Mindfulness and meditation are well known for being a great way to improve our focus, calm, and also our mental health, but getting started can seem like a big step. Even if we have some experience with settling into our cushion for a meditation, keeping a regular practice can seem like a tricky task.
Heading out for a retreat in the sunshine, away from life’s distractions, is a great way to kick start your meditation practice, but we understand that it’s not available for everyone. So, until we can welcome you to our retreat in the sunshine, here’s some tips to getting started and keeping our practices going.
Why Meditate?
Before diving into the how-to, let’s look at why meditation is so good for us, inside and out. A regular meditation practice can:
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Boost concentration and focus
- Promote self-awareness
- Improve our emotional health
- Help us sleep better
- Reduce the effect of aging
- Produce a sense of feeling happier
These are wonderful benefits of simply sitting (or lying down) for a few minutes. In fact the positive aspects of developing a meditation practice are incredible and will often help our minds and bodies towards a vibrant health that we would otherwise spend money on with supplements, creams and health products.
So how can we get our practice started?
Here’s a few tips below:
Motivated Meditation
So, home can often be the perfect place to begin. We think that kickstarting our practice might need a tranquil and beautiful location, or a special cushion, but, the amazing thing about meditating is that it really can take place anywhere and at any time… Even in the middle of a traffic jam or on a busy train. There are so many ways to practice.
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Create Your Space
The most important consideration is to find a space where you won’t be disturbed, but if this isn’t always possible, then consider a pair of noise cancelling headphones. It doesn’t have to be a separate room either, a corner of your living room or bedroom works great. If you can create a space and have it waiting for you, that can be one less thing between you and your meditation practice.
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Keep it simple
When starting out it can be helpful and less daunting to start with a short time.
Azulfit retreat teacher, Charlotte, explains that “everything counts. If you only do one minute it still counts.” It’s easy to put too much pressure on ourselves and want to achieve more than we are perhaps ready to. It can be a good plan to keep it manageable and build a positive feeling around our practice.
Another simple thing to do is to follow a guided meditation. Our Retreat 365 membership library has a variety of guided meditations for all levels, including a wonderful yoga Nidra and a series of timed chimes, to allow you to follow your desired length, without having to have your phone nearby.
We even have some guided relaxations, that are focused more on relaxation and unwinding than pure meditation.
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Comfort is key
Another obstacle can be how hard it can be to actually just sit still. We recommend sitting in a comfortable position. Maybe even use a chair with your feet flat on the floor. If you want to try sitting cross-legged, then use a big cushion and prop yourself up with additional cushions, or blankets. The ideal is to keep your back straight to help you stay focused, so find a position that will allow this.
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Be Kind to Yourself
It’s normal for your mind to wander during meditation. It can be a great idea to be kind to ourselves when setting our practice goals. Charlotte suggests starting with a simple goal of sitting in one space and being still. Tip, this is much more difficult than it sounds, but as she reminds us:
“empowering yourself to find stillness and find space between your thoughts or the noise of your mind, can take us to a very restful space to be. And remember, even if it didn’t feel comfortable or particularly joyful, it’s still positive.” You’ve still taken time on the cushion, time to grow.
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Create a Routine
Meditating at the same time each day can be really useful to begin with and this way it can become a habit. When you feel more confident you can begin to try different or longer practices. If you feel that life might be too busy, then choose a shorter practice. Even taking time for a guided breath focused for a few minutes can make a very positive difference to your day.
Your turn next
With so many meditation tools available as well as local classes and online groups, now is a great time to begin a practice. The benefits of reduced stress, and increased clarity and focus are wonderful incentives, but our favourite one of all is the general sense of feeling happier about life. We could all use a little of this.
So, let’s sit down on our cushions, cue up a guided meditation and make the world a happier place together.
Happy meditating everyone!