How to Meditate: 10 Tips to Help You Adopt Meditation for Life!

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  1.  Find a time that will work.  Easier said than done, right?  It really helps to find a time that you can stick to every day.  Typically 3-5 minutes at the very beginning or very end of the day works best.
  2. Use an already established habit to help.  Choose a time when you are already doing something daily, and add meditation in.  For example, start the coffee pot and meditate while waiting for your coffee to brew.
  3. Set reminders in your phone.  Yep!  Set a reminder to meditate.  If you want to set something as a priority, put it in the calendar.
  4. Get rid of Stereotypes.  You know that image you have in your head of what some yogi guru meditation person looks like.  Try to erase that from your mind, and accept that meditation is for everyone.
  5. Believe in the health benefits.  Meditation increases concentration, reduces stress, encourages healthy lifestyle, increases self-awareness, improves emotional regulation, etc.  Read some of the research out there supporting the use of meditation.
  6. Focus on your breath.  Breath deeply into your lungs feeling your abdomen rise.  Avoid breathing into your chest.  You can place your hand on your upper abdomen to see if your hand is rising as you take a deep breath.
  7. Use Music.  Meditation or Spa music helps to ease the mind and relax the body.  Use music as an aid to help you sit still and quietly.
  8. Use a guided meditation app.  Calm and Headspace are two apps that walk you through guided meditations and can really help to get you started.
  9. Use movement or yoga.  Take a few deep breaths bringing your hands over head, inhaling your arms up, bringing the palms together, exhaling your hands to heart center.  Work on meditating, then move into a series of yoga poses continuing to keep your mind centered on your breath and poses.
  10. Block out thoughts.  As thoughts enter your mind, just tell yourself, “I’m not going to think about that right now”, and draw your attention to your breath.  Don’t get frustrated with yourself.  It is the practice of meditation that will help you to learn to control your thinking better.

Namaste!