How to Start Meditating Right Now
These simple steps are all that it takes to start meditating right now. Anyone can meditate and everyone can benefit from even a little meditation experience. If you have ever been curious about meditation give these tips a shot right now!
Meditation: It’s not what you think… Get it?Do this for five minutes, ten minutes, whatever you feel comfortable with. What matters is that you begin meditating if you feel like you want to or have thoughts like “I should be meditating”.
“Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed.”
~Saint Francis de Sales
The space between your thoughts is the meditative state we are striving to access with more ease and at will. Ironically, it is the complete opposite of will and yet it requires great will to access in the most important times of our lives.
SHOULD I MEDITATE?
Are you wondering if you should meditate? The answer is yes! If it’s on your mind, then take that as a sign to meditate!
Do you find yourself saying, “I want to meditate” or “I should start meditating”? Then take a deep breath and start right now! Even if it is only for a minute listen to that inner pull and harmonize with your inner desires.
“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.”
~Aristotle
HOW TO MEDITATE
Let’s take a closer look at each of these basic steps for meditation:
1) Sit With Your Spine Comfortably Straight… Think of Good Posture.
Your spine should have a natural ‘J’ curve to it. There should be no pain. It is just as important not to sit with a rigid spine as it is to not slouch. Slouching or hunching over can reduce the quality of your blood and oxygen supply throughout your body. Consider you spine posture as dictating the flow of your vital life fluids and energies throughout your body.
As long as your spine has proper posture, you can sit with your arms and legs however is comfortable. You will reap the benefits of meditation whether you are sitting in a chair or on the ground in full lotus pose.
TIP: To avoid your legs falling asleep, sit with your hips higher than your knees — you can prop yourself up with a few pillows or a meditation block.
“A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind.”
~Morihei Ueshiba
2) Take a Few Slow, Deepening Breathes (Inhaling Through the Nose)
Ideally 6-8… but even one will make a difference… The key to meditation is relaxing. By taking a few slow, deep, purposeful breaths we oxygenate our blood and are prepping our body for a deeper meditation. There are many different types of breathing exercises, triangular breathing being one of my favorites.
Again, I like to do 6-8 rounds before I start meditating. But even just 3 deep, slow inhales will make a noticeable difference in how calm you feel… shoot even one slow breath will do the trick…
Try it right now: Take a second to see your starting positing: scan your body real quick. What do you notice? Then take a slow inhale through you nose. Hold it for a second or so. And slowly let it out. Now check in with a quick scan head to toe again after that single breath… feel anything different? Feel everything different! That change is available to every human being at any time. And if you actually just did this little exercise, congratulations, you just gained some momentum 🙂
When breathing deeply, breathe in through your nose. Inhaling through your mouth will lead to a dry and possibly soar throat. Your nose has little hairs and mucus to filter the air so use it! Exhales can go through your mouth or nose.
TIP: You can slow your breathing down by extending your exhales 🙂
“Regulate the breathing, and thereby control the mind.”
~B.K.S. Iyengar
3) Close Your Eyes and Focus Your Attention Gently on Your Natural Breathing
The deep breaths from step two are not the same as your natural, meditation breaths. During meditation, we allow our breathing to just be whatever it is. We do not manipulate the breathing while meditating. The inhales and exhales happen on their own.
We gently place our attention on this natural breathing.
~“In the interval which separates two desires a perfect calm reigns in the mind. It is at this moment freed from all thought, love or hate. Complete peace equally reigns between two mental waves.”
~Swami Sivananda
4) Allow Thoughts to Come and Go Freely Without Judgment or Attachment
Thoughts will flow in. Meditation is an exercise that frees us from attachments. It starts with learning to let go of thoughts within the peace of meditation so that we may extend this ability more frequently in everyday life.
As thoughts drift in, acknowledge them and then let them go. Decide to gently return your attention to your breathing. In and out
~“In practicing meditation, we’re not trying to live up to some kind of ideal — quite the opposite. We’re just being with our experience, whatever it is.”
~Pema Chadron
MEDITATION TIPS
Keep Sitting
When you start meditating, you will find that the more you sit in meditation the more you will notice going on within your own body and mind. This can sometimes feel like you are getting “worse” at meditating. But that couldn’t be further from the truth! You are actually starting to tune into how much was really going on in your internal experience.
Pretty much every question you can think of asking about meditation can be met with the simple answer of “keep sitting”. Keep going and see how your relationship to those questions develops.
Types of Meditations
REMEMBER: There are many different ways to practice and define meditation. What I have outlined here is just one type that I found resonates with me. Tuning in to what resonates for you is ultimately one of the many gifts that a meditation practice can help you achieve.
So pay attention to what comes up. Talk about your questions with others in a meditation communities and learn about an infinite series of paths others have carved out over thousands and thousands of years of humans exploring meditation.
Find a Great Teacher
Find yourself great teacher. They come in many forms. Maybe you find the teacher and learn the meditation you love. Maybe you find the meditation you love and then hunt down a teacher. Either way, the teacher arrives when the student is ready!
Positive Word Art to Inspire Your Practice
If you are looking to start meditating perhaps our positive word art shirts could help you stay on track! The designs are made from positive words like affirmations and quotations! Look closer into our art and see which ones jump out today and then use them as an exercise in mindfulness. We hope the ideas that come forward will support you in your meditation practice.
Check out this lotus flower design! It is made completely from quotations and affirmations relevant to the symbolism of the lotus flower. When it comes to meditation, concepts on growth and renewal go hand in hand! Take a closer look into this design see what jumps out today!
Now let’s go sit and focus on our breath! Happy meditating!
Have any advice or questions about how to start meditating? Join the conversation in the comments below and let us know…