Throughout my life (and I assume just about everyone’s life!) I’ve tried many different things to improve myself. Usually, I’m looking for ways to reduce my stress levels, develop better habits and think more positively – basically to be a happier person.
I’ve tried keeping a bullet journal (didn’t work for me), hypnotizing myself to eat less dessert (nope), reading a million self-help books (hit and miss), downloading productivity apps (which usually distract me from actually working). A lot of these things were either hogwash or just weren’t for me (some of my friends really like bullet journals!)
The one thing I’m fully confident of, the one thing that actually worked for me is meditation. Over the last year, I’ve been meditating consistently for 15 minutes a day. How has it changed me? I’m generally less stressful about insignificant things, I’m more focused at work, and my personal relationships are the strongest they’ve been in my entire life.
It has definitely changed me for the better.
The Health Benefits of Meditation
You should start meditating today, if you’re not already. The benefits I’ve seen from meditation have been profound, but that’s merely an anecdote. What does the science say?
The scientific community has come to the resounding consensus that meditation is good for you (duh!) People have known this for centuries, but now scientific studies are finally catching up. Meditation helps us manage stress, reduce anxiety, and in some cases prevent depression.
People who meditate are generally less distracted and can focus on tasks for greater periods of time. Basically, it helps you work harder and for longer periods of time.
Another interesting scientific finding on meditation is that it can aid in drug recovery. Studies have shown for a long time that stressful situations and experiences can lead to relapse in recovering addicts. Now we’re beginning to understand that meditation can be a powerful tool to deal with stress and prevent relapses.
Common elements among all meditation styles
There are many different meditation techniques out there, as well as schools of thought on the theory behind meditation. One book on meditation will tell you one thing, and the next book will tell you another. My suggestion to you, for now, is to ignore all that noise and just begin your meditation practice. You can always learn the theory and try new techniques later.
The different schools of meditation thought all share a few common elements regarding meditation. To summarize these points, we can say that meditation consists of three things:
- A peaceful, quiet area in which you can meditate. Perhaps this is a special room in your house or if you’re trying to meditate at work, an unused conference room. The important thing is that you feel safe, it’s quiet, and people aren’t coming and going in it, which could distract you from your practice.
- A comfortable meditation posture. Some people will recommend sitting cross-legged on a pillow on the floor, your back straight. Some will recommend sitting on the edge of a chair. Still others will recommend lying on the ground. At this point in your meditation practice, it doesn’t matter. Choose a posture in which you’ll be comfortable for up to 15 minutes – but not too comfortable or else you might fall asleep!
- An object on which you can focus your mind. Many people mistakenly believe that to meditate means to clear your mind of all thoughts, everything. While this is the end goal for many meditation practitioners, it’s not something many people can or want to achieve when they first begin meditating. Instead of thinking of nothing, fill your mind with a relaxed focus on one object. This can be nearly anything: your breath, the tip of your nose, the repetition in your mind of a few words (AKA a “mantra”). The important thing is to fix your mind on this object and try to not let your mind wander away from it.
After you’ve achieved these three fundamentals, resolve to meditate for a set period of time -10 minutes is a good place to start. After 10 minutes is up, pat yourself on the back. You’ve completed your first meditation session!
Your First Meditation Routine
The last section showed you how there’s no one correct way to meditate. Many different paths and techniques are available to you as you embark upon your meditation quest. Find your own way; there’s no real way to do meditation wrong, as long as you dedicate time and effort to your practice.
I did, however, want to share one meditation routine that has worked well for me and will work well for beginners. But feel free to modify it as you see fit!
Beginner Meditation Routine
When: Morning, soon after you wake up. (Meditating early in the morning will help you to maintain the peace you gained in your session with you throughout your day.)
Where: On the floor in your bedroom
Posture: Sit upright. Use a balled up pillow if the floor is hard or your hips aren’t flexible
Time: Set a timer on your phone for 10 minutes. Cease meditation when it goes off
Objective: Breath through your nose. Focus your mind on your breathing in and out. Focus especially on the sensation of the breath entering and leaving your nostrils. When your mind wanders from the sensation of the breath, gently lead it back to your objective.
One Last Thing to Consider: Guided meditation
Before I leave you to begin meditating, I wanted to throw one last thing out there. If you’re having trouble focusing throughout a short meditation session, consider doing a guided meditation. Guided meditation is simply meditating while someone else guides you through what you should be focusing on, how you should be breathing, etc. When I first began meditation, following guided instructions were invaluable in focusing my attention on my meditation session.
You can either use a recording of a guided meditation. (Look on YouTube and Spotify for high quality and free recordings.) Or you can attend a class at a local meditation center.
Featured photo credit: Pixabay via pixabay.com
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