In this article I am going to talk you through on how to meditate and trust me, everybody can do it.
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What is meditation?
The official definition is: “Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique — such as mindfulness or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity — to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.”
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Where should I meditate?
You can meditate anywhere you’d like it because it is an exercise for the mind. You can meditate sitting in a chair, on the floor and even just laying in bed.
However, there is an optimal way to meditate, and it’s best to avoid meditating in bed because you tend to fall asleep. Meditating sitting on the ground with your back straight up is considered the most formal beneficial way of meditating.
That’s because it keeps you awake and allows you to sit for a longer time.
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What should I do with my body?
The first thing you want to keep in mind while meditating is your feet, a lot of experienced meditators will preach about how important it is to keep your feet on top of each other, however, for beginners, it’s perfectly acceptable to sit however you want.
Your arms need to be resting on your thighs, and your hands form a cup, and they are laying on your lap. What’s important is that your arms feel relaxed. Your back is straight and your head not tilted upwards or downwards, just forward.
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What to do with my eyes?
You have an option to meditate with your eyes open or with your eyes closed, but for most beginners, I would recommend meditating with your eyes closed as it’s easier to focus.
If you do choose to meditate with your eyes open, do not focus on an object in front of you, instead, look into the distance.
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How long should I meditate?
Before you start your meditation session, you want to set the alarm, and this is because time tends to feel slower when you first start meditating, so setting an alarm prevents the constant need to wonder about how much time is left in the session.
For first time meditators, I recommend you to start with 5 minutes on the clock. As it’s a daily exercise to do, you can increase your meditation time after a couple of days.
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What to do during meditation?
This is where it gets tricky, and now there are many different forms of meditation. Some focus on things around you and some repeat relaxing words in their minds.
What you’ll be learning today is one the most commonly used form of meditation, and it’s called: “Mindfulness breath meditation”. It’s very easy to learn and considered just as powerful as insightful as any other form of meditation.
The focus of breathing mediation is on your breath. First thing you need to make sure that you are breathing through your nose, then all you have to do is to take all of your attention to your breath. Observe the way your breath transitions from inhale to exhale. Observe every single aspect of the way it feels and don’t judge it, don’t criticize it observe.
Soon, thoughts will start appearing in your mind and will distract you from this simple task. When you notice your mind is wandering, you need to pull the focus back to the breath, and this is how you train your meditation muscle.
Some beginner meditators will find it extremely hard to focus on just the breath for even a couple of seconds, and they’ll discover themself lost very often. This is completely normal so don’t criticize yourself if it happens which it probably will.
All you have to do is bring your attention to your breathing, and that’s all to it. It is a straightforward exercise, and it’s crucial to make it into a habit often. You’ll notice quickly it’s getting more comfortable as you practise.
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How often should I meditate?
To start seeing the benefits of mediation, you should meditate daily, and a good routine is about ten minutes a day every single day. You can do it twice a day, three times a day, as long as you turn it into a daily habit.
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When will I see the benefits of meditation?
Well, first you need to be doing it daily, the length of each session also is important for how fast you see the benefits. Still, it’s almost impossible to say when you will notice benefits because this is different from person to person.
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This post was previously published on Hello, Love.
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