Better Lives with AIA Vitality: Jess Haworth - The day meditation 'clicked' for me

From a young age, Jess’ father taught her that mental wellbeing played a huge role in a healthy lifestyle. Her dad – a huge advocate for meditation – practised daily, but she constantly found excuses to skip meditation sessions.

“I didn’t understand what it could do or the benefits of it,” Jess says. “I tried it once or twice, but didn’t feel any immediate benefits and gave up. Looking back, I definitely didn’t commit to a routine for long enough – it took about three to four months of consistent sessions to feel the benefits.”

As an AIA Business Development Manager, Jess often found it difficult to quiet her mind after a long workday, and sometimes found it hard to fall asleep. That was until she started meditation practice with AIA Vitality.

Many benefits can come from regular meditation – including anxiety relief, improved concentration and lowered blood pressure  which, in turn, can reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.

Meditation allows Jess to empty her mind and decompress after a long day of work, which has tremendously improved her mental health. “Your mind is like the general manager of what’s happening in your body,” she explains.

“I didn’t understand any of that until I started consistently trying it for myself – and it’s definitely improved my day-to-day life. Meditation helps me relax, clear my racing mind and de-stresses me. Lockdown has me staring at screens all day, so it’s really nice to switch off, unburden and get ready for the next day, rather than bringing all that stress across to the next morning.”

Initially, Jess set herself a goal to complete three meditations a week to earn AIA Vitality Points through the AIA Vitality programme. However, after incorporating these sessions into her daily lifestyle, it became  about so much more than just gaining points.

“Meditating is something that I really want to do now,” Jess says. “I’m aiming to increase my sessions to more than what the AIA Vitality programme targets you to do. My current goal is to meditate five times a week, and ultimately to practice every single day, just like my dad.”

Jess notes that meditation is not a ‘one size fits all’ routine and suggests experimenting with different guided and non-guided options to find your preference. For Jess, Insight Timer has been the perfect companion for her meditation sessions, with its variety of different formats and guided meditation voices.

“With meditation, I find that you’ll develop an inclination for what type of meditation works for you,” she says. “I can’t respond in the same way to the sessions my Dad prefers. I really like Insight Timer as it has different options available for my sessions. I can also pick unguided or guided sessions, which both have a range of background music and voices to choose from. If you’re just starting out, I recommend trying out Headspace as the sessions are short and sharp – and you get a lot of help.”

While Jess found the incentives offered by AIA Vitality to be a great motivator, ultimately the behaviour changes she made – and wellbeing benefits she’s reaped – became their own reward. Now, she’s added fitness goals alongside her mindfulness targets.

“Getting my daily steps in is the current big one for me,” Jess says. “If it’s raining, I’ll do a home workout for points. While I’m currently obsessed with my Countdown vouchers, I’ve previously used the Forme Spa massage vouchers as gifts, which have been really handy.”

Following her lifestyle changes, Jess’ next milestone is upgrading her AIA Vitality Status. “I’m currently on Gold, aiming for Platinum,” Jess explains. “The rewards and points system are very motivating to me. If I can pay less on my premiums and live a healthier lifestyle at the same time, that sounds like a win-win to me.”