How to Meditate
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Meditation Guide |
When we meditate, we inject profound and lasting benefits into our lives: we reduce stress levels, understand our pain, connect better, increase our concentration, and be kinder to ourselves. Let us take you through the basics of the new mindfulness guide on how to meditate.
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| How to Meditate |
We welcome you to read the "Meditation Guide", which includes various meditation styles, information on the benefits of each exercise, and free audio-guided exercises to help you learn how to meditate and incorporate meditation into your daily life. Read on to learn more about the basics of this transformative practice, which enables us to find more happiness in our daily lives.
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| what is meditation |
How do you learn to meditate? In mindfulness meditation, we are learning to pay attention to the breath as we breathe in and out, and to notice when the mind is distracted from this task. This method of restoring breathing can strengthen the muscles of attention and mindfulness.
When we pay attention to our own breathing, we are learning to return to the present and stay in it, purposefully anchoring ourselves in the here and now, without judgment.
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| why study meditation |
Although meditation is not a panacea, it can certainly provide you with much-needed space in your life. Sometimes this is all we need to make better decisions for ourselves, our families, and our communities. The most important tools you can carry with you in your meditation practice are a little patience, some kindness to yourself, and a comfortable sitting position.
When meditating, we bring profound and lasting benefits to life. There is another benefit: you don't need any other equipment or expensive memberships.
- Five reasons to meditate:
- understand pain,
- reduce stress,
- connect better
- attention, and
- improve concentration
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| how to meditate |
Meditation is easier (and more difficult) than most people think. Read the steps below to make sure you can relax during the process set a timer, and give it a try:
1) Sit down
Find a place that looks calm and quiet.
2) Set a time limit
If you are just starting out, it may be helpful to choose a shorter time, such as 5 minutes or 10 minutes.
3) Look at your body
Sit on a chair with your feet on the ground, you can sit cross-legged, you can kneel, everything is fine. Just make sure you are stable and in a position where you can hold it for a while.
4) Feel your breath
The feeling of following your breath in and out.
5)Observe when your thoughts are wandering
Let go of your breath and stroll to other places. When you realize that your mind has been wandering (a few seconds, one minute, five minutes), turn your attention back to your breathing.
6) Be kind to your wandering heart
Don't judge yourself or get addicted to the content of breathing. You find yourself lost in thoughts.
7) Close gently
When you are ready, gently raise your head (if your eyes are closed, open them). Take a moment to observe any sounds in the environment. Pay attention to how your body feels now. Look at your thoughts and emotions, that's it! This is practice. You leave, you come back, and you try to do it as kindly as possible.
How much should I meditate?
Meditation is not more complicated than what we described above. It's that simple...and full of challenges. It is also very powerful and worthwhile. The key is to sit down every day, even for five minutes. Meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg said: "One of my meditation teachers said that the most important moment in your meditation practice is when you sit down and meditate. Because at that moment you tell yourself that you believe in change, you believe in taking care of yourself, and you are achieving it. Not only do you abstractly have values such as mindfulness or compassion, but you really make it happen. "
Meditation Techniques and Tips
So far, we have learned basic breathing meditation, but there are other mindfulness techniques that use focus other than breathing to anchor our attention: external objects, such as sounds in a room, or something bigger, Such as paying attention to things that come into your consciousness spontaneously in the practice of aimless wandering. But all these practices have one thing in common: we realize that our minds are running most of the time. This is real. We usually think about ideas and then take action. But here are some useful strategies to change this situation:
How to make mindfulness a habit
It is estimated that 95% of our behaviors are run on autopilot. That's because neural networks are the foundation of all our habits. It reduces millions of sensory inputs per second to manageable shortcuts so that we can function in this crazy world. These predetermined brain signals are so effective that they often cause us to revert to old behaviors before remembering what we intend to do.
Mindfulness is the complete opposite of these predetermined processes. It is an executive control rather than autonomous driving, allowing conscious action, willpower, and decision-making. But this requires practice. The more we activate our conscious brain, the stronger it will become. Every time we do something deliberate and new, we stimulate neuroplasticity and activate our gray matter, which is full of new sprouting neurons that are not yet ready for the "autopilot" of the brain.
But here is the problem. Although our conscious brain knows what is best for us, our self-driving brain will cause us to open the way in life. So, how can we release our attention when we need it most? This is where the concept of "behavior design" comes into play. This is a way to put your deliberate brain in the driver's seat. There are two ways to do this: first, by placing obstacles in its path to slow down the speed of the autonomous driving brain; second, by removing the obstacles in the deliberate brain, allowing it to gain control.
