How Can I Learn To Meditate?
Meditation is a type of mindfulness practice that many people use to help relieve stress, reduce anxiety, and promote feelings of calm. To learn how to meditate can be as easy as finding a few minutes each day to pause and become mindful. In this post, we will talk about the benefits of meditation and how you can successfully incorporate it into your routine.
You Can Learn To Meditate - Here's How!
1) Find some time each day: Ideally, you should try meditating for 10-30 minutes in the morning or evening after waking up or before going to bed. You can also meditate at specific times of the day, such as right after waking up, before a meal, or while you do your exercise. The exact timing of your meditation session is up to you and should be decided by your own personal preferences.
2) Find a quiet place: You should try to find somewhere that feels quiet and comfortable to meditate. Ideally, this will be a place that won't bother anyone around you for safety reasons. When beginning meditation, I recommend finding a room with windows where you can look out on nature without being disturbed by the presence of other people or animals outside.
3) Lay down: Once you have found a comfortable and quiet place, you should try to lay down so that you can relax as much as possible. You may also find it helps to wear loose clothing such as sweatpants or pajamas. This will make it easier to move around while sitting without feeling too inhibited.
4) Breathe: Next, you should focus on your breathing by using the breath as a point of focus for your mind. Make sure that you are breathing deeply and smoothly through the nose. Although breathing exercises are not required to meditate, they can help calm your body by providing a physical point of focus for your mind.
5) Visualize: When beginning to meditate, it's important to focus on a single object for your mind. Many new meditators will try focusing on their breathing, but this can be difficult. Although it can be very helpful in calming your body and thoughts, it can also be a distraction if you are not experienced with meditation. An alternative way to begin meditation is by focusing on visual points of light. The simplest way to visualize while meditating is by staring at a single point of light such as the flame from a candle or even the starry expanse of outer space if you have access to a telescope or binoculars. The point is to focus on a single point of light for at least 10 minutes.
6) Dwell on the object for a while: You can continue focusing on your visual point of light for as long as you wish. It's important to note that the longer you focus on the object, the more relaxed and peaceful you will become. During this time, don't think about anything else, though if you feel you need to move your attention between objects, try not to do so repeatedly in one session. The object should be your only focus.
7) Observe your thoughts: The next stage of meditation is to begin observing your thoughts. During this time, you can begin to become aware of the contents of your mind and in particular the feelings that you are experiencing within it. If a thought occurs, simply bring it into full awareness and observe what it feels like to experience that feeling. Do not get caught up in judgment or criticism towards yourself or others as this will only make you feel worse and cause your mind to wander to other thoughts.
8) Notice how you feel: When you are ready, observe how you feel after observing a specific thought or feeling. In particular, you should take note of how your body feels as well as how you feel emotionally. For example, when I feel angry or sad I tend to feel tense in certain parts of my body and that these feelings are usually accompanied by tension and pressure inside my chest region. You can also try counting the number of times you get distracted by a thought or feeling. If you get distracted 30 times, this may tell you that your mind is very active or restless at the moment and requires more work in order to be calmed down.
9) Understand your thoughts: The final stage of meditation is to understand what your thoughts are causing within yourself and your environment. For example, if you are feeling fear and anxiety during meditation, you should be interested in the thoughts that are occurring that are causing these feelings within yourself. When I feel anxious or afraid, I will often focus on a thought such as 'I'm going to lose my job' or 'I'm going to get rejected by my partner'. It can also be useful to focus on a positive thought such as 'I am calm within myself' or 'I have a lot of patience & compassion for myself'. At first this may seem like an effortless task, but it can be surprisingly difficult at the start of your journey. You should keep at it however, because with practice it becomes increasingly easier and more enjoyable.
10) Practice each day: It can be very helpful to meditate regularly if you want to reap its many psychological and physical benefits. If it's your first time trying it, I recommend meditating for 10-30 minutes at least once per day. The longer you are able to sit, the more relaxed your body and mind will become. If you feel comfortable doing so, attempt to sit for an hour or even more. You should also try meditating at different times of the day in order to determine what works best for you without disrupting your daily routine too much.
Other Benefits of Meditation
You may be skeptical about meditation, but it really does have a lot of benefits. The most obvious one being that you will become calmer and happier as a result of feeling more at peace within yourself. This is not merely through the process of meditating, but by taking time out to become more in tune with yourself. Not only will you be able to deal with your problems and find solutions to your issues and sufferings, you will also learn how to work through them and let them go once they are resolved. In this way, they won't affect your life as often.
Another benefit is the way meditation helps to increase your sense of well-being. This can be done by practicing specific breathing techniques, focusing on a single point of light and visualizing positive thoughts, but the most important aspect of this process is feeling more centred within yourself.
Furthermore, many states of depression can be greatly reduced from this positive state of mind and improved significantly by learning how to relax at will. The result being that when you feel down or are experiencing stress or anxiety about an event, you won't turn to unhealthy habits such as excessive eating, drinking or smoking as these kinds of behaviors have a strong negative impact on your mental wellbeing.
Conclusion - Try it Today!
Overall, meditation is a fantastic technique that can be practiced by nearly anyone who wishes to learn it. It's helped me develop the ability to relax at will and has allowed me to have a more positive outlook on life. I highly recommend you try meditating regularly if you are feeling stressed or anxious, as it can make a big difference in your life if you do so. If you do choose to try it out, I would love to hear what kind of results you get. Please feel free to add a comment below with your personal experiences and thoughts on this matter.