Meditation Tips for Beginners!

Yikes!  Meditation can be frustrating when you’re developing your practice!

Yes, it can be frustrating or feel awkward and weird when you are first trying meditation.  This is normal!  Going to a meditation center or yoga class with a meditation component can definitely help and you can also find guided meditations online.  I suggest using the app Insight Timer or visiting YouTube (my favorite guided meditations on YouTube are by ‘Meditation Oasis‘ if you want to give them a try).  

Most important is to keep setting aside time every day (or as often as you can) until it becomes more comfortable.

I promise it will!!!

After just a few days you will already start to notice the differences: thinking more clearly, feeling more relaxed and more resilient to stress.  And then you will be hooked!

When you are just starting to build a practice, I recommend beginning with just 1 minute of meditation a day.  From there you can build as you’re comfortable.

You may also find it calming to meditate for 1 minute (or more time once you feel comfortable) at the beginning and at the end of your day.  When you make a short meditation the ‘bookends’ to your day, it can help you clear your mind, maintain better focus, and improve sleep.

You can build time slowly or change how long you want to sit each day depending on how you feel.  Just relax and feel into it – and remember, it’s not a competition!

Here are some simple tips that can help with Meditation for Beginners:

1. Above all, make sure you are comfortable! Sit in a chair, lie down, or use cushions as you need but don’t worry about forcing yourself to sit in a particular pose. Meditation isn’t about posing.
2. Make no effort to control the breath, just breathe naturally
3. Gently observe the breath, watching the body’s inhales and exhales, you can follow with the breath saying ‘so’ in your mind with each inhale and ‘ham’ with each exhale or you can say ‘I am now here in this’ applying one word each to your inhales/exhales.
4. Use a timer so that you can just relax and be present in the moment without worrying about watching the clock.  Meditation is about letting go of constraints like time!  I recommend downloading the Insight Timer app to your phone.
5. Imagine you are watching a blue sky and when thoughts arise, that they are the clouds floating by. See them just pass over you, from a distance.

Remember not to take it too seriously and that it won’t feel the same every day.  This is simply your time to tune into yourself and for a few minutes and focus your attention inward rather than outward.  

I hope this helps!

✨Peace✨

Stargazing Yogi