5 Hacks for Meditation Newbies
- Kayleigh
- Apr 24, 2022
- 3 min read
5 Ways to Make Meditation Easy and Fun
There is no shortage of articles on the web about the benefits of meditation; I've written a couple myself. However, there does seem to be a shortage of information about how to get started.
For people who come to meditation on their own, the process, the names, the styles, and the history can make beginning meditation more stressful than the events that lead to desiring to meditate.
It's important to remember that there are multiple ways and purposes to meditate. The most immediately beneficial purpose is to find rest or peace.
Here are a few hacks I've learned over the years to make that process less intimidating and more beneficial.
1. Be Comfortable
There is no benefit to meditating in discomfort. In fact, being uncomfortable will just distract you. Remember that sitting in Lotus and chanting certain sounds is a small piece of the faith -based part of meditation, NOT the purpose of it.
When your purpose in meditating is to change your stress level, DO NOT feel obliged to sit in any particular way.
Just be sure it's a position in which you can be comfortable for more than 10 minutes but not comfortable enough to let you drift to sleep.
(Ivan is a very bendy cat; please do not try this position at home)
2. Be Uncomplicated
Meditation does not have to be complicated. Follow the steps below:
Get comfortable
Close your eyes
Breathe in deeply through your nose and blow it out through your mouth
Count each breath, thinking of nothing but the sound of your breath, the expansion of your lungs, etc. until you have counted 100 breaths
The ease with this meditation is that it can be adjusted according to your time contstraints; 10, 35, or 300 breaths - whatever you can fit in to help you regain your mental balance.
You will be amazed at how wonderful you can feel being conscious of nothing but the act of being alive.
Give it a try right now with 5 breaths. Go ahead... close your eyes and breathe. Don't forget to come back, though...
3. Be Inspired
Don't let your surroundings prevent you from meditating. If you are able, find a place where you feel inspired, peaceful or connected to nature and go there.
My regular meditation place is on my second story deck which gives the illusion of living in the trees, which makes me feel peaceful.
If you are not able to 'go to your happy place' then find ways to 'make do' with the space you're occupying.
On days like that, I find the perfect song on my Mp3 player, sit in the back of the subway car and close my eyes. Or, sitting at my desk, I pull up a photo on my computer of something that makes me feel inspired or peaceful and focus on that while I count my breaths.
4. Be Generous
Remember to allow yourself the time you need to meditate and re-balance. We give our time to many people throughout the day, if one of those people isn't ourselves then we will soon be too drained to give anything.
On days when I haven't made the time to meditate and re-balance, I usually meditate myself to sleep.
I like to save certain places as a treat for the times when I have gotten out of the practice entirely. For example, I live next to a 400 acre park in a very large city. There are brooks and waterfalls, rolling hills, and massive old trees. I have found quite a few idyllic spots in that park. So, I 'save' them for when I find myself unable to let the stress go or in need of a 'jump start'.
Find a way to give that time to yourself. The more you find yourself too stressed to find time to meditate, the more you obviously need the time.
High Park, Toronto, ON.
5. Be Forgiving
Meditation has been proven to actually grow your prefrontal cortex and shrink your amygdala. That means that your attention and concentration gets stronger and your urge to follow your impulses gets weaker.
Forgive yourself for not always having the focus to keep your mind from wandering.
Your brain is a very busy place and it may not be ready to stop running around just because you are.
You can't fail, or do it wrong. If you find you need help keeping the mental chatter at bay, find some music you like and listen to that instead of your breathing.
So there you have it; sit comfortably, close your eyes, breathe, and don't judge yourself.
Oh yeah, and relax... I mean wasn't that the reason you started all this in the first place?
Peace Out, Lovelies...