Have you ever lain in bed trying to sleep without success? Did you count sheep? I did this on Thursday night. However, I have found a more effective way to help myself relax. Meditation. These Easy Ways to Meditate for Beginners will try to answer all your questions in a simple way.
What is meditation
Meditation is a tool to help you develop a regular practice of mindfulness. You do this by focusing your attention on one thing for an extended amount of time. Meditation is intentional. It calms you, centers you on awareness, and helps you gain emotional balance.
How it does this
Meditation alters the brain’s structure over time by transforming the grey matter in the brain. This allows new neural pathways to be formed. Brainwaves slow down, meaning if your thoughts seem to be racing, meditation will help to slow those down.
Another way the brain structure is altered through meditation is through increased gray matter density in the hippocampus. This small structure is known to be important for learning and memory and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion, and introspection.
Why meditate?
Because meditation has numerous benefits, it’s increasingly popular in today’s fast-paced world. When I feel overwhelmed or stressed, I enjoy taking time out of my busy day to focus only on breathing. Here are some reasons why you might consider incorporating easy ways to meditate for beginners into your routine.
10 Benefits of Meditation:
- Stress reduction: Meditation is well-known for its ability to reduce stress levels. Practicing mindfulness meditation teaches us to observe thoughts and feelings without judgment, which can help us manage stress more effectively.
- Improved focus and concentration: Regular meditation practice can enhance your ability to concentrate or maintain focus, both in your meditation sessions and daily life tasks.
- Enhanced emotional well-being: Meditation can help regulate emotions and cultivate a greater sense of emotional stability and resilience. It may reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
- Increased self-awareness: Through meditation, you develop a greater awareness of your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations. This increased self-awareness can lead to greater self-understanding and self-compassion.
- Better sleep: Many people find that meditation can improve the quality of their sleep by calming the mind and promoting relaxation.
- Reduced symptoms of pain: Some research suggests that meditation can help reduce the perception of pain and improve pain management techniques.
- Enhanced creativity: Meditation can help quiet the mind and foster a state of open awareness, which may enhance creativity and problem-solving abilities.
- Improved relationships: By cultivating mindfulness and compassion through meditation, you may find that your relationships with others improve as you become more present, empathetic, and understanding.
- Physical health benefits: While meditation is primarily a mental practice, there is evidence to suggest that it has positive effects on physical health such as: lowering blood pressure, boosting the immune system, and promoting overall well-being.
- Greater overall life satisfaction: Ultimately, many people find that meditation leads to a greater sense of peace, contentment, and fulfillment in life.
Types of Meditation for Beginners
You aren’t limited to one way of meditating. As beginners to meditation, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available. Here are seven different ways to meditate including the easiest and most common ways:
- Breath awareness meditation focuses on your breathing and breathing techniques.
- Loving Kindness meditation focuses on sending yourself and your loved ones kind and loving thoughts.
- Body scan meditation employs scanning your body internally to notice changes and sensations. This is commonly used with biofeedback methods. I utilize this when I am unable to sleep. I usually find I am too hot, or I have pain somewhere that needs to be addressed before I am sufficiently able to relax enough to sleep.
Breath awareness, Loving Kindness, and Body scan meditation are among the easiest ways to meditate for beginners. There is much value in the following types as well:
Meditation for more advanced practitioners:
- Mantra meditation focuses on chanting a specific word or phrase aloud or in your mind.
- Visualization meditation uses the art of visualizing and mental imagery to calm your mind and promote relaxation. This is my favorite way to practice meditating. I enjoy sitting in a quiet spot, usually on the floor next to my bed, and visualizing a peaceful location. I try to see every detail as clearly as I can. I focus on breathing deeply and emptying my mind. In fact, when I feel a measure of calmness, I can return to the normal activities of my day.
- Movement meditation involves focusing on body parts and movement as you gently exercise. This may be through walking, yoga, or water aerobics.
- Focus meditation is practiced by sustaining a focus on breathing, specific sounds, or objects. When you experience a negative thought, take a moment. Sit down, close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Focus on your breathing. In and out, nice and slow. Do this until the negative thought dissipates or you feel calm.
A couple of other types of lesser-known ways to meditate include:
- Qigong meditation is part of Chinese medicine and combines meditation, relaxation, movement, and breathing to restore balance and equilibrium.
