Meditation Tips For Beginners
The goal of meditation is to focus and quiet your mind, eventually reaching a higher-level of awareness and inner calm. Meditation may bring inner peace by taking out the stress. The younger generation is mostly stressed and something of the effective ways to come out of stress is by doing meditation. It is necessary to follow along with the proper way to practice meditation.
People have different reasons for wanting to meditate, from quelling the internal chatter, getting to know oneself better, finding calm and a sense of grounding, enforced restful contemplation or tying it to one’s faith. Whatever your reason behind wanting to meditate, it can be daunting to understand how to begin and stay motivated.
Know The Purpose Of Meditation
Meditation isn’t purpose specific. There may be several causes of various individuals practicing meditation. Many of them take up meditation to calm the mind, connect with the inner self, to breathe better, to improve health, to visualize goals, to control anxiety, to improve creativity, being compassionate or to be mindful. It’s important to identify your need for meditation and then proceed.
Choose A Peaceful Environment
Meditation should be practiced somewhere calming and peaceful. This can enable you to focus exclusively on the task available and avoid bombarding your mind with outside stimuli. Try to look for somewhere that you will not be interrupted for that duration of your meditation – whether it’s five minutes or 30 minutes. The space does not need to be large – a walk-in closet or even your office can be used for meditation, so long as it’s somewhere private.
Wear Comfortable Clothing
Wear light and comfortable clothing during meditation. Remove any sort of shoes or other footwear, so that you may sit in a relaxed pose. You should loosen any tight clothing that you might be wearing as it might lead to discomfort during meditation. This really is important to avoid any kind of distraction during meditation.
Thoughts
Thoughts will inevitably drift in and dance around your mind, but that is normal. Don’t try to do anything together – let them be. When you are thinking about what’s passing through your mind, just go back to focusing your awareness on the mantra or your breath – it’s easy to slip into the space between thoughts.
Feel Your Body Parts
A great practice for beginning meditators would be to take notice of the body when a meditative state starts to take hold. When the mind quiets, put all your attention to the feet after which slowly move your way up the body (include your organs). This is very healthy and an indicator that you’re on the right path.
Eyes
Try and keep you eyes open. Open eyes make you more present. Just lower your eyes and let your gaze be soft. If you close your eyes you will be more likely to drift away on thoughts and stories. However, it’s important to complete what is comfortable for you. Some people find closing their eyes a lot more effective. It’s good to experiment and see what feels good for you.
Meditate In A Comfortable Posture
The posture during meditation is an important factor for a successful meditation experience. Sit comfortably, stay relaxed and steady if at all possible in Padmasana or the lotus pose. It is advised to sit straight, keep the neck and shoulders relaxed and also the spine erect. The eyes should be closed during the meditation process.
Length
Start with 10 minutes and only sit longer if you feel that that’s too short. Don’t force yourself to meditate longer if you’re not ready to do that. In time you might like to extend your meditation to 25 minutes. That’s a length that allows you to settle your mind without causing an excessive amount of stress on your body. Most importantly, shrug off any ‘shoulds’. Some people enjoy sitting to have an hour at a time. Others discover that they can’t sit longer than 10 minutes. Do what feels best for you!
Meditation Tips
Practice
Like anything, practice makes perfect. Be sure to carve out a time each and every day to practice. You’ll hopefully find all your practice totally worthwhile as meditation can be life-changing!
Keep A Pleasant Smile On The Face
For a great meditation experience, it’s necessary to keep a gentle smile on the face. This not just relaxes you during meditation, but also imparts an eternal peaceful experience. At the conclusion of the meditation, always remember to open your eyes slowly.
