Almost everybody heard of meditation and many have been doing it for years, enjoying its amazing benefits. Some of you though, are like me, quiet hesitant to try and discover it and feel like this is a “not for you”! In today’s busy and stressful world, with many items on your “to do lists”, always multi-tasking and rushing from one place to another, we tend to forget about our own self, real desires and the purpose of our lives. The accumulation of so much information and the stress makes the mind too noisy, loss of memories and issues with willpower, patience and inner peace. Meditation is simply about concentrating and being able to focus the attention to one point. You might think that it is very easy yet being able to sit or even lie down still and focusing on one point is such a challenge for many of us. If you are a beginnger to meditation, don’t worry! Here are my 11 meditation tips for beginners:
11 Meditation Tips for Beginners:
- Choose a Quiet Place
- Make Sure You are Comfortable
- Start with Relaxation
- Close Your Eyes
- Breath Properly
- Focus on Breathing
- Set An Alarm
- Gaps are Important
- Concentrate Well
- Mindfullness
- Wake Up Your Body
11 Meditation Tips for Beginners
1. Choose a Comfortable Place
Choose a comfortable, quiet place with the temperature you feel good (not too hot, not cold). If you mediate in the same place every time and maybe having some anchoring like same (comfortable) clothing, a small statue or candle, beads, a blanket or shawl will make you concentrate easier.
2. Make Sure You are Comfortable
Make sure you are comfortable in your position, being able to resist to temptation to move. You can use pillows, chairs, mats..whatever you need to make you feel steady for a while. Your back must be erect-tall, shoulders are relaxed. You can place your hands on your lap or knees and use some mudras if you know any. Make sure your feet are not squeezed by each other, otherwise you’ll have to suffer the pins and needles!! I first started sitting on a chair with a cushion behind my back. Then I moved to the floor with a cushion support against a wall. And finally I am doing it crossed legged in an easy sitting position.
3. Start with Relaxation
Start with a very short relaxation of your neck and shoulders, make it slow and with conscious breathing.
4. Close Your Eyes
Close your eyes (you can also use a blindfold) and bring your awareness to your breath, observe your breath in-out.
5. Breath Properly
Breathe into your belly for some extra relaxation. Imagine you have a balloon inside the belly and as you breathe in, the balloon gets bigger and so your belly goes outwards. As you breathe out, the balloon gets smaller and so your belly goes in. This way you’d be using your diaphragm in the correct way, letting lungs to get more air and oxygen and nervous system to calm down.
6. Focus on Breathing
If this is your first trial, try 5 minutes of just focusing on your breathing. This will help you to avoid the thinking part! If thoughts come back, make no judgement, just see them, be an obersevant and send them in a corner and tell them to wait until you finish your meditation. Only 5 minutes!
7. Set An Alarm
Set your alarm to 5 minutes so that you don’t have to think about the time.
8. Gaps are Important
In meditation, we are trying to find the gap between the thoughts and even between breaths. As you slowly breathe in-out, search-find and stay with that gap. As you inhale give a small pause before you exhale. And when you exhale give a small pause before you inhale again. You can imagine at this point a big and nice ocean wave. When you inhale the wave comes up and takes you up, you stay at the top without a breath and then the wave slowly comes down and you exhale with it, feel the bubbles of the wave gently caressing the sands and you stay there again, giving a pause before you inhale again.
9. Concentrate Well
If concentration on your breath is not enough to keep the thoughts away, you can visualise a simple object (like a ball) or something that relates to you, like an ocean, tree, mountain, sun, etc.
10. Mindfullness
Always remember that mediation is “non-doing“. You are neither in action nor inaction, it is not something you need to “do”. It is more of a “being”.
11. Wake Up Your Body
Coming back from the meditation, after you hear the alarm, slowly start moving your fingers-hands-feet; turn head side to side and gently wake up your body.Make a short stretching, doing the movements that your body needs (and for that, listen to your body).
Final Word: 11 Meditation Tips for Beginners
Give yourself the luxury of doing this everyday and as you get comfortable, increase the duration to 10-20 and as much you need. Remember that busy minds need a lot of time to re-charge!
Click to read my How to Start Meditation Guide: Starting Meditation