- Tai chi is another meditation technique that utilizes a martial art to move from one posture to another slowly, gracefully, and gently. You focus on breathing as you move.
5 Easy Steps to Prepare to Meditate
Before meditating, use these five easy steps to help prepare your mind.
- Focus your attention. Focusing your attention is one of the most important parts of meditation. This helps free your mind from the things that weigh it down like worry or anxiety. You can focus your mind on an object, a mantra, or your breathing.
- Relax your breathing. This involves deep even breathing utilizing the diaphragm muscle (the large muscle between your chest and stomach responsible for the mechanism of breathing) to expand your lungs. The idea is to take slow, even breaths, expanding your lungs and increasing oxygen intake. Relax your shoulders, neck, and upper chest so you breathe better.
- A quiet setting is also important. Placing ourselves in a quiet room without computers or cell phones may be beneficial as a beginner. Once you are more experienced at practicing meditation, it will be easier to do so in high-stress situations such as a busy office space.
- Get Comfortable. A comfortable position is necessary as well. It doesn’t matter whether you are sitting, standing, or lying down, as long as you are comfortable.
- An attitude of openness. Let your thoughts pass through your mind without casting judgment.
7 Easy Ways to Incorporate Meditation into Your Daily Life if you are a beginner
There are so many ways to meditate, don’t stress over doing it the “correct” way. Each person is different in how they practice meditation. Some people take a class, others use an app. Some people add meditation to their daily routine. They schedule meditating at specific times such as after they wake or right before bed. But you can certainly practice these techniques on your own whenever you need them. Follow these easy ways to meditate for beginners to help you get started.
Breathe Deeply
This is a good habit because it comes naturally and it is an easy way to meditate for beginners. Focus all your attention on deep breathing. Feel your breath and listen to it as you breathe in and out through your nose. Be sure to breathe deeply and slowly. When your mind begins to wander, bring your attention back to your breathing.
Scan your body
Quietly turn your focus inward and your attention to each part of your body. Be aware of how your body feels. Pay special attention to where you feel pain or discomfort. Also, be aware of where you feel warmth and relaxation. You may choose to mix body scanning with deep breathing thinking about breathing heat or cool and relaxation into each part of your body. Learning the practice of body scanning is an easy way to meditate for beginners.
Repeat a mantra
Whether religious or not, you may choose to create your own or use one associated with your religion.
Walk and meditate
During this practice, slow your pace so you can concentrate on each movement of your feet and legs. Don’t focus on where you are headed. Recite action words in your mind such as “lifting”, “moving”, and “placing”. An easy way for beginners to meditate by focusing on the sights, smells, and sounds around them. Incorporate mindfulness by savoring each of those things as you experience them.
Pray
Prayer is the most practiced form of meditation. Most faiths have spoken or written prayers you may choose from, hopefully, you can use your own thoughts focusing on attitudes of gratitude and thanks mixed with desires and well-being. Praying and communing with a higher power can be a calming and powerful form of meditation. This is a very easy way to meditate for beginners.
Read and reflect
An easy way to meditate for beginners, many people report feeling uplifted when reading poetry or sacred texts and then reflecting on their meaning. You may choose to listen to sacred music or spoken works that uplift and inspire you. You may choose to begin a gratitude journal as part of your reflection.
Focus on love and kindness
Focus your thoughts in loving and kind ways toward yourself and those you love. Another easy way to meditate for beginners, this will provide you with a renewed sense of connection to yourself and others.
Is Mindfulness the Same as Meditation
We’ve talked about Meditation and its benefits and easy ways to begin meditation. “But Stephanie,” you say, “Isn’t meditation the same as mindfulness?” In some ways yes, and some ways no. Let’s break mindfulness down to its simplest part. Being present.
- Mindfulness is a state of being in which you focus your attention or awareness on the present.
- Mindfulness is being in the present at that exact moment. Not worrying about something from the past like the bill you didn’t pay or projecting a worry into the future such as that work project due next week. You are completely present, in the moment. You have no judgment for your emotions, just acknowledgment of their existence. You are aware of your breathing, and the sensations around you. You are completely in the moment.
