The benefits of meditation have been well studied: it lessens stress, enlightens our understanding of grief, fortifies our bonds, hones our focus, and cultivates self-compassion. Want to learn how to meditate? Find a comfy spot and read this article to learn more!
Why Meditate?
Although it is not a miracle cure, meditation can provide your life the much-needed breathing space. Sometimes, breathing space is all we need to make better choices and decisions in our lives whether it be for our families, the communities we are part of, or ourselves. The most important tools you can use in your meditation routine are a little amount of self-kindness, some tolerance, and a comfortable place to sit.
Meditation for Beginners
To begin, find five to 10 minutes in your day and start looking for a serene location where you may sit. Be mindful of your body. Kneeling, loosely crossing your legs, and sitting in a chair with your feet on the floor are all appropriate seating postures.
Make sure you are safe and in a posture that you can hold for a while. Draw a deep breath. Pay close attention to the sensations of your breath as it enters and exits your body.
Understand when your mind has wandered. Eventually, your attention will shift away from the breath and onto other things. When you ultimately notice that your mind has wandered, just gently return your concentration back to the breath.
Be tolerant of your wandering ideas. Don't spend too much time critiquing or worrying about the thoughts that you might have. When you're ready, raise your gaze (if your eyes are closed, open them). Take a minute to give any nearby noises some thought. Now pay attention to how your body feels. Be mindful of your thoughts and feelings.
Meditation Mistakes to Avoid
This may be confusing for some, but one of the mistakes you can commit as a beginner is to try to meditate. Instead of trying too hard to “perform” the act of meditation, do nothing at all while you are meditating.
Another mistake is to emphasize too heavily on the effects of meditation. Regular meditation is necessary to experience meditation's advantages. There is nothing you can do to implement such benefits; they will arrive organically over time.
Therefore, refrain from searching for specific experiences or indicators of success or failure in your meditation because doing so would prevent you from reaping its rewards.
Just establish the practice of meditating twice daily, and then practice patience. In addition, if you stop meditating due to your busy life, don’t beat yourself up. Simply begin the process again.
Other Meditation and Mindfulness Techniques
Other mindfulness techniques employ focused points other than the breath to help us focus. These might be tangible things, like a sound in the room, or more abstract things, such as recognizing unplanned events that occur when practicing aimless walking.
All of these methods share one thing in common: through them, we become conscious of how often our ideas are in control. This, however, can be changed and altered through consistent meditation and mindfulness exercises!