Have you ever tried to meditate? Then gave up after the first few seconds because you felt, well, silly and didn't quite know what to do? Here's a brief meditation for beginners, leaving out the guesswork!
We frequently hear from many people that they don’t meditate because they either don’t have time, don’t understand what they are supposed to do, or feel intimidated by it. Meditation is a very personal experience and can be different for everyone. But the main purpose of it is to become aware of the present moment and to simply be within that moment. One common misunderstanding about meditation is the absence of thoughts. It is nearly impossible to have no thoughts, and that is not the goal. The goal is to allow your thoughts to pass without judgement or attachment, where you can observe them and not allow them to affect you. Our egos tend to latch onto our thoughts and send us down a spiral of tangents, never really allowing a rest period. Meditation is that rest period, where our minds can relax - even with the random thoughts.
There are many methods to get to that space, but I am going to guide you through a very simple meditation. You don’t need any tools or equipment, all you need is a quiet and comfortable space. This is a brief meditation, but the more you practice it, you can increase the time you dedicate to your well being. The longer periods of meditation can have profound positive effects on the brain. If you feel awkward and aren’t sure what to do with your body, just allow yourself to be comfortable. You don’t have to do anything with your hands, and you don’t have to sit on the floor with your legs crossed. You can just rest your hands on your knees or in your lap. You can do this sitting on a bed, a couch, the floor, a chair - literally anywhere that you feel comfortable. Try not to lie down, as you don’t want to fall asleep. A more active posture is preferred, but if that is not comfortable, you can sit with your back against something for support. It is generally recommended to have your eyes closed during meditation, but we understand that isn’t comfortable for everyone. If you’d like your eyes open, gently rest your gaze on the floor. If you feel like you are ready to give it a try, let’s begin.
Our meditations are best practiced by listening to the podcast:
If you would like to familiarize yourself with the meditation first, here you go!
Find a comfortable space where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes or rest your gaze.
Take a moment to get all of your fidgeting out of the way. Now that you can focus, take a nice deep breath in through your nose if possible. If it isn’t, that’s ok, breathing through your mouth is just fine. Breathe out through the mouth.
The next breath in should be a deep breath, filling up your lungs and expanding your belly.
As you breathe out, try to make the breath out of the mouth nice and slow, taking slightly longer to exhale than you did to inhale. Let’s take a few more breaths like this, in through the nose nice and deep, and out through the mouth, nice and slow. As you breathe, you may notice that your thoughts are popping into your mind. That’s ok. The fact that you noticed the thoughts means you are in the present moment. Good job.
Bringing the attention back to the breath, On your next breath, feel the air move down the body all the way to your feet. On the exhale, notice the air as it moves back up.
Take another deep breath feeling the air move down to your knees, and now all the way back up and out of your mouth.
Now all the breath to move into the belly, and expanding the abdomen. As you exhale, feel the contraction of the stomach.
On your next inhale, send the breath to your heart, allowing it to expand in your chest, filling up the lungs. As you breathe out, feel the body relax even more.
On the next few breaths, allow the air to move up the rest of the body, all the way to the top of the head.
Notice how wonderful it feels to notice the breath moving throughout the body.
Take a few more breaths on your own.
When you're ready, slowly open your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
You can come back to this meditation as frequently as you like. Be proud of yourself for trying this, even if it was difficult for you.