Meditation is hard enough for most people to get into, let alone sticking with. That’s why we’re bringing you our top 10 beginner tips for effective meditation. We hope you can learn from these and implement them into your practice allowing you to continue into greatness.
Start Small
Most people say to start with as little as 5 minutes per day to get into meditation. This may not sound like a lot. However, we’re so used to living in a world of go go go, this can be quite overwhelming.
I’m here today to tell you that you only need to start with as little as 1 breath. I say this because the point is to form the habit of meditation and not to focus on the benefits at first. Starting with one breath, you’ll very quickly move to 1 minute. Then, when you’re ready you’ll move your way up to 5 minutes. Take your time, it’s no rush. If you find you were able to get up to 5 minutes but then need to do a day where you only do 1 breath, that’s okay. What we’re doing here is building the habit to meditate so that the routine takes over and you require very little discipline.
Set 1 Day Per Week for Mindfulness
It can be hard to be mindful every single day. That’s why I highly recommend choosing one day out of the week to do such. You’ll more than likely choose a Saturday or Sunday, but make sure to just choose a day you don’t have work.
Put something up on your wall or on your bathroom mirror the night before to remind you it’s your day of mindfulness. When the day starts, try and do everything 3 times slower than you usually would. Focus on being in the present moment. Remind yourself that today is a day to relax and reflect, try to not be to hasty when making decisions. Really just take your time in doing everything and try your best to enjoy doing so. This day is a great day to get all of your chores done. Talking can be difficult for the first few days of mindfulness. If somebody talks to you, don’t wish they weren’t talking. Just think, “my friend wishes to talk so I’ll listen to them”. When the person stops talking, bring your attention back to your breath.
Incense and Candles
Creating a nice smelling area for when you meditate can really encourage you to stick with the practice. You’ll always look forward to that pleasant smell when you start your session. Make sure you get quality incense or candles because they’ll smell quite gross and give you a headache otherwise.
Find a Quite Space
In the beginning it’s best to meditate somewhere quiet. This is because your mind isn’t trained yet to be accepting of surrounding sounds. Once you train your mind, you’ll be able to meditate in places like a public park where you can really be one with nature. You’ll be accepting of the sounds of birds chirping, the wind blowing and kids playing.
Find Time
Like I stated above, all you need is time for 1 breath. There should be no excuse whatsoever to not have time for this, let alone 5 minutes. To receive the medical benefits from meditation you need to meditate 5 minutes every day or 15 minutes 3 times per week. Ideally you want to meditate for 1 hour per day, but I understand people live busy lives. Eventually I’d at least aim to meditate for 1 hour on your 1 day of mindfulness per week on top of your daily practice.
You can find time for one mindful breath basically anywhere in your life. Realistically though once you get up to 5 minutes, a great time is on break at lunch or directly after you wake up or before you go to bed. Some people prefer meditating when they wake up to set the tone for their day. This is what I do and highly recommend. However, if you have trouble sleeping at night you may find it beneficial to meditate before bed. Throughout the day is always great too to remind you to come back to the present moment while doing your daily tasks.
Be Comfortable
There’s nothing worse than not being comfortable when you meditate. Don’t feel like you need to meditate in the full lotus position. Yes, eventually you’ll want to move towards this as it creates the most balance for you. Start with something simple, whatever comes naturally to you. If you find your knees are raised too much, place blankets or cushions underneath them. You can always meditate while walking or sitting on a chair too. Laying down is not really advised as you may fall asleep but if that’s the only comfortable position for you then so be it.
Remember to Breathe
Breathing is one of the most essential parts of meditation. Remembering to breath brings new life to you and puts your mind back to the present moment.
There are many different ways to track your breathing. Here are 3 ways I’ve found to be quite useful. First, count 1 on the in breath and 2 on the out breath. Repeat counting one and two. Second, count 1 on the in, 2 on the out, 3 on the in all the way up to 10 then restart. If you find you lose track, simply restart at 1 again. Lastly, once you get a lot better you can say a mantra while you breathe in and out. For examples, I breathe in peace, I breathe out love.
Let Go of Passing Thoughts
It will be hard to not cling to thoughts and feel like you have to get up and act one them. Remember the world will be fine, you’re only meditating for a short bit.
Try seeing your thoughts in your head as clouds passing by. When a cloud comes into existence, very softly place a feather on it allowing it to disappear. Make sure to not play whack a mole though with the feather. If you find this is happening, almost like a storm of clouds is coming into your head, simply bring your attention back to the breath.
Focus
You can always use an object of focus to aid in your meditation practice. While most people will meditate with their eyes closed, some may find it easier with focusing on an object with their eyes slightly open. Some suggestions are a candle stick, a pebble or a photo. Try and place this item 2 metres ahead of you while maintaining a soft gaze. Don’t cling to the image of this object, simply use it as a place of focus.
Routine
The hardest part of meditation is sticking with a routine. There are hundreds of ways to remind yourself to meditate but it’s up to you to find which on works best. Reminders on your phone set to a random time say within a 1-hour timeframe I find work best. This is because your mind doesn’t get used to the reminder and start to ignore it. There are plenty of apps on the app store that you can do this with.
I hope you enjoyed our top 10 list for effective beginner meditation tips. We look forward to you contacting us about your journey or any questions you may have. If you’d like, you can sign up for our free newsletter to stay up to date with all of our posts.
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