5 Easy Ways To Meditate

I remember how hard it was for me the first time I meditated. I got anxious and bored. The fact that it lasted for forty-five minutes truly felt like an eternity. I just wasn’t ready to have “an empty mind.” But over time, the more I practice, the more I totally cherish this gift to myself.

People meditate to achieve mental clarity and to learn how to observe their emotions more objectively. Meditation is used in many spiritual practices. Now even the medical community has incorporated it into wellbeing programs because of its usefulness to relax the mind and body as well as increase impulse control and emotional awareness. Research even shows that it can visibly change the function and structure of the brain to support self-control on MRIs.

Other possible meditation benefits include lower blood pressure or heart rate, improved blood circulation, reduced anxiety, better sleep, lower blood Cortisol levels, increased happiness, chronic pain, and deeper relaxation.

There are various meditation techniques. Each one can help you learn about yourself and feel more at ease in different ways. Learn about your options to make it easier for you to try one. What’s important is to just try. Don’t worry about doing it “the correct way.” Remember, this is something you are doing for yourself. You can do it for as little as one minute and for as long as several hours at a time.

How to set yourself up for meditation: Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit.  Turn off your phone and move it away. Close your door so your family members or pets can’t bother you. Ask anyone around to not disturb you during your meditation. Dim the lights. Sit in a comfortable position with a straight spine. This can be difficult at first if you have never trained this skill but later you will find that you actually strengthen your back like this as well. Breathe deeply for a minute to relax the body.

Here are five different techniques you can proceed into:

Technique 1: Cultivate compassion or Loving Kindness. Cultivate an attitude of love and kindness toward everything, even your enemies and stressors. Recast negative events by envisioning them and then mentally transforming them with compassionate thoughts. Send feelings of love to anger or particular individuals towards whom you have conflicting emotions.

Technique 2: Choose your mantra. A mantra is a word or phrase that you silently repeat to yourself during meditation to move your attention away from your thoughts. You can use a word or short phrase that inspires you. Some people like to use words like “calm” or “joy.” Once you feel relaxed, transition into silent meditation.

Technique 3: Breath focus.  Take a few cleansing breaths by inhaling slowly through your nose and then exhaling out your mouth. Extend your breaths and try to match the length of your inhales and exhales. Then you can either continue to focus on deep breaths or transition into very soft natural breathing and focus on your natural breath. Try both styles and learn about yourself. When wandering thoughts drift in. Don’t engage or judge them. Just notice them and re-focus. 

Technique 4: Grounding with the earth. Deeply connect with the earth by envisioning yourself sitting in the heart of the earth. Visualize every sensation, sound, smell, color, and feeling. Then imagine the earth wrapping itself around you in a hug of support. Envision yourself as deeply comforted and held. Each time the vision fades, re-create it in your mind.

Technique 5: Gratitude Meditation. Visualize an aspect of your life that you are deeply grateful for. Use all your senses to envision it and all its elements. Bask in the lightness of being you feel in the emotion of contentment and satisfaction. Each time your mind wanders, gently nudge it back to the feeling of gratitude. You can also repeat the word thankful in your mind a couple of times if necessary.

If you have tried to meditate on your own but are having a hard time, there are some great apps that can guide you through the process. Try free apps like The Mindspace App, Headspace, or Calm to get started. They have a multitude of settings, time configurations, and techniques to guide you through the process.