Start with “mini-meditations.”
If you don’t already have a meditation practice, starting one can feel like just one more thing you’re “supposed” to do. And all the articles telling us how we “should” meditate—first thing in the morning! Five days a week! At least 20 minutes!—don’t help.
Meditation shouldn’t feel like one more obligation or stressor. But your skin (and your whole being) will benefit from any amount of mindfulness you can manage.
I’ve found that little things like bringing my attention to my breath for one or two minutes, putting down my phone and tuning into my body as I walk down the street, sitting quietly for thirty seconds before I drink my coffee in the morning, all help.
If I practice these mini-meditations over time, they make me feel so much more relaxed and happier. It also makes it a whole lot easier to gradually step it up to those twenty minutes, five days a week.
Any amount of meditative awareness you can bring to your day reduces your cortisol levels and calms inflammation. That will lead to more radiant skin. Go easy on yourself, don’t expect perfection, and experiment with practicing in whatever small ways feel accessible to you.
Before you know it, you’ll be chilling out your neural pathways, calming down your fight-or-flight responses, and nurturing your skin’s innate ability to heal and repair itself.
(You might even find a more radiant reflection looking back at you in the mirror!)