If you are wondering how to start meditating, these meditation tips will help you begin your journey. Meditation can seem very difficult and complicated initially. When I first started meditating, I wondered how on earth I would ever be able to sit still for any amount of time. Everything I thought I knew about meditation seemed like it came down to having a major ability to clear the mind completely. To someone like me with a very busy mind, this seemed impossible.
But, when I actually began to try, I found that it was far simpler than I thought. Meditation has become an essential part of my morning routine – one I hate skipping. In my guide on how to start meditating, I shared some basic meditation tips. Today, I’m sharing some additional tips to help you get started.
Meditation Tips to Get You Started
If you are having trouble getting your practice started, here are some easy to follow meditation tips for those with little to no experience.
- Start small. That means starting with a short five minute meditation rather than attempting a long meditation. You may have the best intentions. Going in big and expecting to somehow sit through a long meditation is only going to make it harder to get into a practice.
- Try guided meditation. I have been meditating for close to two years now and I still prefer guided meditation. I also love mantra meditation and music meditation. Guided is often easier to follow, which makes it easier to focus on breathing rather than getting distracted by my own thoughts.
- Don’t force it. Ignore all the nonsense you have heard about emptying the mind or achieving complete mental silence. We are human beings and we have active brains. Rather than trying to force your thoughts to switch off, aim to gently bring back your awareness to your breathing, to the music or to the voice of the person leading the meditation. In time, it will get easier to find some stillness.
- Do it for the right reasons. You should be meditating for YOU and no one else. You are not doing it to look cool on Instagram or to live up to some ideal you have in your mind of what peace should look like. You are doing this to find some peace in your daily life.
- Find a style that works for you. There are many different styles of meditation, all offering their own benefits. Play around and find what works best. I love guided, mantra and music meditation. I also enjoy mindfulness meditation. I’m not really big on visualisation meditation but I enjoy styles that are soothing or motivating.
The good news is that it gets easier. Once you have a daily practice in place and you start feeling the results of your practice, you will soon see how much a regular practice helps. If you have any of your own meditation tips to share, let me know.
