The Beginners Guide to Meditation

Have you found yourself feeling overly stressed lately? Perhaps your thoughts race so quickly that it is hard to keep them straight? Meditation and mindfulness can be a great way to help regain focus, reduce symptoms of anxiety, improve mood, enhance sleep, and ultimately increase your overall quality of life.

So what is Meditation? Well…it is the practice of holding attention and awareness to a particular item or activity (such as the breath) in order to enhance mental clarity and emotional stability. There are many forms of meditation however research has shown that regardless of which practice you decide to implement, meditation as a whole has been correlated with improvements in anxiety, depression, pain management, and stress/distress tolerance. The best part, all it takes is a few minutes every day!

That being said, my client’s have consistently expressed that one of the most difficult aspects of meditative practice is ‘to not to think about anything’. This is a common concern that people have and arguably, the biggest myth when it comes to meditation and mindfulness practice. So, without further ado, let’s explore the Beginners Guide to Meditation!

1.     Start with the breath.

The breath can be a great focal point when beginning meditation. It is something the body does naturally and when you gently call attention to it, you notice your breath actually has its own rhythm. For example, you can sit or lie down in a comfortable position and simply focus on how your body inhales and exhales. Does your stomach rise and fall? Do your ribs expand and contract? Can you feel the breath on your lips or around your nostrils? All of these small details go unnoticed until we call awareness to them.

2.     Manage your expectations.

Meditation and mindfulness practice is not something that can be perfected on the first try…or the second, fourth, or tenth. It takes practice and it takes patience. Many people report feelings of increased stress and anxiety because they feel they are ‘not doing it right’ or ‘should’ be able to practice longer than they do. Enter into your meditation with a beginner’s mindset. You are learning, and that is OK. Whether you are practicing for ten seconds, or ten minutes, you are still engaging in meditation and therefore one step closer to reaping the physical, emotional, and cognitive benefits.

3.     Pick a time, and space, to practice.

 Whenever you are trying to introduce sometime new into your daily routine, it is important that you are consistent. This means, pick a realistic time of day to engage in meditative practice. As beginners, my clients have typically found it easiest to practice either first thing in the morning when they wake up, or in the evening as they wind-down for bed. Additionally, make sure that you have a calm and peaceful environment available to you. This means, no cell-phones, computers or televisions to distract you. 

4.     Use an app, or external audio cue, to help redirect your focus.

There are a lot of free apps available for beginners who are looking for some additional support when practicing meditation. There are also some great YouTube videos out there that have a wide variety of soothing audio clips to help beginners maintain their attention and/or guide the breath in a consistent, even manner. If you do not have access to these sources consistently, try using a white noise machine or a metronome to give a similar effect.

5.     Accept whatever comes, and then watch it go.

As we noted above, it is common for random thoughts to arrive and weave in and out of our consciousness. Meditation is not ‘thinking about nothing’, it is about accepting what comes and simply redirecting your attention back to the original item, activity or thought (i.e. the breath, a particular mantra or positive affirmation, etc.)  We do not judge, or attempt to challenge/fight whatever comes, we simply accept it and then watch it leave.

Meditation can be a wonderful way to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression and pain, as well as improve sleep and mental clarity. It can also be challenging to settle into so please remember to have beginners’ mindset as you start your new journey. If you want to learn more about how meditation and mindfulness can help you, please do not hesitate to contact me and we can create a personalized guide for you to begin implementing meditative practice into your daily routine!