Our mind is a black hole that pulls all the thoughts wandering around us to itself. It rambles in the alleys of past and future, distracting itself from the present moment that we’re in. We often blame our notorious minds for the diversion of thoughts or distractions that happen in our lives.
Though, we can learn to be mindful. For that, all you need to do is practice meditation, and eventually, mindfulness will come along. So, read further to learn some tips on meditation for beginners that’ll help you kick start your journey of mindfulness.
Table of Contents
What Is Meditation All About?
Meditation is the activity of focusing on your breathing as you breathe in and then breathe out, i.e. to live in and focus on the present. It is neither as thorny nor as rosy of a task as people often take it to be.
You may assume that you can easily focus on at least 20-50 breaths, in your first attempt, without getting distracted – well, brave of you to assume that – but I assure you that most of us are going to stumble on our first breath itself! Our thoughts captivate our minds the second we lose the balance of the present. So, all you need to do to increase your concentration is – practice!
Benefits of Meditation
Meditation aids your mind, body, and soul. It is not an elixir to your issues but certainly helps you gather the rightful state of mind to deal with them. In life, you learn to live your present; you perform conscious acts of mind, not impulsive ones. Meditation detangles your web of thoughts to present before you a more clear picture of the conflicts of your mind. It shoulders you into building an organic and raw connection with yourself and, as a consequence, with others, as well.
When you meditate, you start focusing, and then when you connect with yourself, the chatters in your mind lower their noises, and you hear your pain speak. You learn the reason behind your way of thinking, and in turn, this lowers your stress. You get to know yourself. It streamlines your chaotic maze of feelings to help you acknowledge reality and the present.
Meditation is, therefore, a soothing activity to lift your mind.
10 Meditation Tips for Beginners
Below are some of the most effective meditation tips for beginners that you can try and see results in the long run.
Make Your Meditation Space
Start your journey of meditation by choosing your meditation space. Your ambience has an impact on your mind. When you pick a place that’s less noisy and keeps you away from the distraction of work and life, it’ll help you focus more on meditation. A nice space will always encourage you to keep coming back to it.
Spot a quiet and calming corner at your home and meditate there. Keep your immediate surrounding less crowded as that’ll engage less of your attention. A nice calming meditation session should start from a neat, endearing place.
Fix a Time
We often tend to delay, postpone and eventually forget a task when we don’t mentally allot a particular time for it. Fixing a meditation time for yourself will help you track your schedule and acts as an internal reminder to sit and relax.
Ideally, early morning meditation, when your mind is yet to be crowded with busy thoughts and stress, is the time best suited to start afresh, the first thing of the day. Still, it is advised to fix the time on your accords. Whatever suits you is the best time for you to meditate!
Play With Patterns
When you choose a particular space and time for meditation, you gradually get accustomed to it. This helps you maintain a meditation routine, but it is also important to explore. Meditation is not some assignment that you need to excel in or have good grades at or have to do it in a certain way only.
Experimenting and exploring not only excites your mind but also strengthens your bond with yourself. You learn your priorities, what favours you and what doesn’t. So make different patterns, and play with your setting of the space, time, and way of meditation. Try om meditation (chanting om), or meditation with sleep music, etc.
Craft Your Comfort
Meditation is an activity that’s supposed to bring your peace and stability of mind. Hence if you’re not comfortable in the first place, there’s no way that you’ll grow calm. Comfort brings you closer to concentration.
Sit and meditate in a position that’s most comfortable for you. Be it cross-legged or on a chair with legs side-to-side. Support your stature with cushions or blankets if needed that’ll help you retain your back straight. Find your comfort and relaxation. Let go of all your inhibitions before delving into meditation.
Go Natural
After ruthlessly scrolling through hundreds of images and videos online, you often fabricate an illusionary setting in your mind that you feel the “correct” way of doing something.
When it comes to meditation, there’s no such thing as the “correct” way. You don’t need to force your body or mind into doing it a certain way just because someone else did it. What works for them may not work for you, and vice-versa. So instead of forcing a posture or a breath or a way, just relax and go natural. Do it the way you like it!
Learn to Lose
You’re not a robot. You’re a human being, and rightfully so because we learn from our mistakes. No one is perfect. Don’t get overwhelmed and push your buttons too much. Meditation is to alleviate your stress, not add to it. When we begin for the first time, we all will lose our focus. Our minds will wander off quicker than we realize.
Don’t give up too soon or feel disheartened; this is not the way to go. Learn to lose and try harder. Set small goals and achieve them. Eventually, you’ll get better at holding your concentration on your breaths for a longer period of time.
Follow and Focus
Our minds will indeed get distracted sooner or later. What we need to do is follow our breaths. We may get into some other thoughts for a while but once you realize the same, let go of that thought and start following your breath again with utmost focus.
Bring back your focus to the way your body behaves when you breathe in and breathe out. Inhaling the air slowly and exhaling it afterwards, follow your chest, stomach, and intestine and focus on how you breathe.
Take Away for the Day
After meditation, don’t open your eyes suddenly. Take in the tranquillity that you feel. Soak in your surroundings and imagine your room, the way it’ll look once you open your eyes and then slowly open them. When you register this calmness, mentally note your schedule ahead and take the peace along with you.
While working or running errands, take a moment or two, take deep breaths and keep refreshing the mediation’s energy into your mind that’ll help you stay mindful throughout.
Journal Your Journey
Every day after your meditation session or before going to sleep at night, journal your experience from mediation and how you felt during the day. Noting down your experience will later help you analyze your personality and the things that assist you for your betterment and things that don’t.
Though I’ll suggest you write it all down, you can also keep mental notes if that aids you better.
Be Regular
Regularity is something that helps you genuinely grow – be it meditation or anything else – as you slowly get familiar with a certain thing and develop a habit out of it. Meditate every day. Even a little bit of time is enough for meditation. You can take a tiny moment of the day for yourself for the entirety of 24 hours.
Start with 5 minutes, then 10, 15, and so on. Take small steps but daily. Don’t skip meditation making lame excuses. On a day when you’re super tired or busy, just let yourself get 5 minutes of your time. It’ll help you clear the clutter and streamline your mind to function smoothly for the rest of the day.
With the world running rapidly, we often feel left out, panting, or falling out of place. Meditation is a great way to alleviate your stress and connect with yourself and, eventually, others. When you know yourself better, you can truly indulge in enjoying life. With these tips on meditation for beginners, you can kickstart your journey of meditation and mindfulness from today itself!
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