5 Ways To Begin A Meditation Practice
In the last few years meditation and mindfulness have become increasingly popular in our mainstream culture. With our busy and tech dominant lives, it seems more and more essential to take time to slow down and switch off.
Current research suggests that meditation has many benefits including stress reduction, improved cognition, increased emotional regulation, improved sleep and decrease in pain perception.
Despite knowing the benefits of meditation, it can still be a really challenging process to begin meditating and keeping it a regular practice.
For me, learning to meditate has been a process and taken time. Here are a few ways I have been able to make it more of a habit.
Find your style
As meditation has developed from various places and cultures around the world, there are many styles of mediation to explore. Before you commit to one style, I suggest taking time to try a few to find the type that really resonates with you. Not sure where to start? There are many free phone apps (eg: insight timer, 1 giant mind, calm) that let you try different styles of meditation. Also, its totally ok to resonate with a few styles and alternate between
Find your space
To create a regular habit it can be really helpful to meditate in the same spot. Some people love to create a meditation room/or corner in their house with a yoga mat, cushions, candles or incense. Finding a space that is convenient and accessible is equally important to make a practise regular. If making a special space sounds overwhelming, sitting on your bed, couch, car or office is just as good.
Ideally, try to find a space that is separate from others and helps you feel relaxed and calm.
Make sure you're comfortable
Often when we think of meditation, we imagine someone sitting perfectly still, upright and rigid on the floor. A meditation posture should be something that you can feel awake and relaxed in and it shouldn’t feel rigid. I sit upright on the floor but I have my back supported against a wall with cushions. Some people prefer to sit on a chair or even lay down (Just make sure you aren’t too relaxed that you want to fall asleep!). And if you need to move and readjust during your meditation feel free to.
Start small
How much should we be doing? Many traditional meditation modalities recommend 20 min meditation sessions. However, recent research has shown that 10-12 minute per day has positive cognitive and physical effects. If 10minutes a day sounds overwhelming, then start with smaller with an achievable time (3-5 min). Week by week you can add one more minute until you find a perfect time for you.
Be gentle
As we start something new, approaching it with a sense of self-compassion can be really helpful. Didn’t meditate on a certain day? It’s totally OK! There are always more opportunities and different days to meditate. Practising self- compassion and kindness instead of judgement will help to take pressure off and make the process of learning meditation more enjoyable.