Meditation 101 - The Perfect Guide for Beginners/Naysayers

Do you meditate? Maybe you are one of those people who think it’s just a little hokey. I was once like you! I can still recall the first, second, and third time I tried to meditate. By the third time I was completely skilled at counting my breath AND thinking about the grocery list all at the same time. The sitting, the silence and the posture only made my body hurt and my mind race. In fact, I stopped even trying after the third time I tried it. I thought for sure the practice was hokey and my mind was too strong and busy to be silenced. And why silence my mind anyway? I liked my thoughts. The racing made for constant entertainment.

It wasn’t until I hit a rough patch in life that I picked meditation back up and gave it another shot. My husband and I were taking a break from our marriage and I knew it was time to do some real soul searching. I was hurting terribly and was seeking some kind of spiritual medicine or remedy. Anything that would ease the pain I was feeling in my heart. So, why not try meditation, right? I had read enough literature online and in books and was aware of the research and had already been shown the basics on how to meditate.

So, I gave it another shot, still nothing. I thought it was hopeless until I happened to be scrolling through Youtube one day. Ah ha! Guided meditations caught my eye. I was quickly transformed into a one-hour-meditator. I want to share with you, meditation naysayers, the path I took to get to where I am today in my meditation practice. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not always faithful to the practice and I’m far from being a guru, but I can tell when I am meditating and when I’m not. Almost like the days you forget to drink your coffee, if you can understand what I am saying there. So, here it is, easy steps to start your meditation journey.

• Find a 5 minute Youtube guided meditation. There are thousands, scroll through a few and play a bit of each. What you are looking for is something that sounds good to you. Try on the back-ground music (is it something you think you like?), do you like the voice that will be guiding you through the meditation? These are key questions to ask yourself when trying to find the right one. Once you find one, lay down comfortably on a bed or sofa with earphones, relax and let the voice guide you. Don’t worry at all about sitting in a specific pose. What you want to worry about in the beginning is being comfortable and concentrating on the voice of the guide. Before you know it, five minutes won’t seem long enough.

• When you have reached a point where you prefer a longer guided meditation, try a ten-minute session. Once you get here, try sitting in half lotus with a pillow under your bottom for support as you let your knees fall to the floor. Align your spine so that your vertebrae are stacked nicely on top of each other. You will know when you have this position because you will not feel any strain in your back and your back won’t get tired during your meditation. Simply cup your hands in your lap and with your headphones sit for your ten-minute meditation. Again, before long, it will feel like your ten-minute vacation just isn’t enough. If you are having trouble getting comfortable sitting during meditation, you can find several instructional videos on Youtube to help you with different postures/sit-styles.

Before long you will be a pro at meditation, and like me, be clocking in and using your insight timer (cool app), to take your daily 45-60 minute stay-cation to relieve stress, prepare for you day, prepare for your slumber, or just to get away. Either way, your mind, body and soul will thank you for it in big, big ways!

Just beginning is a great start. Take the time to do a 5 or 10 minute meditation each day and enjoy the smile that it brings to your face and to your soul.

Tina