Does mindfulness relieve stress
Yes, it does. There are Mindfulness Stress Reduction Programs (MSRPs) out there. These programs are typically 8 weeks long and led by an instructor. Your stress levels can be reduced by learning about yoga, meditation, breathing, and gratitude. Knowledge is power. MSRPs are additionally effective in helping to relieve pain and depression.
Mindfulness programs can be used to complement other therapies as well. They also provide a low-cost alternative to expensive treatment.
According to one study, (Behan, C. The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices during times of crisis such as COVID-19. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2020. 37(4), 256–258.) those who developed and participated in meditation for a long period and those who completed an MSRP program experienced changes to their brain structure and function.
Ways to be Mindful
- Savor the sip of coffee you are drinking or that bite of chocolate just a little longer
- Listen to the sounds of the wind or the birds when you walk outside
- Take time to smell the air or the flowers around you
- Notice how you feel after hugging a loved one
- Take note of the sunrise or sunset and appreciate it.
Be Intentional
Whatever you are doing at work, be intentional. Focus on one thing at a time. Ditch multitasking various subjects, topics or projects. This means engaging fully in whatever you are doing. So if you are researching something for your boss or helping your child with a lesson, put your phone away or turn it off. Allow your attention to be where you are, fully. The social media notifications or phone calls can wait until you finish. Engage fully in one activity at a time. That is mindfulness.
Another simple way to practice mindfulness is while eating. Perhaps we are late for an appointment, or we are watching a movie while eating. We aren’t fully engaged in eating, our attention is on getting out of the house and to the appointment, or it is riveted on the movie we are watching. We don’t pay attention to what we are eating, but rather shoveling it in our pie hole. (yes, I really did just say that.) We can take the time to really taste and savor our food, immersing ourselves in the experience of eating. This is mindfulness.
Other ways we can be Mindful
It’s easy to roll along with the flow in our fast-paced world. Here are some simple ways to incorporate more mindful living in our daily lives:
- Slow down, and be intentional
- Pay attention to your senses in your surroundings
- Love yourself, without judgment or criticism
- Center on your breathing
Be mindful of those you love by
- not judging,
- being empathetic,
- practicing active listening
- Being in the moment with them, not on your phone
Practicing mindfulness exercises can positively impact your mental well-being and overall quality of life. Here are 10 steps to get you started.
10 easy steps to practicing mindful meditation for beginners
1. Set aside time:
Allocate a specific time each day for your mindfulness practice. It can take as little as 5-10 minutes to start.
2. Find a quiet space:
Choose a quiet and comfortable environment where you won’t be disturbed. This could be a corner of your room, a park, or any serene place.
3. Get into a comfortable position:
You may sit on a cushion, or a chair, or even lie down, whatever feels most comfortable for you. Ensure your posture is upright and relaxed.
4. Focus on your breath:
Close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath. Notice the sensation of the breath as it enters and leaves your body. You can focus on the rising and falling of your chest or the sensation of air passing through your nostrils.
5. Be present:
As you focus on your breath, thoughts will inevitably arise. For example, you may notice your mind wandering. Gently bring your focus back to your breath without judgment. This is a fundamental aspect of mindfulness practice.
6. Body scan:
Like meditation, another common mindfulness exercise involves bringing awareness to different parts of your body. Start at your toes and slowly move your attention upward, noticing any sensations or tension. This can help you connect with your body and release physical tension.
7. Engage your senses:
Bring mindfulness to your daily activities by engaging your senses fully. As you eat, for example, pay attention to your food’s colors, smells, tastes, and textures. While walking, notice the sensation of your feet touching the ground and the sights and sounds around you.
8. Practice regularly:
Like any skill, mindfulness requires regular practice to cultivate. Try to practice daily, even if it’s just for a few minutes at a time.
9. Use guided meditations:
Many guided meditation apps and recordings are available. These may help guide you through mindfulness exercises, especially if you’re new to the practice.
10. Be patient and kind to yourself:
Remember that mindfulness is a skill that takes time to develop. Approach your practice with kindness and curiosity rather than striving for perfection.
To summarize, the benefits of meditation and mindfulness can be profound and wide-ranging, impacting various aspects of your life. Whether you’re looking to reduce stress, improve focus, or enhance well-being, incorporating meditation into your routine can be a valuable practice. By incorporating these steps into your daily routine, you can gradually develop a greater sense of mindfulness and presence in your life.
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