Recording: Host an Online Meditation & Journaling event

Take a moment to ground your body, focus your mind, and release that which no longer serves you with Irina Demchenko from Meetup’s Community Support team. Follow Irina’s guidance and learn how to host your own guided meditation and journaling event while enjoying a guided meditation session yourself.

Find out how to start a meditation, journaling, or health-focused group on Meetup.

Table of contents

Skip to the section of the video you’re interested in using the table of contents below.

• Intro (1:18)
• About today’s theme, “embodying all emotions.” (5:58)
• Guided Meditation (8:50)
• Journaling (19:29)
• Q&A (31:06)
• Practical tips for hosting a meditation or wellness-related event (50:26):
  • Add another activity to the event (e.g. journaling, breathwork, sharing, etc.)
  • Make the event beginner-friendly 
  • Experiment with date and time of the event
  • Allow extra time for attendees to settle in
  • Be mindful of the “waiting room”
  • Go over “housekeeping” at the beginning of the event

Top Q&A Questions

• Where do you get your journaling questions?
  • They were questions that I came up with. The two questions about “What would I like to let go?” and “What would I like to let in?” are questions I ask myself regularly because it’s very normal for us to grasp onto things that do not serve us. You can also find ideas for questions on the internet.
• When, would you say, is it the hardest for you to meditate? 
  • It’s hard to answer that because sometimes, for no reason, my mind is all over the place and it’s really hard to meditate. But I find that the moments when it’s the hardest to meditate are the moments when you need it the most. So if you can really push through the challenging times, you will see a lot of benefits on the other side. 
• What should I do if my mind is wandering?
  • Starting with a guided meditation can help. There are so many apps. I use one called Calm, there are also lots of meditation guides on Spotify, Youtube, and there are so many free resources. That way, instead of listening to your thoughts, you can listen to the guide.
    Another tip is to start journaling. If your thoughts start to spiral, what would it look like if you were to write your thoughts down? 
• Any tips on self-guided meditations?
  • Counting can be a good place to start. So inhale for 1, exhale for 2, inhale for 3, exhale for 4 and go all the way up to 10 and repeat.
    You can also work on the senses, I like to do this in threes. Start with 3 deep breaths, then try to think about 3 things you hear and say them to yourself, then go to 3 things you can physically feel, then open your eyes and look around you to find 3 things you can see. Then repeat.

Last modified on June 23, 2021