Before you run away saying this is not my cup of tea, sit for a minute and let me convince you to do something that you naturally do. Breathe. The only difference here is to observe your breath instead of losing yourself in the maze of thoughts.
By practicing Meditation alone, 60% of the people find improvement in energy and 50% of the population found enhancement in memory and concentration.
Read this article on why meditation is important and how you can start meditating and get its amazing benefits right from the start.
Why meditation is important?
We delve into the daily challenges of life so much that we forget that this is a life to be lived, not spent.
Before we know, the night has come, months have gone by, and years have passed without observing our growth.
Being mindful at least once a day helps you look at yourself from a distance and remind yourself not to take everything so seriously.
It also helps us see other doors of opportunities and solutions when we have given up trying to open that one jammed door.
We have forgotten to have conversations with ourselves which have loosened our relationship with nature and its beings.
The more understanding we get of the complicated emotions a human can experience, we can enjoy the essence of existence on this earth in a more rich way. It helps us be one with our higher self.
To get detached from our “role” and see our existence as a whole and not get our intricate web of emotions complicate the understanding of life.
We are born to be better and give the best to others in need.
So that’s the heavy stuff.
All the things aside.
How amazing would it feel not to let that toxic person get in your head?
To be at peace with the situation you can’t control.
To not stay in the past and worry about the future, but stay in the present.
So hard we are trying to catch the train of “next thing to do” that we have just given up on peace and present.
So meditation is essential for you, the spirit of this universe, to connect with its higher self.
What is meditation and its benefits?
Meditation is a breathing exercise that acts as a bridge between mind, body and soul.
It is one of the most ancient practices developed to have a greater understanding of your presence.
I was reluctant not to meditate before. I thought it to be something that people who want to look important did, to look like they are doing something special.
But when I tried it, I observed I became calmer, less stressed and more understanding.
We experience so much external traffic around us that pollutes our inner peace.
It disables us to see things clearly, complicates our reasoning and destroys our calm.
Meditation helps us see through the fog.
Live our life with a little more ease.
Wouldn’t you want that?
I would like to highly recommend the book Think Like a Monk: The secret of how to harness the power of positivity and be happy. Jay Shetty, the author of the book, is also the host of a very insightful podcast called On Purpose. This book is like a small workshop to train your mind for peace and purpose, as rightly said in the book’s subtitle. There are questions asked which give you an insight into yourself. He also suggests efficient techniques aligned with the chapter topic, making the book functional and fruitful.
Meditation is essential for your mind.
It reduces stress and anxiety.
It is important to have yourself in check and your emotions in control.
It is important not to take yourself so seriously.
Meditation helps to not feel too great in good times and too down during bad. It teaches us to be calm, at peace and be humble.
Meditation is a lifestyle that is just not celebrated enough and is alienated unnecessarily.
There have been very few reports that meditation could cause or worsen symptoms in people with psychiatric problems like anxiety and depression. People with existing mental health conditions should talk with their health care providers before starting meditation. They should also take guidance from them regarding the same.
How to do meditation at home for beginners
You must be thinking I am a beginner.
It takes years to master it.
Then hey, all you have to do is start. We will get somewhere.
As a beginner, my go-to technique is to listen to guided meditation for beginners.
It is important to have a mentor to learn any art.
Otherwise, you will waste your time beating around the bush with the wrong technique when with the correct method, you could have mastered the skill at the same time.
You must be wondering what am I supposed to think during meditation?
That is where these meditations come to the rescue.
In guided meditations, you are guided through the meditation.
The emotion that you were pushing down for a long time comes out.
At first, you may cry breathlessly, laugh in fits, acknowledge the anger and let the frustration out.
As you go ahead, you learn to watch these emotions come and go like clouds.
What meditation teaches us is to observe our thoughts and let them go.
How to get started with meditation
Meditation for 5-10 minutes as a beginner is a good start.
Start breathing through the nose slowly and out through the mouth. Close your eyes when you feel you’re ready.
You have to focus on your breath.
Imagine yourself to be in your happy place. Beach, mountain or a cozy corner of your room.
Be present. Just focus on your breath. Watch your thoughts come and go.
Don’t be too hard on yourself for thinking. It’s natural. Just focus on your breath.
