18 Aug A beginner‘s guide to meditation
By Ela Amarie
If you are a complete meditation beginner, you may be wondering how to get started. Learning to meditate isn’t as complex as you might think. If you want to experience the positives that the practice can bring, then here is a very simple beginner’s guide to meditation.
1. Take a seat
Find a place to sit that feels calm and quiet to you.
2. Set a time limit
If you are just beginning, it can help to choose a short time, such as 5 or 10minutes.
3. Notice your body
You can sit in a chair with your feet on the floor, cross-legged, you can kneel-all are fine. Just make sure you are stable, relaxed and alert.
4. Feel your breath
Follow the sensation of your breath as it goes in and as it goes out.
5. Notice when your mind has wandered
Inevitably, your attention will leave the breath and wander to other places. When you notice this, simply return your attention to your breath.
6. Be kind to your wandering mind
Don’t judge yourself or obsess over the content of the thoughts you find yourself lost in. Just come back to the breath.
7. Repeat
You go away, you come back and you try to do it as kindly as possible. That’s it.
Ennace your practice with these tips
When you’re first learning how to meditate, it’s important to view it as a skill that you cultivate and strengthen over time. When you’re just getting started, use these meditation tips to enhance your practice…
1. Keep an eye on your posture, ensuring your back is straight. This will help you focus and infuse the practice with positivity.
2. Try meditating first thing in the morning. This sets a wonderful tone for the rest of your waking hours and alsotakes advantage of the receptive state of your mind before the rush of the day begins.
3. If you can’t relax into your meditation, try counting your breaths for a while. This will calm your thoughts, guiding the brain into a more focused state.
4. Let thoughts drift by, rather than trying to stop them. It is natural to get distracted; the important thing is to gently refocus your mind as soon as you noticed that it has wandered.
5. Meditate in silence if at all possible, in a quiet room. If there are background noises, try listening to some quiet instrumental music.
6. Commit to meditating for at least a month. This will allow you to acquire the basic skills, and begin to see the real benefits it can bring.
Give it a try and let us know how it works. And if you want to learn more about it, join one of our meditation classes and get all your questions answered.
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