32. Why Meditation Is for People Who Think They Can’t Meditate

Meditation isn’t about stopping your thoughts, it’s about changing your relationship to them. In this episode of Nourished with Dr. Anikó, Dr. Anikó breaks down what meditation really is, why so many people believe they “can’t” meditate, and how simple body-based awareness can radically shift the way you respond to stress, emotions, and daily life.

Through clear explanation and a guided sensory exercise, this episode shows how bringing attention into the body creates a pause between stimulus and reaction, interrupting habitual patterns driven by stress, fear, or past experiences. Rather than forcing calm, meditation becomes a practice of presence, observation, and choice.

Dr. Anikó also offers practical guidance for building a sustainable meditation practice, including posture, breath awareness, habit formation, and why seated stillness is such a powerful tool in an overstimulated world. Whether you’re brand new to meditation or struggling to stay consistent, this episode reframes meditation as an accessible, life-enhancing skill rather than a performance.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why a racing mind doesn’t mean you’re “bad” at meditation
• How focusing on physical sensations pulls you out of thought spirals
• Why breath awareness is the foundation of any meditation practice
• How meditation increases emotional regulation and self-awareness
• Simple ways to create a daily meditation ritual that actually sticks

This episode is an invitation to slow down, reconnect with your body, and experience the quiet clarity that comes from intentional presence—no special tools or experience required.

Connect with Dr. Anikó:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.aniko/

Website: https://www.draniko.com/

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Disclaimer:
The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast.

Transcript

Dr. Anikó: Hello? Hello y'all Just a quick disclaimer that there is a meditation exercise that we do in this video. Please do not do it while driving, or if you are driving, maybe you can pull over and give yourself a chance to. Rest your body and close your eyes. But if you are doing something where you are operating machinery, please save the exercise for later.

And please enjoy. [00:01:00] Hello? Hello y'all and welcome back to another episode of Nourished with Dr. Aniko. Today I wanted to talk about how to start a meditation practice, because I keep talking about meditation and what an amazing resource it is, how it helps us be present in our lives, helps us have that pause before we just react where we get a chance to choose a response instead of just reacting from.

Reflexes and patterns and that kind of thing, or just anger and emotion and our sympathetic nervous system responses, because I don't know about y'all, but. My reactions aren't always the best, especially if they're coming from anger or fear or things like that. So meditation really gives us a [00:02:00] chance to observe ourselves, to see ourselves from the outside in some ways, or at least from a place of less.

Activation where you are kind of getting sucked into the story. Meditation kind of gives you almost an observer's point of view where you can watch yourself in the moment and also have some agency around what you do in the moment because with meditation. I've heard so many people say, I can't meditate.

My brain races. I can't clear my head. I can't stop my mind. Yeah, that's, that is meditation. That's why we meditate because our brains just go, go, go, go, go. They take us on a ride, they create their story and we get swept up into that story And often that story isn't really [00:03:00] rooted in the present moment.

Sometimes we are misreading a situation, sometimes we're going all the way back to some other situation that we're then super imposing on the moment that we're actually in. Sometimes we respond to things that maybe were painful experiences earlier in our lives or in childhood. And we think the same thing's happening again, but it's not.

And so when we meditate, we practice. That's why we call it practicing meditation. Not doing meditation, but we just practice it over and over and over again is because we get used to. Rooting into our bodies and feeling into our bodies and not being so attached to the story that's happening in our minds.

Because when you feel your body, you are not actually thinking, and we can [00:04:00] do a little exercise to practice this. Sit up straight in your chair or wherever you are sitting or lying down. Just feel the surface that's underneath you, whether that's a chair or a a bed, maybe.

Maybe you're outside and you're lying on grass. That sounds awesome, but I'm in a chair right now, so I'm going to feel my seat in the chair. I'm going to feel the ground under my feet. I feel my hands on my legs. I feel the temperature of the air on my skin to see if that's cool or warm or hot. Is it dry?

Is it moist? Breathe in through your nose and feel that cool air coming into your nostrils. Just really gently notice how far into your nose it goes, how far you can sense it. [00:05:00] Can you sense it actually entering. Your oral cavity, and then feel that air going out your nose again and feel that different temperature of how it exits your nose, how it's cool going in, and then warmer and moisture going out.

 Feel the edges of your nostrils where that little current of air is touching your nostrils, where you can feel it. So. If you did this exercise with me just now, notice if there's a difference in how your body feels. I feel much more relaxed. My muscles feel looser. And I'm also aware for kind of the first time since I came into this room of how quiet it's that there's like a calm, quiet that I'm hearing.

