How to begin meditation

The word meditation is getting popular nowadays. You can hear it so often from your friends or through television and radio. People are talking about the benefits of meditation and how practicing meditation changed their lives. But the question is, are they saying the truth!? Is meditation really good for us? Can it make us free from diseases? There are a lot of questions in our minds about meditation. We feel helpless when there is no one to answer!
Adequately you don’t have to worry anymore. I’m here to answer your questions about mediation. I will tell you step by step instructions to practice meditation and believe me, it will really help you. I have been practicing meditation for more than three years. In the beginning, I didn’t know anything about meditation. I had so many questions about it and I wasn’t sure if I can really do it. I know a lot of people feel the same because we don’t know where to start. Let’s figure out what comes into our minds before trying to practice meditation.
Can anyone practice meditation?
Yes! Anyone can practice meditation. Meditation is actually not that complicated as we think it is! You can start it whenever you are ready to adopt a healthy habit. You don’t need any special costume or setup to practice meditation. There are a few things you can keep in mind before practicing meditation.
- You should wear clothes that are comfortable and not too tight.
- Don’t use eyeglasses during meditation.
- It’s better to practice meditation in the morning with an empty stomach or practice in the evening before 2 hours of taking a meal.
- Make sure nobody will disturb you while you are practicing meditation. I mean don’t rush to turn off your coffee machine in the middle of your practice. It is better if you are having free time so that you can focus on your meditation.
Do I need a yoga mat?
No! You don’t really need a yoga mat to practice meditation. It’s not a requirement. There is no harm if you have it but you can still practice meditation on a simple piece of clothing, just use it as your yoga mat. It’s better you sit on the floor while practicing meditation. You can do it on your bed or chair too, so there’s no need to panic.
How to begin meditation
A few questions arise before we start mediation. For example - How to start it? What if I will do something wrong? I don’t know anything about meditation and I can not afford a yoga teacher.
Well, there is nothing right or wrong in meditation. Meditation is training for the mind that helps us to liberate our minds. You don’t control your mind while practicing meditation. It’s actually the opposite. You make your mind free. So how to do it? Let’s figure it out.
- Sit or lay down in a comfortable position.
- Keep your spine straight.
- Close your eyes.
- Take a few deep breaths.
- While inhaling say in your mind I’m not the body.
- While exhaling say in your mind I’m not even the mind.
- Your mind will wander around but it’s completely fine. As soon as you realize your mind is having different thoughts, again bring it back and pay attention to your breath and repeat I’m not the body while inhaling and on exhale say I’m not even the mind.
- Do this practice for 8–10 minutes every day.
- During your practice, you will notice there are so many thoughts in the background in your mind but it’s fine. Our mind is like a monkey. It always wants to jump here and there. When you give work to your mind it will be busy doing it. Here the work is, watch the breath.
- When you feel you wanna stop the practice, you should take few deep breaths. Make your mind free of all the thoughts. Just relax. It’s like you don’t have to do anything.
- Connect with your surroundings and slowly open your eyes.
- Rub your palm together until you feel the warmth in your hand and place your palm on your face. Feel the warmth.
- You are done with your practice.
Maybe you are wondering why do I need to say I’m not the body and I’m not even the mind while inhaling and exhaling? Well as we know that our body is the accumulation of food that we gathered from the earth over a period of time and our mind is the accumulation of thoughts and memories that we learned over a period of time. Our breath is a link between the body and the mind. Breath is also connecting us from the outer environment. When you will feel connected to the outer world, automatically you will feel relaxed and peaceful. This is the purpose of our meditation.
You can increase the time of meditation after a few days when you will feel more comfortable and relaxed during the practice. Meditation is like an addiction but of course a healthy addiction. The above process sounds so simple but yet it is very effective. It will change your way of thinking. You will feel more relaxed and calm.
Benefits of meditation
I’m giving you a list of changes I felt and experienced after practicing the mediation I mentioned above.
- Relief from stress.
- Natural happiness.
- Better immunity.
- Relief from insomnia.
- Enhanced memory.
- Increased focus.
- More productivity.
- Relief from body pain.
- Better understanding of relationship.
- Weight Improvement (Before I was too skinny).
- Good skin and hair.
- Emotional stability.
- Relief from fatigue.
- Better digestion.