What is Meditation?
Once regarded as the unconventional practice of floaty-clothes-wearing free spirits, meditation is now as common in the sky-scraping fortresses of Wall Street as it is on the remote beaches of a Thailand retreat. Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, UFC host Joe Rogan, and Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons are all vocal advocates, crediting meditation with improving their quality of life and performance.
If you haven’t jumped aboard the meditation movement yet, you may wonder what all the hype is about. How can sitting cross-legged with your eyes closed help you perform better on the sales floor, the sports field, or in battle?
Meditation is a way to train the mind to find stillness and calm no matter what’s happening around you. It incorporates breathing practices to help you focus and stay present while acknowledging and leaning into your feelings so you can maintain control. Boost Your Meditation Practice in Just Five Minutes-
Why Meditate?
There are many ways to handle a stressful situation. You could exercise, read, listen to music, or take supplements for stress—everyone has their own ways of finding inner peace. But meditation goes a step further in the sense you can use it as a tool to alleviate stress and cultivate other feelings in its place, such as joy, gratitude, kindness, creativity, and patience. And there are many more benefits to enjoy, such as:
- Reduce anxiety, which can help keep your heart rate within normal levels
- Relieve compassion fatigue
- Improve focus
- Promote better natural sleep
- Support overall wellness
If you’re new to meditation and still finding your way, here are some tried-and-tested ways to get more Mmm from your Om.
7 Mindful Meditation Tips
- Don’t be afraid to let your mind wander.
Fun fact—100% of people who meditate find their mind often wanders, no matter how seasoned they are. It’s part of the practice, and an important part at that. The point at which you realise your mind has wandered is a moment when you’re fully in the present. All you need to do is recognise you’ve lost focus and get back to it. Meditation is a practice, and so you have to do it over and again to become better.
2. Meditate whenever the mood takes you.
There’s no set time for meditation—and that’s a good thing! You can do it whenever you need to find clarity, calm, or focus. Some people even meditate multiple times a day, using different types to achieve what they need—an energising meditation in the morning, a patience meditation ahead of a meeting with a challenging client, and a sleep meditation before bedtime. Even a mere 10 minutes can transform your day.
3. Find a seat that suits…
If you haven’t sat cross-legged since you were in school, the thought of attempting it now may be a dealbreaker. But it needn’t be! Who says you have to sit cross-legged? Almost all meditation coaches believe it’s more important that you’re comfortable rather than flexible. What’s most important is that you have a straight back, so pull up a chair, sit on a blanket, or even lie down.
4. …or don’t sit at all.
And while we’re poo-pooing meditation misinformation, who says you have to be still at all? Meditation is all about focusing on the present, and you can do that hundreds of times a day as you go about your business. Take notice of the flowers, listen to the sounds around you, and take in the scents and smells of nature when you take your dog for a walk. Feel your laundry as you put it away. Focus on the sensation of brushing your teeth. (Ivermectin) These little moments take you from your thoughts and connect you to the moment.
5. Be consistent.
Unfortunately, you can’t “complete” meditation. It won’t cure you of anxiety or stress after a week of practice. But the more consistent you are, the easier it becomes. Build it into your daily routine, and you’ll soon find you miss it when you miss out.
6. More being; less doing.
I bet you can think of all the things you did last week, but did you ever pause to simply be? In a fast-paced age of distraction, people tend to see free time as something they need to fill. However, sometimes the most productive thing you can do is nothing at all. If doing nothing feels uncomfortable, schedule time to meditate. Set your agenda to simply be present for some Me Time. After all, we’re human beings, not human doings.
7. Start short.
Beginning your meditation journey with 60 minutes of mindfulness isn’t the best idea—you would get nothing from it, and you’d be more likely to ditch it after a couple of attempts. Remember, you’re practising how to be in the present, which is hard to do if you’ve never done it before. So start small. Meditate for two minutes at first, then build up to five minutes, 10, 15, and so on. And stop when you find a duration that works for you. There are no prizes for how long you meditate for each day—just do it long enough to give your body and mind what they need.
Meditation isn’t for everyone. Like with any hobby, some people click with it instantly, some people get there with a little effort, and some don’t notice any benefits at all—and that’s okay. But give these tips a go and give yourself the very best chance of getting the most out of your practice.