So we'll take a couple moments, just take [00:06:00] some bigger breaths. Now you might wanna roll your shoulders a little bit, wiggle your fingers and toes, just to kind of bring some movement and energy into your body. Because this can really calm us down, right? This is great for insomnia, for Racing Mind, because the whole reason that I introduced this exercise and that I invited y'all to join me in this exercise today was to show that when we are focusing on our sensations, what we hear, what we feel, what we taste, what we smell, what we see.

We are not in our heads. So getting into the body is the way that we stop getting swept up into the windstorm of our thoughts and we can start to recognize. We have different thoughts at different [00:07:00] times. So it's not about eliminating the thoughts because that's not going to happen. We're always going to have thoughts.

That's a great thing. We don't want to get to the point where we don't ever have thoughts again. But to be able to toggle between I'm in my body and my mind is going is an amazing skill and practice that can serve us when our mind is carrying us. Out of the present moment. So more experienced meditators can actually start to observe their thoughts about their thoughts, right?

But when we first begin, the practice is to be in your body. Your thought comes up, and then you don't chastise yourself because this isn't about having emotional responses to. Natural processes. We think we're have huge brains. We're cognitive beings. You just notice that the thought has arrived [00:08:00] and there's different things you can do to bring yourself back into your body.

So you can say things like thinking, thinking or return to the body. Or ground or there you are, or anything that kind of helps you notice that the thinking is happening and brings you back. One of the things that we focus on the most in meditation is your breath. 'cause you take your breath wherever you go.

And that's why I encourage people, no matter what your practices end up being. Have there be a component of seated still meditation. It doesn't have to be seated. It could be lying down. I find lying down a little bit harder because I often fall asleep. There's a role for that too. I like seated meditation, and it doesn't have to be on the ground crisscross applesauce.

You can be in a chair, you can be against a wall. Encourage you to try to hold yourself as [00:09:00] upright as possible. So if you needed to put pillows under your seat or a chair again, but not kind of lounging, leaning, slumped over onto the back of the chair, but really trying to stand. Sit upright rather on the chair, and then also feet on the ground.

You try to be as symmetrical as possible, both for the evenness that that gives your body, and also so you're not inadvertently kind of creating asymmetry and potentially pain in your body eventually. And then the meditation is just this process of floating away on your thoughts. And returning and floating away on your thoughts and returning.

And because you practice it with stillness, with your breath, you can do that in an airplane seat. You can do that behind the wheel of a car. You can do that anywhere. You are because you're not relying on, okay, now I have [00:10:00] to do a thousand jumping jacks. I have to run around the block. Those are all really amazing skills that we should use.

But there is something very powerful about learning how to be still and quiet, and it brings a great peace and a great presence to our lives. And so. Starting a meditation practice is incredibly simple. You just choose a space in your home that feels at least a little bit calming, so just clear out a corner.

You can set up whatever props you need, whether that's a chair you can use, yoga blocks, a rolled up blanket, just somewhere where you can sit comfortably. And again, find that position. Some people kneel, some people sit c crisscross applesauce. Some people sit in a chair. Um, some people use a [00:11:00] bolster, like a yoga pillow bolster.

Whatever works for you. Works, it's fine. They have these kneeling stools that you can use if kneeling is more comfortable for you. They have special sort of kneeling wooden kneeling stools. I was thinking about the padded ones, but there's actually wooden kneeling meditation stools that are for this. If that is more comfortable, I find kneeling to be more comfortable than just sitting on the ground.

Or I'll sit on some pillows and I, I like my hips quite high up because I have some lower back. Mobility stuff, um, that I, it's just a, it's just the way my body is. So find what works for you. Honestly, you can start with five minutes, you can start with minutes. You can start with whatever works for you. I would encourage you to do at least five minutes a minute is great, like at a stoplight or something, but if you're really trying to start a practice, I would encourage you to at least invite five [00:12:00] minutes.

For purposes of habit forming, good habit forming, it can be really helpful to do this at the same time every day. I will say starting your day with the morning meditation sets the tone for your whole day in a way that, for me anyway, the benefit is just so much greater than when I have tried to do meditation at other times of the day, but again.

Don't let this be a rate limiting step for you. So if you don't have time in the morning, do it in the afternoon. Do it before lunch. Do it before you go to bed. Just do it. Do it once a day. People love. Keeping up with things and checklists and that kind of thing. I just think of all the apps that are like, you've lost your streak.

You know? And people just keep doing the thing because they don't wanna lose their streak. Use that dopamine hit to your advantage. Start some kind of tracking [00:13:00] system. There are apps and things where you can track. Your streak as well. Um, insight Timer is a really wonderful app. It's free, and they have a lot of like guided meditations, a lot of beautiful music.

