How to meditate, practical tips for beginners

HOW TO MEDITATE, PRACTICAL TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

Meditation for beginners, lets see how to meditate and some useful advice on how to get started.

In a chaotic and stressful life such as the one we conduct nowadays, meditation can represent a really extraordinary aid.

Meditation is a useful tool, rather simple but effective for calming the mind, relaxing the body and finding that inner peace that serves to help us to order the chaos of everyday life.

Very often people who approach meditation, imagine a monk sitting for hours in the lotus position on top of a mountain. The truth is that meditation is easier and more accessible than what most people believe.

FIND A COMFORTABLE BUT UPRIGHT SITTING POSITION
The most common position for meditation is sitting. Find a quiet place, sit on the floor or on a chair, keep your back straight and relaxed. If you have chosen to sit on the floor it is often more convenient to get your legs crossed on a cushion. Now if you can imagine having a wire attached to the top of the head that pulls your spine, neck and head towards the ceiling, helping you maintain a relaxed position, but with your back straight, imagine your spine nice and straight tensioned upwards.
RELAX:Close your eyes and bring your attention on the different parts of your body, from the bottom upwards, and relax them completely. Start from your feet, then move up to your calves, slowly towards your chest and so on, until every part of your body will be completely relaxed, to do this help yourself by breathing every time that you focus on a part of your body.
TRY TO REMAIN MOTIONLESS AND IN SILENCE: Try to be aware of the space that surrounds you, your body and the noise around you. Do not react to try to change something, simply stay aware of what is happening but immobile.
BREATHE: concentrate on your breathing. Breathe quietly and deeply. Use the diaphragm and feel your lungs expand, but do not force yourself to breathe in this way. Feel how the breath feels as the air passes through the nose, throat, chest and belly while flowing in and out.
USE A MANTRA: A mantra is a sound, a word or a phrase that is repeated during meditation, repeated more times. A mantra is simple to use when you start to meditate it is repeated silently “Inhale, exhale”, synchronized with the breath.
CALMS THE MIND: When you focus either on breathing or on the mantra, your mind will relax and focus on the present moment. When you see that a thought emerges on your mind, simply observe it, set it aside and back to focus on breathing or on the mantra. Do not fight against your thoughts: when you sit to meditate, there will be days in which your mind will be occupied by a lot of talk with itself and other days instead where your mind will be more calm and concentrated and it will be easier to release it from the thoughts.
HOW TO END THE MEDITATION: there is no right or wrong time for meditation, in any case, if you just began to meditate, do short sessions (10 minutes). As soon as you feel at ease with the practice, you can meditate more. When you are ready to stop meditating, bring your attention slowly back again to the external environment. Feel the presence of your body in the space that surrounds you. Gently move your fingers and toes, then slowly stretch your arms and legs. Open your eyes. Move slowly and take all the time you need to get up. Do not stand up quickly.
TRY TO MEDITATE OFTEN: Constance is more important than quantity. Meditating for 5 minutes every day will give you greater benefits than meditating once a week for 2 hours.
MEDITATE WHEREVER YOU ARE: Meditating at home, comfortable and in silence, is the best way to begin, but once you get started, I recommend you to explore new places where to meditate. Meditating on the grass can be beautiful or on the mountains for example in nature it is certainly easier.