When you hear the word meditation, the first things that probably come to mind are the following: sitting still, thinking of nothing, and all the reasons you wouldn’t be able to meditate. You ask yourself, “how could I even attempt meditation?” Your chatterbox mind continues, “I have a million and one things to do, there’s no way I can sit still –let alone clear my mind!” I’m here to tell you that meditating is a way to enhance everything you want to do and I’m going to share some ways that you can start.
But first, what is meditation exactly?
Meditation is any practice that stills the mind. It is a time when you aren’t being a sister, brother, friend, student, athlete, employee, and you simply just are. You are completely present in whatever it is that you are doing. You can be in a meditative state while overlooking a beautiful scenic view, taking a nice walk outside, listening to music, even cooking! Anything that brings you to the present moment.
Why is it so hard?
Try not to go into meditation (or anything) with the assumption that it is hard. This will just cause you to set unreal expectations. Go into it with an open mind. Okay, yes, it can be difficult to meditate for the first time (or first few times). When you think about it, we were never really taught to just sit still. When we were young and told to sit still, it was usually as a form of punishment or a reprimand. We’ve always been taught to do things, to move, to keep going, to think hard and move fast. We’ve never been exposed to the idea of just sitting with ourselves in our thoughts, and realizing our true nature (yeah, we’re getting deep here). But realizing all of this should take some frustration away. Now you can understand that just like anything you’ve never done before, it takes practice.
Now how you can start:
I could list one hundred ways to dive into your meditation practice with ease, but here are a few I’ve picked from the hat!
1. Set aside any expectations
Don’t think about anything that is supposed to happen. You’ve probably heard that meditation will bring peace, tranquility, clarity and enlightenment. Maybe it will and maybe it won’t. But it sure won’t do any of those things if you’re expecting them to happen!
2. Think long-term, not short-term
Remember that just because you may not feel anything at the moment, you will reap the benefits as time goes on. There is so much underlying progress that occurs when you allow yourself to sit still and (at least attempt) to clear your mind. Even if you sat there the whole time wrestling your thoughts, it’s a great way to observe what thoughts even rise when you sit in stillness! Which brings me to my next point.
3. Thoughts are a natural product of your mind, they are not your enemy
Visualize this: you sit down to try meditating and your mind just wants to chatter away, while you want it to keep quiet. So, let it chatter! But then bring yourself back to where you are and remind yourself of your goal, which is to clear the mind. Then let it talk. Then bring it back. With consistent practice, this back and forth will lessen, and your mediations will feel more fulfilling.
4. Balance the breath, balance the mind
There are thousands of ways to meditate. Some people focus on a visualization in their mind, repeat a mantra, some try to be mindful of the way their chest rises and falls with each breath. Personally, my meditation practice usually consists of Pranayama, which is essentially conscious breathing practice, something I could write another article about. Long story short, I breathe in for 6 seconds, hold for 3, breath out for 6, hold for 3, and continue this cycle. It balances the breath, which helps to balance the mind.
5. Guided meditation is not a cop-out
Now that I’ve meditated daily for a few months, I normally meditate on my breath alone. But even now I like to listen to guided meditations via the internet or an app on my phone! I’ve tried out Headspace and Simple Habit, my current favorite, and there are loads more. Don’t think that this is cheating the system.
I could go on and on. Meditation has had a massive impact on my life. From the way I prioritize my thoughts, to the way I treat myself, to how I view the world around me and handle the situations that come up every single day, (good or bad!) meditation taught me how to respond, rather than react. This alone will change every single thing you do in your life. I wish you luck on your meditation journey!
Peace, love, and namaste!
All gifs courtesy of Giphy.
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