With all the benefits meditation add to your life, we know you would like to begin practicing immediately! Here are our best tips for beginners!
When you start practicing meditation, you may face two challenges: it might be difficult to sit for an extended period of time and emptying your mind might only function for a few seconds. Distractions are bound to happen and you will need to deal with them in a proactive way. You need to overcome this initial phase with great determination and discipline.
The easiest way to get over the initial problems is to start meditation by focusing on the breath. You will be able to learn this technique during our yoga classes.
Sometimes, you may find hard to concentrate during meditation. Recognizing that you are not concentrating is the first step. You can bring back your focus to the breathing process and slowly but surely, you will learn how to focus for an extended period of time.
Two meditation techniques for beginners:
1. Concentrative meditation technique will teach you how to focus on a single point. Concentrating on a single point, sound or activity can be practiced by repeating a mantra or a single word, listening to a repetitive gong, looking at a candle flame, counting beads on a rosary, watching the breath.
Focusing for an extended period of time can be a daunting task. Beginners should meditate for only a short period of time in the initial stages. Focusing for a prolonged period of time should be attempted in a gradual manner.
During meditation whenever your mind gets distracted with other thoughts, you will refocus your awareness on the chosen object of attention. This simple technique will teach you how to avoid pursuing random thoughts and your ability to concentrate will get improved considerably.
2. Mindfulness meditation technique will motivate a beginner to observe the wandering thoughts as they pass through the mind. The aim of this method is not to judge wandering thoughts or getting involved with them, but to be aware of each mental note as it arises. Then let those thoughts pass without expectation or emotions.
When a beginner practices mindfulness meditation, you will be able to see how your feelings and thoughts tend to move in certain patterns and gradually, you will become aware of the human tendency to judge experience as pleasant or unpleasant. As a beginner, when you practice this technique regularly, you will be able to develop inner balance.
Best posture
The best body posture for practicing meditation is to sit cross legged on the floor, keeping the spine straight and relaxed. As a beginner, you may find this body posture quite demanding or even extremely uncomfortable.
If you feel uncomfortable during meditation, you can select a posture that you are most comfortable with like sitting straight on a chair.
Don’t give up!
During meditation, your mind may get distracted with other thoughts 100 times and you should bring it back to your focus at hand 100 times. You should be prepared to bring it back for 101 times as well and such a method of approach will help you get over all the difficulties during the initial stages of meditation.
Learn how to manage the initial problems and meditation will become an integral aspect of your life. As a result, quality of your life will undergo a tremendous amount of transformation.
