Do you know what kind of learner you are? This is an important fact to know about yourself because it will make learning any new skill or developing a new practice MUCH easier.

There are three different types of learning styles: auditory, visual and kinesthetic.  We learn via all three modes but we each have one that works best for us.  I’m going to give you a super easy way to determine what yours is after I share a quick story that inspired this UPdate.

A woman in one of my recent workshops shared about her frustration with mediation. She wanted to establish a practice but was having a lot of difficulty staying present during the meditation exercises.  At that particular event, I was only playing music rather than leading a lot of guided meditation.  When I learned she was a visual learner, it was super easy to remedy her meditation obstacles by leading her through a very detailed guided meditation with a ton of visual imagery.  Once I catered the process to her particular learning style, meditation became so much easier for her!

This is just a small example of why knowing how we learn best is valuable!  So what’s your style? Here’s how to know for sure: Imagine you are out to dinner with a good friend sitting at a table across from each other. Which of the following three scenarios would be most distracting for you making it hard for you to focus on what your friend was saying:

1. If there were TV screens behind her with lots of different channels and images showing?
2. If there was really loud music playing and/or you could hear the conversation at the table next to you?
3. If you were physically disturbed in some way like the temperature was too hot or cold or your seat was uncomfortable?

If you answered 1, then you are a visual learner and learn best when you can see something, read it, imagine it vividly or watch someone else do it.

If you answered 2, you are an auditory learner and learn best when you can listen to instructions, hear it in a song, or have someone else teach you.

If you answered 3, you are a kinesthetic learner and learn best when you can experience something hands-on and do it yourself while being taught. Interactive learning environments are best.

Does knowing your style mean you can only learn in that way? Of course not but keep your style in mind. This also may offer you some relief if you keep buying books to learn something and are beating yourself up because you never read them! You may be an auditory learner so audio books or online classes are a better bet.  Or perhaps you are a kinesthetic learner and a live workshop will float your boat.

The better you know how you learn the best, the more you’ll be inspired to optimize your potential which only happens when we are consistently students of life.

Love,
Christine

p.s. If you are interested in some guided mediation (which works great for both visual and auditory learners), check out my NEW meditation CD here

p.p.s. We have ONE SPOT left for Chrysalis, my summer retreat. Join us in LA for a weekend full of miracles.  Go here  for details.