4 Tips to Effectively Meditate That Helped Me

A practical guide to meditating effectively

Photo by Omid Armin on Unsplash

Meditation is hard for most of us!

In spite of the fact that worldwide yoga and meditation have become accepted, useful ways to improve our state of mind, manage stress, and live more productively.

If practiced regularly over time even for a few minutes a day, it has proven benefits. However, a lot of us struggle to meditate.

I have grown up seeing my grandfather wake up at 6 AM, do yoga followed by meditation, and proceed with the day. He lived till the ripe age of ninety-seven, he remained alert and active till the end. Although the rest of my family is not emphatically spiritual, there was a general agreement on the myriads of benefits these spiritual practices have in our lives.

Fast forward to adulthood and I found myself going back to my roots and spiritual practices after some dark times in my life. Since then, I have been a yoga and meditation practitioner for the past ten years.

My struggle to meditate

After I struggled to meditate on and off for a few years, about five years ago, I took the Inner Engineering program from Isha Yoga to put more structure to my practice. The program was beneficial in approaching the practice with discipline but soon I realized that I needed a lot more than a program to ease myself into meditation, regularly.

My mind used to wander off all over the place. I would easily get distracted, feel too hot or cold, remember something important to do, would be planning inside my head what I should do after my meditation is over. By the end of it, I would feel like a failure, thus completely defeating the purpose of meditation.

I was on the verge of giving up mediation altogether when I decided to try different methods and tweaks. After several iterations of trial and error, I found a few ways that worked more effectively for me than others.

Techniques for meditation that have worked best for me

When I struggled to meditate in the initial years, I started reading books on meditation and mindfulness. I also talked to other practitioners to gain insights. I tried to implement several things and a few of them worked for me. I kept refining them over the years and these are the ones that have helped me the most.

1. Timing is crucial.

• If possible, I try to wake up early to meditate. Most of us have probably heard this one. It works like a charm almost every time. The lack of noise, the presence of chirping birds, and the freshness of morning air are instrumental in calming the mind down.
• Additionally, right after waking up, the mind is not yet crowded with thoughts. If meditating early morning is not an option, I try to meditate when I am not in a hurry; like at the end of a workday. To me “early” is some time between 6 and 8 AM, when surrounding traffic noises haven’t started. The specific timing of “early” for each individual might vary depending on the weather where one lives, time zone, day-light saving, etc.

2. Patience and forgiveness for self helped.

• I have come to accept now, that it is completely normal for the mind to wander during meditation. Earlier, non-acceptance and my obsession with perfectionism were deterring me from clearing my mind of thoughts. Trying to acknowledge the distractions without judging ourselves creates space between the self and its thoughts.
• Over time, this wandering is likely to decrease. After a decade of practice, my mind still sometimes wanders for the first few minutes of my meditation. I simply acknowledge it and continue meditating.

3. Choosing a particular spot to meditate can prime the mind.

• I have a specific spot in my bedroom where I meditate. If that is difficult to do sometimes when I am traveling, I try to keep particular objects like a yoga mat or a t-shirt that is associated with my practice.
• Sitting at a specific spot or using specific objects every day while meditating, primes my mind to meditate.

4. Water helps.

• Taking a slightly cold shower helps me wake up and become alert. This in turn helps me focus relatively easily.
• When showering in the morning seems too daunting, I splash my face with cold water.

The most important tip apart from the ones I have mentioned above is to not give up. If sometimes I find meditation too hard, I take a break for a couple of days but commit to coming back to it. The results of feeling calmer, happier, and more productive make the effort worth it for me. A lot of us have experienced occasional glimpses of calmness during meditation, trying to remember that serves as a good motivation to meditate.

Final takeaways

Meditation has proven long-term benefits. Following are some of the techniques to meditate effectively.

• Wake up early to meditate.
• Be patient with yourself.
• Associate a spot or object to your meditation practice if possible.
• Water helps.