10 Tips on How to Meditate | Beginners Guide To Meditation
You want to get started in a meditation practice but where do you start? This guide will give you 10 Tips on How to Meditate and is an easy Beginners Guide to Meditation.
1) Time to Meditate – You need to prioritise the time you will meditate, book it like an appointment and make it important. I like to meditate in the morning before I start to work and again in the evening before I drift off to sleep. For me this sets up my day for success and relaxes me for a wonderful night’s sleep. It takes only 10 minutes a session and I ring fence that time just for meditation.
Choose a time where you can relax and concentrate just on the now, this time is only for meditation and the 1001 thing you have to deal with can be left behind for this short time.
2) Find a Place to Meditate – This does not have to be a Japanese room decorated specifically for meditating, but it needs to be quiet and peaceful. You need somewhere comfortable to sit and you need to be alone. I like my conservatory in the summer, the sun is invigorating, or simply my office in the winter. I leave the phones, as at that time they are unlikely to ring and mute my mobile and email.
Find your place, it could be your living room, before the family rise, your car in the car park at work, a park bench, your bedroom, or anywhere else that works for you.
Do not let the place become an obstacle to your meditation.
3) Your Meditation Position – In learning how to meditate many people get caught up with the meditation posture. You do not need to sit on the floor or in the lotus position, but you can if you wish. The best posture to meditate is one that is comfortable.
In you evening meditation don’t mind if you fall asleep, the purpose of the meditation is to quiet your mind and have it process what you want, whilst you sleep, so if you drift of that is fine, and you can do the meditation lying in bed.
In your daytime meditation you want to relax but you do not want to sleep, so choose an upright position in a comfortable chair. Put your feet flat on the floor earthing you to the ground. Sit upright, with your shoulders back and relaxed, your neck should be straight and relaxed, have your hands on your legs, palms upwards but relaxed. Imagine yourself poised, balanced but relaxed nothing should be stiff, if it is just breath in deeply and as you relax let it go.
4. ) Relax Your Body – We have touched on this in posture, but to relax your mind you must relax your body. This may be hard at first, you are trying to forget the pressures of the day and are not used to concentrating on your body, so we will go through a simple relaxation exercise:
Close your eyes,
Breathe in deeply to the count of five,
Hold the breathe for a count of five,
Breathe out and relax your scalp.
Breathe in deeply to the count of five,
Hold the breathe for a count of five,
Breathe out and relax your face.
Breathe in deeply to the count of five,
Hold the breathe for a count of five,
Breathe out and relax your neck,
Continue with the exercise relaxing any area of the body that is tense, focus on the area and let go of the tension as you breathe out.
When you first try this exercise you may need to go through your whole body, but soon you will get a rhythm and it will be much easier to relax. This little exercise is amazing for releasing stress.
t may be hard to relax in a split moment, especially if you have just been doing a ton of stuff prior to your meditation session. Get into the mood for meditation by relaxing first. Ideas include taking a warm bath, listening to some light background music and making a nice drink for yourself.
5) Don’t Meditate After a Big Meal. A large meal will make you sleepy, it requires blood flow for digestion, so this diverts blood from the brain which is where we want it during meditation. A big meal can also make you feel uncomfortable so it will distract you from your meditation and this is the last thing you need. So avoid a big meal, but also avoid being hungry. If it’s time for your meditation and your stomach’s growling, get a bite first, you won’t relax whilst you are hungry.
6) Are You Tired? – If you try and start a meditation practice when you are tired, it will be doubly difficult. You need to sleep so for now, go to bed a little earlier and as you lie down to sleep use the relaxation exercise in point 4 above. This exercise is the start of your meditation practice and if practised regularly will allow you to relax your body and mind so much quicker. Practice this and let the world go as you drift of to sleep.
7) Don’t make it Harder – The mind has a way of putting obstacles in the way of change. Things such as the time isn’t right, or I need to clean the office first, or sitting is uncomfortable, the neighbours are too noisy or a dozen others. Don’t make your meditating hard, just find a quiet place and do it. It could be the park bench, your car, the library, it could be the rest room you just need a little peace and quiet this does not have to be hard.
8) Find Your Focus – To meditate you need to find your focus, this could be to focus on a specific object, a candle, beads an object in your room, or you could focus on a mantra or your breath. Focus helps contain a wandering mind, and you can use something external but by far the best method is to use your breath. Using your breathe helps you breath more deeply which in itself gives numerous benefits. As you breathe deeply and slowly it can lower your heart rate, help with blood pressure and release stress and anxiety.
9) Let it Go – The world, work family and friends will all be clamouring away in your mind. As soon as you sit down to start to meditate you will think of a myriad of things that urgently need doing now. Let it go – Your meditation will not take long, 5 to 10 minutes in the beginning so let it go the world can manage without you for that length of time. If you do this, soon your ego will realise that you are serious and the noise will quiet down, so stick at it and just for a few minutes let if go.
10) Enjoy Your Meditation – Once you start to meditate enjoy it, it is you time and all you need to do is breathe deeply and clear your mind. Do not expect too much to happen too soon, you are unlikely to see angels or float around the room, but you can experience peace, and eventually in time bliss. For now just relax and enjoy the process without thinking that something has to happen.
Here are three easy meditations for you to try, if you feel that you need a little more guidance:
How to Meditate - 5 Count Meditation
How to Meditate - Simple Meditation
Guided Mantra Meditation
We also have a range of three guided manifesting meditations that you can access here.
I hope you enjoyed these 10 Tips on How to Meditate in this our Beginners Guide To Meditation. Above all enjoy your meditation and don’t beat yourself up over what happens, it is a relaxing experience, but like any skill it takes time to master.
If you don’t want to go it alone try this program, results guaranteed.