However, it takes some work to change the balance to give your brain more power. Here are some ways to get started.
- Place meditation reminders around you. If you plan to do some yoga or meditation, place the yoga mat or meditation mat in the middle of the floor so that you won't miss it when you walk.
- Update your reminders regularly. Suppose you decide to use sticky notes to remind you of your new intentions. This may last for a week or so, but then your autonomous driving brain and old habits will take over again. Try to write new notes for yourself; add variety or make them interesting. This way they will stay by your side longer.
- Create a new pattern. You can try a series of "if so, then that" messages to create reminders that are easy to switch to the intention brain. For example, you might think "If you are at the door of the office and take a deep breath", this will be a way for you to turn to mindfulness when you start work. Or, "If the phone rings, take a breath before answering the call." Every deliberate movement transferred to mindfulness will strengthen your deliberate brain.
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| Some basic meditations |
The basic meditation for beginners
Must first clarify: what we are doing here is for mindfulness, not a magical process that can make countless endless thoughts emerge from your brain and constantly touch our brains. We are just practicing to shift our attention to breathing, and then return to breathing when we notice a shift in attention.
- Feel comfortable and prepare to sit for a few minutes. After you stop reading this book, you will only focus on your natural inhalation and exhalation.
- Focus on breathing. Where can you breathe best? In your belly? On your nose? Try to focus your attention on inhaling and exhaling.
- Breathe for two minutes. Inhale deeply, expand the abdomen, and then exhale slowly. As the abdomen contracts, the exhalation time is extended.
Welcome back. what happened? How long did it take before your thoughts drifted away from your breath? Have you realized that even if you don't consciously guide it to think about something special, your brain is very busy? Before rereading this article, did you realize that you were stuck in your own thoughts? We often have narratives in our minds that we don’t intend to put there, such as, "Why does my boss want to see me tomorrow?" "I should go to the gym yesterday." "I have to pay some bills" or (classic) "I There is no time to meditate, I have something to do."
If you have experienced these distractions (we have all experienced them), you have made an important discovery: to put it simply, this is the opposite of mindfulness. When we live in our minds, on autopilot, let our thoughts wander around, exploring, for example, the future or the past, basically, does not exist in the present. But this is where most of us live most of the time, and it's embarrassing, if we tell the truth, right? But it doesn’t have to be so.
We "practice" mindfulness so that we can learn to recognize when our brains are doing their normal daily stunts, maybe pause for a moment so that we can choose what we want to focus on. In short, meditation helps us build healthier relationships with ourselves (and with others).
Guided meditations for beginners
Guided meditations are a great tool for beginners because they provide a focus and gentle instructions to help you make connections and put your own judgment aside.
Try this 3-part guided audio series edited by Mindful, Barry Boyce:
How long do you want to meditate? Sometimes we just have time to check in quickly, and sometimes we can have a more in-depth discussion. Each of meditation helps to increase awareness, enhance resilience and reduce stress. Try to make meditation a habit through short meditation exercises with our editor-in-chief Barry Boyce. Look for a month's time once a day, once a month, and see what you notice.
More ways of mindfulness meditation
Once you have explored basic sitting meditation practices, you may want to consider other forms of meditation, such as walking and lying down. Although previous meditations focused on breathing, the following meditations focused on different parts of the body.
Introduction to Body Scanning Meditation
Try this: Get your feet on the ground now. It doesn't matter whether you wear shoes or not. Then track or scan your entire body, little by little, slowly, until the top of your head. The goal of this exercise is to control the entire body: fingertips to shoulders, buttocks too big toes. The only rule is: don’t judge, don’t doubt, don’t worry (whatever your mind wants to do); just check the physical sensations in your body. Pain and pain are good. You don't have to do anything here. You just realized
Begin to focus on different parts of the body. You can highlight specific areas or follow this order: toes, feet (sole, heel, instep), through the legs, pelvis, abdomen, lower back, upper back, chest, shoulders, arms to fingers, shoulders, neck Different parts of the head, face and head. For each part of the body, stay for a while and observe the different sensations as you concentrate.
When you notice the moment your mind is distracting, turn your attention to the body part you last remembered.
If you fall asleep during this body scanning exercise, that's great. When you realize that you have been dozing off, take a deep breath to help awaken him. Maybe you can readjust his body (which will also help awaken him). When you are ready, turn your attention to the part of your body that you remembered to focus on last time.
