Practical guide to meditation: 3 easy steps to getting started
We often talk about why meditation is good but less frequently about how to start. This blog changes that.
I was brought up to believe meditation meant sitting quietly in a corner with your back straight. In fact, a teacher made us meditate at school, telling us that it wasn’t hard. For a 16-year-old with an overactive mind, it was hard. Actually, it made me giggle. A lot. So much so that I was kicked out of class. Whoops.
Fast forward 12 years: I meditate daily and preach the benefits of meditation to anyone who’ll listen (and especially those who don’t 😉). But when you’re starting it can seem a bit overwhelming.
This blog breaks getting started with meditation into three easy steps.
1. Guided meditation
I don’t know about you but if someone tells me to sit quietly and focus on my breathing with nothing else, my mind does the complete opposite.
Meditating without using guided meditation is like trying to run a marathon with no training.
There are loads of great guided meditations out there. See what works for you but I use brain.fm. *Full disclosure* I’m an affiliate for brain.fm so if you follow this link you’ll get 20% off and I’ll get a kick-back. I actually paid full price for brain.fm and I’ve been using it for more than a year now as I find the binaural beats really help.
You don’t need to pay for anything though, YouTube and Spotify both have some decent ones (though be ready for pesky adverts).
Personally, I need the voice from the guided meditation to follow. Your mind will wander but having the voice to return to helps keep you present in the meditation practice.
2. Find a place you feel comfortable
People assume meditation must be done cross-legged with your back straight. If that works for you, great! It doesn’t for me.
I meditate best on public transport, specifically London underground. Something about the angle of the seats maybe. Whenever I travel anywhere I’m sure to squeeze in a quick meditation.
However, when I’m at home, I meditate best in bed covered by the duvet.
There’s no ‘right place’ to meditate, only where you feel most comfortable.
Experiment, see what works for you.
3. Keep it short
If you’ve never meditated before, 30 mins can sound overwhelming. So, keep it short. My optimum meditation time is 15 mins for the following reasons:
· Short enough to keep my attention (quality over quantity)
· Achievable to make time in the day
· By achieving a whole 15 mins rather than half a 30 mins session I feel good about myself so encouraged to come back
By making it long enough to be engaging but short enough to be achievable, it triggers the natural reward system in your brain that keeps you coming back for more.
Summary
Sometimes the simplest things can feel the most overwhelming and meditation is no exception. Getting started is the hardest part but I promise that if you experiment with the three things above, you’ll find your relationship with meditation soon.
Remember, it’s called a meditation practise for a reason: it takes practise. However, the more consistent you are, the more benefits you’ll feel and the easier it’ll become.
Meditation changed my life, now you’re equipped for it to change yours.
