How To Meditate

WHAT IS MEDITATION?

Meditation is an ancient wellness practice that has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, promote calm and allow those practicing to reap a multitude of health and wellness benefits. And whilst it is a practice steeped in ancient Eastern wellness traditions, it has, of late become a real “buzz” word in the wellness space and the Western world. So, what is meditation exactly? There are so many questions and often much confusion around what meditation is, what meditation it isn’t, and how to meditate properly, and because of this overwhelm, confusion and contradicting information, we’re finding that many people are put off of meditation before even attempting to try, out of fear of not doing it properly.

It’s not about being completely still and frozen, or emptying your mind of all thoughts. That’s impossible. The truth is, when you strip it all back meditation is simply mindfulness; it is being present, being conscious, being aware, being still. Whilst there are many different forms of meditations and ways you can show up in this space, in essence there is no real right or wrong way to meditate as long as you are sitting, in stillness, in breath, in practice, aware of what you are doing. Meditation is personal and what works for you may not work for someone else, your path to practice will be unique. Meditation can be something you do for one minute a day or 40 minutes a day, but it’s about showing up, consistently; commit to your mediation practice today and make wellbeing your ritual.

Eckhart Tolle once said that one conscious breath in and out is a meditation. This is so true, if you can carve out time daily for conscious breathing, you are meditating, you are mindful, you are consciously breathing.

Meditation is a tool that is readily available to everyone, from all ages to all walks of life. It’s something that is easily accessible, easy to learn and easy to maintain. And, as we explore below, the benefits are aplenty.

BENEFITS OF MEDITATION

Meditation is honestly one of the best gifts you can give yourself, it can help you emotionally, mentally and physically! Whilst meditation is simple to learn and the benefits come quickly, it’s important to note that the key lies in consistency. By developing a regular meditation practice the benefits will be truly evident for the longterm.

Some benefits of meditation include:

• Increases calm and relaxation
• Increases focus and attention span
• Improves memory
• Enhances immune system
• Reduces negative emotions
• Promotes emotional health
• Improves sleep
• Improve relationship with self
• Improve relationship with others
• Fosters compassion
• Fosters imagination and creativity

HOW TO MEDITATE

As a newcomer, meditation can seem so overwhelming and strange, it can feel intimidating and weird to sit in silence and just ‘be’ so we have compiled a step by step guide of how to meditate as well as sharing Abi’s guided meditation below.

• Ensure you are wearing comfortable, no restrictive clothes
• Turn off your phone / computer / anything that can distract you
• You may opt to first set a timer for 10/15/20 minutes. If you’re new to meditation it may help to start with 5 or 10 minutes.
• Find a comfortable spot and sit upright, you can sit on the floor, on a cushion or on a chair. As long as you are comfortable and your posture is upright don’t be too particular on where or how to sit.
• Rest your hands on your lap
• Close your eyes and scan your body from head to toe, consciously noticing any areas that feel tense or uptight and slowly relax every single muscle
• Then simply focus on your breath; long slow inhale in through your nose and long slow exhale out through your mouth
• Repeat this over and over
• If any thoughts float in, be aware of them, acknowledge without judgment and then simply let them float on by and return yourself to your breath
• When the timer goes off, or when you’re ready, slowly ease yourself out of meditation by activating consciousness of sounds around you, slowly open your eyes and gently ease back into your day

TYPES OF MEDITATION

There are many different types of meditation including;

• Guided Meditation
• Breathwork Meditation
• Mindfulness Meditation
• Mantra Meditation
• Vedic Meditation
• Transcendental Meditation
• Sound Bath Meditation

Don’t get caught up on the different types and stress about which one is best, it doesn’t matter what path you follow in terms of type of meditation, the most important thing is consistency. It may take trial and error of trying and learning about different types of meditations before you find what works best for you.

If you’re new to meditation, we highly recommend a guided meditation as it can help you foster your practice, stay on course and return to the breath and be in the moment during your practice when distractions arise. Abi has this beautiful guided meditation available HERE on Insight Timer.

Reminder that when it comes to meditation, there is no right or wrong. If you’re here, reading this post you’re already halfway there. Find what works for you, some people prefer guided meditations, others prefer breathwork, others prefer mantras.. experiment until you find what fits. You’ll know when you know. And then commit to 2 weeks of a regular meditation practice, incorporate it into your daily rituals and see what you notice. Above all, go easy on yourself, be kind and patient with your practice. Stick with it, the ritual creates the magic.