How to: Begin a Meditation Practice
Monday, October 24th, 2011
We all know that meditation is a “good” idea, one that can bring health, happiness and well-being, the problem is that knowing it and doing it are two different things. The bottom line is that unless we make a conscious effort to integrate meditation into our daily lives the practice will remain on the shelf. This week, we want to provide you with three practical tips that will help you jump start your meditation practices today.
Accept That You Will Never Have Time To Meditate
Wait? What? Seems counterintuitive, right? But it’s the truth. Considering the hectic day-to-day existence we all have, finding the time to mediate is impossible. Instead, we must make the time to meditate. We need to set up meditation and its benefits as a priority in our minds and as a line on our daily agenda. It is so easy to skip over meditation, which is why most experts recommend doing it at a set time each day, generally either as soon you get up in the morning or right before bed time.
From now on, rather than launching up each morning into a crazy set of “to do” items, take the time to relax and center yourself through meditation. Then, at the end of the day, use meditation to let go of all the stress the day has brought and gear up for a more restful and restorative sleep. Ten minutes of meditation can save you an hour of tossing and turning in bed.
Kickstart your practice by committing to taking 5 quiet minutes tonight before bed. Don’t try to DO anything other than clear your mind. As thoughts pop up, imagine them leaving your mind with your next breath.
Try Guided Meditation
One of the biggest challenges that most newcomers to meditation face is achieving a quiet mind and knowing what to do and when. If you are one of those people who if given 10 minutes of silence will fill the silence with “I need to do __” or “I should have done __” or someone who will worry about meditating “correctly,” then guided meditation may be a really great alternative to try.
Through guided meditation, you can use soothing nature sounds and/or an expert’s voice to help achieve the deep relaxation and healing you seek. You don’t even need to spend a lot of money or leave the house to do this. YouTube offers a series of guided meditation videos that you can play. There are also many inexpensive MP3 files for guided meditation available in Apple’s iTunes store. You can listen to samples and decide what level of talk, white noise and silence fits your needs.
Choose a Guided Meditation resource to use in your practice tomorrow. Choose something short (10 minutes or less), and make sure it’s on your iPod, ready to go.
Create a Comfortable Meditation Space
Though meditation can be done anywhere, in order to make the practice routine it is important to find a spot in which to do it. All you need is a small corner in your home or bedroom. Designate a comfortable chair, pillow or rug to sit on that will be used only for meditation purposes. Over time, your mind will automatically begin to calm when you settle into your spot.
Many people also set up a meditation table with small statues, pictures of calming areas such as a beach or the woods, or a small fountain to create white noise. If you are using guided meditation, consider using headphones and an MP3 player to help block out other outside sounds. This will help you to focus your energy and clear your mind.
Pick a space – it doesn’t have to be anything fancy – and use it when you meditate over the next few days.
Follow these simple instructions and by the end of the week, you should have the beginnings of a meditation routine that will do wonders for your mind and spirit! Finding peace and well-being through meditation is not only important for overall health and happiness, but will help you get more out of all the activities you already do. Since our lives are inundated with activities and “to do” lists, taking time to get to know silence is one of the best investments you can make.
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