How To Begin a Meditation Practice
The benefits of meditation are well documented and a quick search online will pull up a long list of reasons why we should make time to meditate regularly. Making the commitment to do so is another matter. Even with the best of intentions, annual resolutions to make meditation a habit, it is easy to let the busy-ness of life get in the way of slowing down to meditate and reflect. I offer the following suggestions to help you develop the discipline of meditation.
My first suggestion is that you make an investment. Obviously, in order to meditate, you will have to make the investment of some of your time. This is often the easiest way to avoid meditating because there are so many other "more important" things to do instead of taking a few minutes to meditate. But if you are serious about meditating it may help if you make another kind of investment. Look around your home and find a corner or area you can devote to meditation. Make it as pretty and comfortable as you possibly can. Buy pillows or a meditation stool. Often, when we make a financial investment in accomplishing something we are more likely to make the time to follow through on our intention.
You may determine that you do not have the room to set aside even a corner for meditation. If this is the case, then your financial investment can take the form of a meditation cd or even some comfortable clothes to wear while meditating. By spending some of your financial resources on your intention to meditate you will be sending yourself a clear message of the seriousness of your commitment.
My second suggestion is that you make a commitment. The more time you spend meditating the more you will reap the benefits of meditation. However, meditation is like exercising and if you try to spend an hour or more on your first time meditating you will very likely stop meditating long before you experience any of the benefits. At first, set aside five minutes to meditate. Sit comfortably in a chair or even sit up in bed. Or, if you are fortunate to have created a meditation corner or space for yourself, go there and get into a comfortable position. We have all seen people sitting, their legs crossed, feet resting on thighs, hands on knees. The truth is, we are not all comfortable sitting in this position and it is essential for you to find a position that is comfortable for you. You may find it possible to sit with your legs crossed for more than twenty minutes. If not, find a different position. Experiment until you find a meditation position that you can sit in for at least five minutes.
You may choose to use a cd to help you time your meditation or you may want to set a timer and simply focus on your breath. It doesn’t matter how you do the meditation so long as you are comfortable. Thich Nhat Hanh also suggests that, when you sit in silent meditation that you smile softly. This helps the muscles in your face to relax.
Sit for five minutes at first and only increase the length of time until you are ready to try sitting for longer. You may prefer to sit for five minutes on days when you are busy with work and save the longer practices for weekends (or whatever days you have the most time to commit to meditating). You may find certain positions only comfortable for a certain amount of time. Don’t beat yourself up if you can only sit in one position for fifteen minutes. Instead, remember this and, when you only have fifteen minutes to devote to meditating, sit in that position. Use your discomfort to your advantage.
My third and final suggestion is that you make it uncomplicated. If you cannot afford to buy pillows or cd’s, if you don’t have the space to create a meditation corner, don’t worry about it. You don’t even have to schedule a time, necessarily. If you arrive at work a few minutes early, do not go rush to your desk. Instead, sit in your car or outside and begin breathing slowly, smiling softly, and allowing yourself a moment of meditation before your work day begins. You can do this again, when you get home, either sitting in your car in the driveway before rushing in to start dinner, or you may opt to go inside and sit down on your couch for five minutes.
If you did nothing else towards meditating you will be meditating ten minutes a day. If you then add in two weekend meditations of twenty minutes each you will be meditation for over two hours a week. Does it still feel impossible to set aside that much time for meditation? If so, perhaps you need to re-read some of the information on the benefits of meditation to reinforce your reason for making the time your own.
There is one more thing I would like to encourage you to do; keep a notebook and pen handy. You may find yourself distracted by random thoughts, some of which you won’t want to forget later but now is not the time to focus on these things. Instead, jot them down in the notebook and return to your breath. It is also a good idea to pause, when you are finished with your meditation, to write down how you felt during practice. Did you feel warm or cool? Was there any tingling in your hands or a tension anywhere? Make note of any sensations, emotions, or whatever else may come up during a meditation. Record what works and doesn’t and, above all else, follow your intuition as it leads you in how you should practice your meditation.
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Posted in Health and Fitness, Mental Health