The only skill is to show up every day.
Each day it gets a bit easier.
You get an understanding of how you should entertain the thoughts, which ultimately cultivate emotions.
You control your emotions, then you control your mind.
And darling, if you can control your mind, you are the master of your five senses. You are the master of your world.
Change your way of seeing things with a muddled mindset.
Let’s say with meditation, slowly, but definitely, your mind, which is a water body full of mud right now, gets cleared into pure water with daily practice.
Maybe seeing your clear water, someone else decides to clean theirs.
Now take a paper.
Write the topics that will follow.
How are you going to approach it?
Write it down.
To remind yourself, paste it somewhere you spend the most time.
This will work only when you put action to your words.
Let’s do this.
Meditation posture
The meditation posture you choose should be a position you are comfortable in meditating.
The point is to have your back straight and gaze low or eyes closed.
- It can be sitting on the floor, legs crossed and back to the wall for support.
- In a comfortable chair with your back straight.
- On the floor mat in a sleeping position.
- Avoid sleeping on the bed, as you are a beginner, you are most likely to fall asleep like that.
You are ready to get started.
Keep changing your postures if you don’t know where you are most comfortable and not asleep.
When to do meditation
The question which comes to our mind the most is when is the best time to meditate? I know some people would say early in the morning.
Still, I say, in the beginning, find a time when you are comfortable, and if possible, there is no disturbance.
It can be before noon, afternoon, evening or night.
After you are done with your work or before you start it.
Many people prefer mornings because most people are asleep, its quiet, and it’s an excellent start to the day.
So the question is when you have the time to meditate and when no one will disturb you.
Also, write the location where you are going to meditate.
How to meditate daily
The thing is START.
How to stick to a time
- Fix a time.
- Set the alarm.
- Keep everything aside when it rings.
- Don’t put it on snooze. We all know you are only fooling yourself with that.
- Start the guided meditation.
- Making a habit is never easy. Give a 30-day challenge to yourself. If you feel a difference in yourself, you will intentionally take more time out for it, even feel guilty for not showing up.
5 minutes is all you have to take out.
Instead of mindless scrolling, you can do a mindful meditation for yourself. Can’t you? Take care of yourself. You owe your body and mind at least that much.
At night, after you wrap everything up, focus on your breathing instead of thinking about all the things in the world.
Try it.
Just focus and count your breath.
How to keep the marathon going
- Keeping a journal or a page with dates meditated struck on helps to see our growth.
2. Having an accountability partner (a person who will do the same practice with you, like a motivational companion, helps you keep the commitment).
3. Install apps that help you track your progress.
3. Nowadays, there are great meditation apps like Headspace, which give you a head start on the idea of meditation. It is very useful and practical. After the free trial, if you wish to continue, you can buy the subscription. I started meditating with the help of this app. There is another app called Calm. Try both and see which one is more convenient for you.
4. You can also go and search for free guided meditation for beginners.
Keep the meditation streak going.
Don’t give any excuses.
How to increase meditation time
After a few days, you will be willing to increase your time to get deeper as you start doing it daily.
So, as the process to increase any muscle, steps are the same, practice every day, show up every day.
At the start, going for long hours is not that effective because you are still trying to make a habit, and a 60 min goal is too hard to keep up every day.
Not all days are the same.
Doing 10 mins is easier and keeping the commitment is effortless.
According to your convenience, as you get into the habit, increase ten mins or more each month.
How much time meditation should be done?
Once you get the technique, some people can go for hours, and some people can do only a few minutes, depending on how much time they have spent doing the art.
There is no rule book on how much time you should do it.
The time for which you can be mindful about the technique.
Don’t think about how long you can go.
Think about how deep you can go in those minutes. That’s the point.
Free meditation music
Once you are doing great with guided meditation and feel you don’t need guidance,
You can listen to free meditation music available all over the internet.
If you feel more comfortable without, go ahead.
Just do it.
Don’t make excuses.
Now that you have written when, where and how you will meditate, all you have to do is start.
Thank you for giving your precious time to read this article.
Know you are loved.
Great blog artical
Thank you very much. I hope that you found it useful.
Nice Information
Thank you. I’m glad you found the article helpful.