Just like exercising, you need to find a way of meditating that is not too much of a chore, otherwise you won't do it. And also just like exercise, it takes a little bit of practice to get into the habit but once you get it, you might even find yourself looking forward to your meditation time. Here I'll share how I practice and suggest some modifications that may help you.
I find meditating is especially healing for me when my brain starts to get over-buzzed from too much social media frenzy or when I have too much to do and can't decide what to focus on next.
As Gandhi is famously supposed to have said "I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one."
If you have the kind of brain that never slows down, gets stuck on obsessive thoughts, or gets mired in self defeating behaviour, I highly recommend meditation as a way of calming that over-active frontal cortex and getting grounded into your body again.
Meditation does not have to be complicated. You don't have to go to a class, recite mantras or put your hands into specific positions (unless you want to!). Essentially meditation is a practice in being OK with being still, which is something so many of us these days are really in need of.
How to begin meditating
1. Find a timer and set it for 10 minutes. You can do longer if you want to - I find 20 minutes is perfect for me now - but 10 minutes is perfect to start with. Don't start it until you're ready.
2. Sit comfortably. I like to sit cross-legged with my hands resting palms upwards on my knees. You can sit any way you like from a comfy armchair to full lotus. Lying down works too, although you may find you drift into sleep - in which case that might be exactly what you need.
3. When you feel comfortable and ready, start the timer and close your eyes.
4. Sit. Breathe. Imagine that you are breathing your breath into your heart. You will find that many thoughts come to your mind. The idea is to watch them, but this might be difficult at first so don't worry about it. If you find your mind getting caught up in thoughts, just think "oh look at me thinking all these thoughts" and breathe into your heart again.
5. After a few minutes, or seconds, you will probably remember something that you have to do! Your mind will tell you that you had better go and do it RIGHT NOW. Tell your mind gently that you will do it afterwards and go back to breathing into your heart.
6. If total silence freaks you out, you might enjoy putting on relaxing meditation music (search on YouTube and find something you like). Or you can try a shamanic drumming track, which I have found calms my brain down like nothing else. Let yourself experiment.
7. Keep sitting. Keep breathing.
8. Often I find my shoulders want to move around, shake themselves out, or I gently circle my spine. If your body wants to move, let it. It's wonderful to release the tension held in our shoulders and backs.
9. Keep sitting. Keep breathing.
10. When the timer goes off, slowly open your eyes, shake your body out and, if possible, go and drink some water. Check in with how you feel.
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Not every meditation makes me feel amazing. Sometimes I feel like it was pointless or that I didn't really relax. In fact, some days my brain is so busy that I don't make it through the whole time without leaping up to do something else. And that's OK. This about learning who we are without the constant stream of input and thoughts that run constantly through our heads. And sometimes it's about learning self-forgiveness.
It's so simple really, just sit and breathe and observe. It almost doesn't feel as though it is worth the time. And yet, with regular practice, that ability to sit, breathe and observe works its way into every day life, working its magic on anxiety and stress levels, until one day you too might be saying to someone "I love my meditation practice".
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Start-a-Meditation-Practice&id=9162169
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