Meditation for beginners
Do you meditate? Have you ever tried? Is it a daily practice for you? If you’ve been on the fence about the benefits of meditating, or if you’ve decided that meditating might be too “woo-woo” for you, then I encourage you to continue reading.
What is meditation?
Meditation is essentially the practice of quieting the mind. It’s also considered to be a skill, or a tool, and just like the muscles in your body, it needs to be worked. Similar to working a specific muscle group for the first time, when you first start meditating, it can feel unnatural or even difficult, and that’s OK. The more you work the muscle, the easier it will become and the more natural it will feel.
Keep in mind, this is exactly why you might hear people refer to meditation as a “practice”, because it is indeed a skill that needs to be developed. The first few times you try to meditate, you may feel silly, or worry that you’re “doing it wrong” - rest assured, you can not do it wrong, but the more you practice, the better it will get.
The goal is to quiet the mind in order to create a calm, and clear headspace. By doing so, we’re able to open ourselves up to that inner voice which provides guidance and clarity. This is great for decision making, and easing anxiety; ultimately reducing stress. Oftentimes, we’re going and going, forging our way through life as quickly as possible, but when we take the time to really be still and quiet, we can reveal a whole new path forward.
Have you ever tried to not think about something? Think about it, even if you’re driving in the car alone, without the radio on, just cruising along in silence, your mind is still running wild with thoughts - what’s for dinner, I need to send that email, I need to make that doctor’s appointment - our minds are constantly running on autopilot. Meditation gives you the opportunity to take back control.
Experts estimate that the mind thinks between 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts a day. That’s an average of 2500 – 3,300 thoughts per hour which is insane. Neuroscientists and experts in the field of consciousness call this “mental noise”. With our brains processing so many thoughts every day and every minute, there’s a lot going on. It’s also worth noting, that with that much activity, it’s nearly impossible to keep track of whether these thoughts are positive or negative. Are we running a program that is beneficial for our mental health, or are we running through thoughts that are ultimately increasing our stress and anxiety levels? When we quiet the mind, we get to clear out all the “junk”.
Why meditation is good for your overall health & wellness
Meditation is essential when it comes to quieting the mind, calming the nervous system and relaxing the body. This is why so many people will meditate first thing in the morning, right before bed and even mid-day when they find themselves feeling stressed and overwhelmed. I personally can’t meditate before bed as meditation gives me tons of energy. Mornings and afternoons are better for me, but see what works best for you! Luckily, there really is no specific time of day to meditate, it’s best applied when and where you see fit. Many people benefit from making it a part of their morning routine because it allows us to mentally prepare for the day, and creates a clear headspace; better equipping us to take on whatever the day might throw our way.
When we meditate we also practice deep breathing which increases the flow of oxygen and blood to the brain. This increased flow is what gives us mental clarity and better brain health. When you think of your body’s automatic response to breathing, it’s typically not a deep, controlled breathing. More often than not, our normal breathing is short and only in your chest, but controlled breathing really opens you up and teaches us to breath from our belly.
How to start meditating for beginners
Is there a right and a wrong way to meditate? Yes and no. The “right way” is simply any way that helps quiet the mind. As long as you get to that quiet space, you really can’t do it “wrong”. One thing to keep in mind, is that meditation can really take place anywhere, at any time, but - it’s important to choose a quiet place. This could be anything from a quiet room in your house, to even sitting in the carpool lane while waiting to pick the kids up from school. A park bench, a bathroom, the kitchen table - it doesn’t matter, as long as you can get some peace and quiet.
Ultimately, meditating starts off with deep breathing, followed by a long, slow exhale. While taking these deep breaths, allow your awareness, or your attention, to focus only on the breath as it fills your lungs, then follow it out of your body as you exhale. At this point, you’re simply focused on one thing - your breathing.
When you first begin your meditation practice, it’s common to have random thoughts arise during this breathing time. That’s OK. The key is to recognize those thoughts, and send them on their way, rather than allow yourself to indulge them and get caught up in them. I like to think when a thought comes into meditation, it is a way for my body to release stress. Breath it in, and breath it out and release it back into the universe.
It may take some time to tackle this, and that is totally normal. Even the most experienced meditation practitioners will still find themselves experiencing this from time to time. Remember, the more you practice, the more natural it will feel and the easier it will become.
How long should I meditate?
The great thing about meditating is that there is no right or wrong answer here either! Some people will meditate for an hour or longer, and some people find they benefit most from calming their mind and body for even just five minutes. As with any goal or new implementation of a practice or routine, it’s best to start small. Find a time that works for you and know that you will finish, so if you choose 5 minutes, don’t end early. Following through to the end is very important.
A great way to implement a new habit, is to attach it to daily habits that you’ve already established. This is called “habit stacking”, a term coined by author, James Clear in his book, Atomic Habits. Identify something that you know will happen every day, and incorporate your new meditation practice into it. For instance, if you pour a cup of coffee every morning, start by saying, “OK, after I pour my cup of coffee, I will meditate for one minute”.
Once you’ve tackled one minute of deep breathing and calming your mind, it’ll be much easier to implement five minutes and so on. The point is, it doesn’t really matter how long you meditate, but it should be a goal to quiet the mind at least once a day in order to reap the overall health benefits.
Hopefully after reading this, you have a better understanding of why you should work towards a daily meditation practice, what the health benefits are, and how to get started. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please feel free to reach out to me here - in the meantime, I’m working on more informational pieces like this one, and look forward to sharing them with you soon!
xoxo,
Lindsay
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