A consistent meditation practice is a struggle for even the most experienced of meditators.
For some reason it’s difficult to bring yourself to sit down and quiet the mind despite knowing that it’s the best thing for you.
I was talking about this phenomenon with my good friend Phil Drolet of The Feel Good Lifestyle and he replied with a novel solution.
“When you go to the gym, do you just do bench press the entire time?”
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I said “No, I do 5-7 different exercises depending on what muscles I’m working on.”
“Exactly! So why spend your entire meditation session doing just one type of practice?”
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The Method

Instead of doing 20 solid minutes of meditation, Phil breaks it down into 5 4-minute intervals of different practices. For example:
1-4 min — Breathing Focus
5-8 min — Your Favorite Mantra
9-12 min — Loving/Kindness
13-16 min — Gratitude
17-20 min — Intention Visualization
This not only makes your session go by quickly, but also allows you to energize many different parts of your psyche and energy body.

Is this a cop out?

Yes and no.
If you’re a beginner, or just not feeling the extended meditation today, this technique is perfect.
However the same gym metaphor can be applied to practicing only this type of meditation: would you always do the same exercise at the gym? Nope.
Longer periods of a single-focus meditation are still important for building up your ability to concentrate a.k.a. stay present. Balance is key.

The Takeaway

Do what you need to do to make meditation enjoyable. Make it short, varied, active, music-oriented…whatever 
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What other types of meditation would you include in your ‘gym’ rotation?