Beginners guide to Meditation

These days meditation has become a wellness modality we can all benefit from in so many ways! Even more today as many of us are over stimulation in this digital age. Everyone from school kids to busy entrepreneurs to retirees can gain benefits such as significantly less stress, more focus and a feeling of ease and peace.

What is meditation?

While meditation may seem like a wishy-washy kind of concept to some, it’s actually a very useful and practical tool. Meditation is a practice that enables you to slow down and connect within yourself. It brings focused attention to the present moment allowing you to drop all your worries & just be with yourself in self-compassion and without judgement.

Meditation is often categorised into two styles: guided & unguided. Guided styles are a great starting point – although you can start on your own very easily by just listening to your breath. There are many types of meditation, so it’s worth trying a few styles and seeing what works best for you.

How often should you meditate?

There are no set rules about how often you should meditate, however its like training your muscles, the more you do it the stronger your meditation muscles become!

First step: try just ten minutes a day. Find a quiet time, where you will have no interruptions & give yourself 10 minutes a day. Try to keep to a routine for a week then reflect on the difference you feel in mind and body. Then increase to two 10 minute sessions a day. Soon you will be able to sit for longer periods. Ideally, you’ll gradually make it part of your habitual routine and you’ll feel enormous benefits.

Is meditation worth it?

The short answer is yes. For very little time, you can get big benefits. When freed from dealing with an information overload, the brain has the opportunity to focus its resources differently. For this reason, meditation can often lead to us to experience so many wonderful things, such as greater creativity, concentration, focus and memory. It also helps us to get very present and reduce stress. It’s such a fantastic life tool that is free to use. Everyone should tap into it and reap the rewards!

Ten minutes a day is very achievable. Most of us spend at least ten minutes mindlessly scrolling on our phones, so if you need to find some spare time, that’s a great place to cut back. You also might find that with your newfound focus, you’ll be more productive and gain back some time anyway!

Get started & try it

If you’re sold, there’s plenty of ways to get on board.

Guided Meditation

There are meditation apps, like Headspace that have a number of different meditations available. You can also look into introductory meditation courses near you – they will help build a solid foundation for future practice. If you’d like to listen to a guided meditation and get a taste of what it’s like click here.

Breathe Meditation

You can start very simply by finding a comfortable siting position, setting a timer on your phone for 10 minutes, closing your eyes & focusing your attention on your breath.

If your mind wonders just note where it goes & gently bring it back to your breath. It can take some time to strengthen your meditation muscles so be patient with yourself.
Just 10 minutes a day can have a enormous effect on your health. Notice through the day the difference in how you feel.

May as well give it a try you have nothing to loose & a bunch of health benefits to gain!