They have courses that some are free, some you have to have a paid subscription for. I'm not sponsored by Insight Timer, I'm just sharing that. They're wonderful. A wonderful resource. But again, since we're talking about seeded still meditation, you're not gonna be using guided meditation.

It really is this exercise in just being in your body. So if you can do it at the same time every day, that just helps you. Get into the practice of it. Same thing with being in the same place in your house. Some people like to have an altar that can sound esoteric, but it really is just kind of a shelf [00:14:00] with things that are meaningful to you on it.

Some people use a window cell, some people use a little bench. You can put candles on it. Just anything that kind of creates a ritual for you that not only signifies something meaningful to you, like some people will put a flower on it or a picture or a postcard of something beautiful or a little statue that means something to them, whatever it is, that's sort of letting your body and spirit and being know that this is a time for presence.

This is a time where I will be paying attention because at the end of the day, meditation is just paying attention on purpose. And so the gateway to meditation is the breath. And just like the exercise we did, it is just focusing on how your body feels. [00:15:00] Noticing how your body is relaxing, settling, noticing your breath, noticing how every part of your body feels.

 you just feel every different part of your body, and I always find it interesting when I get to my toes. Is how hard it is for me to distinguish between my middle and fourth toe.

 and you can notice those things. For some of us, this is the first time we're actually noticing these parts of our bodies. And so the body scan can be a really nice way to start your meditation just to kind of get you into your body, and then it's just sitting and breathing in and out, and you're not trying to control your breath in this.

Situation. There's plenty of other wonderful breathing techniques. There's pranayama. Those can all be incorporated. But if you're just starting out, I really recommend you just observing your breath. It's an exercise in [00:16:00] observation and presence. And again, you're gonna get carried away by your thoughts.

You won't even know your thinking. You'll just notice. All of a sudden you will notice you are thinking. That's the point. Friends. You are noticing yourself. You are observing yourself. You are becoming aware of yourself. That's the point. That's all. It's, and if you are needing a, if this just feels so difficult to grasp, you can certainly start with a guided body scan.

You can certainly start with a guided meditation. You can certainly start with a guided yoga nidra, which I love, which kind of takes you through the sensation, just sensing each part of your body, but moving towards or alongside. Silent still meditation. It really, honestly, I mean, just think about how different we felt after just a couple minutes of doing a [00:17:00] physical presence exercise that we did earlier in this.

People say, you know, you'll see benefits after a week, you'll see benefits. The first time you meditate, you will feel different. And if you incorporate this into your life every day, I mean, people work up to half an hour, an hour of meditation daily. Some people do even more. That sounds insane when you first.

Start meditating. I know that for me when I first started, the idea of doing more than five minutes just seemed wild, like absolutely impossible. And when I really get into a practice of meditation, an hour's easy. It doesn't feel like a long time when you are really present in your body, and that feeling of just calmness where your brain finally gets a chance to relax is amazing.

And it also is becoming less and [00:18:00] less common of an experience in our culture and society where we're go, go, go, go, go, getting emails, getting texts, getting pinged on social media. Our mind is constantly overloaded and doesn't have a chance to just get a rest. So I hope this gets you excited and curious about welcoming.

A meditation practice into your life. One easy way to keep track of the time is to set a timer for five minutes. You can also set a reminder for yourself to meditate. So even if you can't do it first thing in the morning, you can do it at one o'clock every day. Again, I do encourage you to try to. Get it into a ritual where you're doing it at the same time every day, in the same place, every day.

But if that's not possible, don't let that keep you [00:19:00] from incorporating this into your life. Do it when you can. How you can for how long you can. It is absolutely life changing. Life deepening, life enhancing, because as you're moving through the world, you will start to be more present. You will start to notice the beauty in the world more.

You will start to notice yourself getting riled up about things, and then you have that moment to see yourself doing it and say to yourself. Is this what I wanna do right now? Am I even responding to the actual situation at hand, or am I just really upset about something else that happened this morning?

The way that it brings you into the truth of your life cannot be overstated. And if you'd like a little more, a lot more really is a beautiful book by one of my teachers, John Cabot. And. It's one of my favorites. It's very accessible. [00:20:00] It's not super long, and it's called Wherever you Go. There you are. And I find it to be a wonderful resource, a wonderful both starting point for creating a meditation practice and just, just words I come back to over and over again.

It's one of those books that when you read it again, it feels completely different because you are completely different. Right? We can never. Across the same river twice because the river's different. The world is different and you're different. So take care y'all, and I'll see you next time. [00:21:00]