Facts about walking meditation:
Most of us live sedentary lives, which allows us to incorporate extracurricular physical activities into our day to offset all of this. The key is: mindfulness doesn't have to feel like something else on the to-do list. You can inject yourself into some of the activities you are already doing. Here is how to incorporate mindfulness walking exercises into your day.
In the beginning, walk at a natural pace. Place your hands where you feel comfortable: abdomen, behind, or on both sides of your body.
- If you find it helpful, you can count down to 10 steps and start with one. If you are in a small space, when you reach ten, stop, consciously, choose a moment to turn around.
- Every step you take, you must pay attention to the rise and fall of your feet. Pay attention to the movement of the legs and other parts of the body. Observe any movement of the body from side to side.
- No matter what else attracts your attention, return to the feeling of walking. Your mind will wander around, so don't be frustrated and guide it as many times as needed.
- Especially when outdoors, keep a broader understanding of the surrounding environment, integrate it all into it, and ensure your own safety and awareness.
Introduction to loving-kindness meditation
You cannot have special feelings about yourself or others. Instead, you can practice reminding yourself that you deserve happiness and peace. This is true for your children, family, friends, neighbors, and everyone else in the world.
This practice of loving-kindness involves silently repeating phrases that provide good quality to yourself and others.
1) You can start by reveling in your own kindness, remembering -what you have done with a kind heart, and celebrating with joy in these memories. We all share the potential of goodness.
2) Quietly recite the phrases - that lastingly reflect our deepest desires for ourselves. The traditional phrase is
• May I be safe.
• May I have spiritual happiness (peace, joy).
• May my body be happy (healthy and free from pain).
• He can live with peace of mind.
3) Repeat sentences with enough space and silence so that they follow the rhythm you like. Focus on one sentence at a time.
4) Whenever you notice that your attention has shifted, be kind to yourself and let go of distractions. Repeat these sentences again without judging or belittling you.
5) After a moment, imagine yourself in the center of a circle of people who are kind to you or who inspire you through their love. Maybe you met them or read about them; maybe they live now, or they existed in history or even in mythology. That is the circle. When you imagine yourself in the center, please experience yourself as a recipient of love and care. Continue to gently repeat the love phrase to yourself.
6) To log out, release the visualization and continue to repeat these phrases for a few minutes. Every time you do this, you are changing your old and painful relationship with yourself, and you are moving forward with the support of the power of kindness.
Beyond the starting point
What you need to know and where to go when you start.
Frequently Asked Questions about
Mindfulness Meditation
When you are new to meditation, it is natural that problems will often arise. These answers can give you peace of mind.
1) If I am itchy, can I scratch myself?
Yes; but, before using your fingers, try scratching first.
2) Should I breathe fast or slow or in the middle?
Worry only when you stop breathing. Otherwise, you are doing well. Breathe in any way that suits you.
3) Should my eyes are open or closed?
There are no strict rules. Try both. If it is open, it should not be too wide, the appearance is soft, slightly downward, and don't pay special attention to anything. If it's closed, don't worry too much, and don't imagine anything special.
4) Is it possible that I am a person who cannot meditate at all?
When you find yourself asking this question, your meditation officially begins. Everyone wants to know this. Pay attention to it. Bring your attention back to your focus object (breath). When you get lost and question again, breathe again. This is practice. There is no limit to the number of times you can be distracted and resume breathing. Meditation is not a race for perfection, it is returning to the breath time and time again.
5) Is it better to practice in groups or alone?
Both are great! Meditating with others is very helpful. Practicing on your own can cultivate self-discipline.
6) When is it the best time of the day to meditate?
whatever. Consider your situation: children, pets, work. To experience. But be careful. If you always choose the most convenient time, it is usually tomorrow.
7) What if the thoughts in my head excite me sexually and physically?
Meditation stimulates the imagination. Over time, all thoughts and feelings will appear (so to speak). Then come back. The same old story. Release the mind, develop awareness and acceptance of physical sensations, and turn attention to the selected object (in this case, breathing). repeat.
8) Do you have any suggestions for including pets in meditation practice?
In meditation, we don't have to disturb others like a knight kills a dragon. If your dog or cat walks into the room and then barks, barks and rubs, or falls on a part of the cushion, it’s no big deal. let it be. What does not work properly is interrupting their session to interact with them. If that is what is going to happen, try to find a way to avoid interruption in practice.
