How to do Meditation- Meditation for Beginners

There has been an increased interest in meditation over the past few years. Perhaps this is a result of the added stress that we all seem to have in our lives, or perhaps it's a result of the move back to things more natural. Regardless of what the reasoning is, meditation is an easy to learn process that has been proven to help both physically and mentally.

Learning to meditate is not as difficult as most people think. One of the simplest ways to meditate is an exercise called Breathing Meditation. This is a fairly basic method of meditation that is easy for anyone to use.  Most people will notice a difference after practicing this once a day for a period of a week. That’s not a long time to start reaping the benefits of meditation!

 

There are 5 easy steps to follow to give you these benefits:

Space  Thefirst step in learning how to meditate is to find the right place as well as the right time. This should be a place that is quiet and dimly lit, as well as a place where you will not be disturbed.

 Posture. The best posture for this type of meditation is to sit with your spine straight but relaxed. Some people prefer to sit on a chair with a hard back, others prefer to sit on the floor or a stool and some people prefer to sit against a wall or board.

. Beginning your Meditation Relax your focus and concentrate on your breathing. Let your eyes relax and close if you want. Take a slow deep breath, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Inhale filling your lungs as much as you can, hold it for a count of 3, then relax your body and exhale slowly through your mouth. Try to focus on relaxing your body and imagining any tension or worry leaving your body. Repeat 3 times.

Breathing   After the 3 deep breaths, start breathing normally. Focus on the sensations of breathing. Perhaps the rise and fall of your chest or your shoulders, perhaps you can feel the hair in your nostrils move as you breathe in. By focusing on your breathing and the sensations that you feel and notice, you will be able to keep your mind focused on that instead of wandering or worrying. This is the focus and purpose of meditating.

 Attention Wandering  When you first start meditating, you’ll probably notice that it is hard to keep your mind from wandering. This is normal! Just bring your mind back to concentrate on your breathing whenever you notice this happening. It will get easier as you continue practicing and soon you will notice that your mind is clear and you get a feeling of freedom as you get better.

When you first start meditating, you may sometimes find that different things happen. There may be times when you find yourself crying during the meditation but you may not even be aware of what is making you weep. You may feel yourself smiling or you may fall asleep and awaken truly refreshed. Don’t worry about this, these are just your own emotions having a voice of their own. This is normal especially while you are learn how to meditate and start to enjoy the benefits of meditation.

There is no right or wrong behavior during your meditation. This is your time for you. Everyone deserves this kind of personal attention. This is a self-care activity; a period for loving and indulging yourself.  Relax and enjoy this time!