chakras, take another three minutes to wake your body back to the outside world. This will complete your easy fifteen-minute meditation.
Manifestation goes hand in hand with meditation. When you return from meditative stillness, this is a perfect time to manifest. Manifestation is the practice of altering your mindset in favor of positive energy. The process depends on your ability to have an open mind. After meditation, you are your most centered self, your breathing is even, and your thoughts are still. Articulate your goals to yourself and align your actions by embodying your goals. Now release that energy out into the universe, with the confidence that it will manifest and return to you. Manifestation and the power to reveal good things for yourself comes from within. At times, all it takes to create positive energy is to shift your mentality - opening your mind to the likelihood of something happening in your favor.
I find my manifestations much stronger and wholehearted after completing my meditation practice for 15-20 minutes. Fifteen minutes should be the minimum for meditation to allow your body and breath to reach total stillness.
Being able to stay in touch with how stress affects your body is a crucial tool for maintaining health and wellness. Especially as students, it can be widely beneficial to your study routines, daily schedules, and overall well-being. Give it a try, and hopefully, you will add it to your wellness routine.