Meditating is an excellent way to gain more focus, lower your stress, increase your well-being, and improve your health. However, do you know what you should be doing to gain all of these benefits, and many others when you are meditating?
I have discovered that while many people have heard of meditation, not everyone knows exactly what they need to do once they sit down to start. Don’t worry though, because I have created this handy guide that will give you everything that you need to know when you are ready to implement meditation into your days.
Meditation and How It Works
Meditation is a tool that you can use to rewire your brain to make it more functional. Once you begin meditating, you will find that your memory and concentration is much better, plus you can make decisions and process information better and faster than ever before. You can even improve your chronic pain by meditating!
It is amazing that something as simple and affordable as meditation can help you in so many ways that you may not have known was possible. All you need to do is sit back and let your thoughts flow on past you and you can instantly see so many benefits!
Here are a few of the benefits that you will notice after just a few meditation sessions:
- Feeling better than ever
- Anxiety lessens
- Concentration improves
- Blood pressure lowers
- Sleep is better
- Physical pain lessens
5 Steps for Meditation
If you have been wondering how to even start meditating, then this easy five-step guide is perfect for you! And, if you have been meditating for a while, these five steps may serve as a reminder of what you should be doing for the best results.
1. Set a Timer
A timer is an excellent way to ensure that you are meditating for the time that you want. After all, you are not going to want to focus on the clock or keep your thoughts focused on how many minutes you have been sitting around! As a new person meditating, you are going to find that one minute feels like twenty. Therefore, I always recommend that people start with a timer set for one minute and then increase the time as they become more comfortable with the process.
2. Sit Down in a Quiet Place
While you do not need to sit on the floor when you are meditating, it is important that you find a quiet place. I recommend finding a position that is comfortable for you, whether sitting or lying down and then setting your timer to begin. The quiet is necessary because you do not want to be disturbed. Any disruptions will make you lose your focus and all of the benefits you were waiting for will be lost.
3. Breathe Naturally
As you are meditating, it is important that you breathe as you normally would. You can keep your eyes open as you are breathing or you may close them to avoid visual distractions, the choice is yours.
4. Focus on Your Breath
As you are breathing naturally and starting to focus on your breath alone, see how it feels as it moves in through your nose, enters your chest and stomach, and then goes out through your nose. This is going to be difficult at first, especially if you are completely focused on your breath and you start to force it instead of letting it flow naturally.
5. End Your Meditation Sessions Slowly
When your timer goes off to signal the end of your meditation session, do not jump up quickly to move onto the rest of your day! Instead, give your body and mind a couple of minutes to transition back to reality and the hustle and bustle of your life. I recommend doing a couple of stretches to improve your experience, as they will help you feel even better.
Answers to All of Your Meditation Questions
Q: When should I start to notice the benefits of meditating?
A: The answer to this question is dependent on the person, and while you will love the benefits that you receive, they shouldn’t be the goal of the time that you spend meditating. However, you should see some slight improvements within just a few days, with major results in a couple of months.
Q: How soon should I increase my meditation time and in what increments?
A: Again, this is dependent on every person, but I usually recommend starting with a minute or two and then increasing by a minute once you feel that you can comfortably sit and meditate for that long. You can keep going in one-minute intervals until you feel capable of making jumps of five minutes. Please keep in mind that you are better doing small meditation sessions every day than you are doing an hour one day and then not practicing again for another week or so.
Q: I felt like I was falling asleep during my last meditation session! Is that normal??
A: It is completely normal to feel relaxed enough to fall asleep during a meditation session, but it is something that you will not want to do every single time that you meditate. After all, this practice is to increase your awareness, not catch up on the sleep that you obviously need!
Q: What should I do if my mind starts to wander?
A: It is common for your mind to wander, so do not fret! All that you need to do is refocus and keep going until your timer goes off. Please do not get frustrated if this happens a few times during meditation, especially in the beginning, because it happens to everyone. Instead, just acknowledge that fact and then move forward.
Q: Do you have any advice for a beginner?
A: The one thing that I tell every person who is new to meditation is to have patience. You didn’t learn how to walk and talk in one day, nor did you learn how to do your job in one day. Meditation is the same way and you need to take the time that you need to perfect your skills, just like you have with everything else in your life.
I cannot wait to hear more about your meditation journey, so make sure that you share it with me! Oh, and if you want to extend your meditation practice further, check out my Conscious Movement Course, It is packed full of helpful information that will get you well on your way to a healthier you!
