Everyone can benefit from meditation. Whether you need to relieve some stress from your life, are trying to improve your wellness, need help relaxing, or just want to find inner peace, meditation can help you do it. You don’t need Eastern knowledge or have to take any classes in order to meditate effectively; all you need is to learn the basics. Here is a simple guide to meditate for beginners:
Environment is Everything
Where you meditate is just as important as how you meditate. Since the goal of meditation is to clear your mind and enter a state of relaxation, it only makes sense that you should remove any distractions and noises. Choose a place, whether it is a room or a place outdoors, where you can be alone.
If you choose to meditate outdoors, choose a secluded spot away from the sounds of traffic. If you choose a room, make sure that it is clutter-free since that can keep you from fully relaxing. Turn off all electronics such as the phone, television and radio. The only exception here is if you want to play soothing music. Music shouldn’t have any words and should be calming such as nature sounds.
Get Into Position
Any position that you find relaxing and keeps your muscles from tensing works for meditation. The common meditating pose is with your legs crossed in front of you and your arms relaxed at your side with your back straight. Ideally, the floor is the best spot as long as it is comfortable for you to sit there. Otherwise, you can sit on a pillow, on the couch or even on a chair.
Relax Your Muscles
Start at the top of your head and slowly relax each muscle group. For example, focus on your head and eyebrows and let the muscles there drop. Then move to your cheeks and jaw and let them relax. Move throughout your body until you end at your toes. We tend to tense up our muscles without even realizing it. By moving from group to group, we can systematically relax all of our muscles.
Get Your Breathing Right
Inhale deeply through your nose for 5 seconds and then exhale deeply through your mouth for 5 seconds. You should be drawing in breaths from your abdomen and not taking shallow breaths from your lungs. With each exhale, you should allow all your worries to float out of your body.
Clear Your Mind
It will be difficult at first but you must clear your mind of all thoughts. You may find it helpful to repeat a word or sound such as “ohmmmm” to help you focus. If a thought pops in your head, immediately push it out. It may take time, but eventually you will be able to clear your mind without much effort.
By following this guide on how to meditate for beginners, you can become a pro at meditation and can begin to reap all of its benefits.
