Meditation is a great thing to practice! Benefits to the body, psychology, spirit and everyday living are so great that both eastern and western medicine agree that it will improve quality of life. Please enjoy this free intro to help you get started. It’s pretty easy and once you get used to doing it the awkwardness and discomfort of just sitting is easy to let go of. Please enjoy and I hope this helps bring about peace, clarity and a positive change for your lifestyle

Intro Meditation Technique

To start an easy, beginner’s way to meditate I suggest these steps:

1. Find a place in your home that you can be away from distractions, interruptions, and duties you might feel pulled to. And clear out phones/tablets so there is no pull to check those either!
2. Pick a time in your schedule where you will be able to commit to this practice at the same time every day for 3 weeks. It could be in the morning before work, after the family goes to bed, right before the gym time (or after). Consistency will be important
3. Sit in a comfortable area either on the floor, in a chair, or a bed and make sure your back is straight. No slouching, this will not feel good after a while if you don’t have decent posture.
4. Breathing is key. I like to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. I inhale for a count of 6 and exhale for a count of also 6. This helps breathing be deep and consistent. On the inhale the belly should expand outward and fill like a balloon. The exhale should push the air out and almost constrict to the inside of the back. A little imagination helps here too.
5. Ideally the only thing you should be doing is the breathing, not concentrating on any problem solving or reviewing of the days’ events. If you find yourself going through that, bring the concentration back to the breath. 6 in, 6 out.
6. Do this meditation practice for 10 minutes each day, for 3 weeks. After the 10 minute mark, write down what you feel, what you experience, and even what you see. Some of these things won’t make sense but that’s OK.

Other Tips

Sometimes I like the room to be dark, it helps me with fewer sensory perceptions. I get distracted easily so the fewer shiny objects the better. Dark environments are not necessary but a few people I talk to like this as well.

Nothing is really supposed to ‘happen’ during meditation so don’t be looking for anything. If you find yourself experiencing frustration or irritable thoughts while practicing this, write down what it is at the end of the 10 minutes. See if there are any themes.

If after 3 weeks you feel good and wish to continue, increase the time to 15 minutes, 20 minutes, and even 30 minutes. See what feels good and if there is anything else that affects the quality of the meditation time including time of day, how much screen time you do prior, different affects of foods, or other things.

Final Thought

There are many approaches to meditation including running, walking, sitting, standing, zen, archery and more. The main thing is that the mind gets a chance to be ‘off’ for a bit and depending on a person’s lifestyle, tendency, and history a particular approach may work better than another. Do what’s right for you and try not to fit into a model that doesn’t work for you (even this one!)