The debate of how to meditate properly is rife with misinformation, and many people struggle to separate what is true from what is false.
Luckily, learning how to meditate effectively is incredibly straightforward – you will know everything you need to know on this subject by the end of this article.
Let’s jump right into it and take a look at how to meditate properly according to experts.
How To Meditate Properly
Learning how to meditate properly is not difficult. In fact, worrying about how to meditate properly is only going to slow your progress.
Googling things like “how to meditate NHS” and trying to figure out how to meditate the “correct” way is the exact opposite of what you should do if you want to get into the practice of meditation.
As you are going to find out, meditating is incredibly easy, and worrying about whether or not you are doing it correctly is just going to get in your way.
So, after reading this article, don’t worry about whether or not you are meditating properly. In all likelihood, you are (even if you don’t feel like you are).
Now that that’s out of the way; let’s take a look at how to meditate properly.
1. Find The Right Place & a Good Time
The first step to learning to meditate for beginners is to find a place that you are comfortable with and set a time that works for you.
Truth be told; you can meditate anywhere. You can meditate at work when you have a break, you can meditate while on your even stroll – the options are endless.
However, when you are first starting out, it is important to set a specific time and place each day to meditate.
This will allow you to build the habit of meditation, making it much easier for you to get into the routine of doing it on a daily basis.
When you first start out, don’t worry about how long you meditate for. Simply start with as long as you handle.
Whether that be 2 minutes, 5 minutes or even 30 seconds – simply getting in the habit of meditating is all that counts.
As an aim, it is a good idea to shoot for two twenty minute sessions per day, as this will be more than enough for you to get all the benefits out of meditation.
This means that it could be a good idea to choose times when you have room to expand up to twenty minutes as you progress.
2. Close Your Eyes and Focus on Your Breath
To give you a quick and easy answer to how to do meditation; simply close your eyes and focus on your breath.
Thoughts will come and divert your attention, and this is completely fine.
Whenever you notice your attention being taken away from your breath, gently nudge yourself to stay focused.
This is pretty much all there is to meditation. Simple right?
Many people complicate meditation and make it much harder than it needs to be, but the aforementioned steps are all you need to get access to all of the benefits of meditation and meditate properly.
You might even think that this advice is too simple, but that’s just how easy meditation truly is.
No matter if you feel you are doing it correctly or not, if you are focusing on your breath and trying to bring your attention back to your breath when any thoughts arise, you are meditating properly.
3. Accept Any Thoughts That Come Through
One of the most important points when it comes to learning how to meditate for beginners is to accept any thoughts that come through.
Despite what you may have heard, having thoughts while you meditate is completely normal – even Buddhist monks who have been meditating for decades still have random thoughts pop into their heads from time to time.
The key is to just accept these thoughts and bring your attention back to your breath.
It doesn’t matter what the thought may be, you just have to remember that it is just a thought.
Some thoughts will fight more ferociously for your attention, especially negative thoughts about topics we would rather just avoid.
It may even feel a little uncomfortable to meditate at first, as you are essentially giving light to thoughts that you have pushed to the back of your mind.
Fortunately, this will pass.
As you become more accustomed to meditating, you will begin to see negative thoughts in the same light as you do other thoughts, and you will even grow as a person due to the fact that you will now be able to face ideas and thoughts that you were once afraid to amuse.
Becoming comfortable with uncomfortable thoughts is an essential part of the mediation process, and in no time at all, you will be able to throw these thoughts away at will.
4. Be Patient
The last point we would like to mention when it comes to how to meditate properly is that you are not going to see results right away.
A common mistake most newcomers make is expecting the benefits of meditation to just roll in and change their lives, but this just isn’t the way things go.
In all truth, you will not even notice yourself becoming more grounded, calm, and productive.
There won’t be one meditation session that just changes your life entirely.
This is where a lot of people trip up.
Once people do not see results quickly, they may begin to question whether or not meditation is even worth it.
You may even quit after a few weeks of not seeing any positive changes.
However, this is the exact opposite of what you should do.
You should simply trust the process.
Over time, you will begin to become a happier, healthier person thanks to meditation, and while you might not notice its effects right away, the net positive impact it is going to have on your life is going to be astronomical.
You need to be patient with meditation, and before you know it, you will become a meditation expert.
How To Meditate Properly – FAQs
What is The Best Way to Meditate?
The best way to meditate is mindfulness meditation, which involves focusing on one subject for the duration of the meditation.
While other types of meditation may be just as effective, mindfulness meditation is the only one with proven benefits that have been studied.
How to Meditate Effectively?
To meditate effectively, simply close your eyes and focus on your breath.
When thoughts come, revert your attention back to your breath as soon as you notice your attention shifting.
How to Meditate For Beginners?
To meditate as a beginner, set a timer for a couple of minutes, close your eyes, and try to focus on your breath.
When thoughts come, simply bring your focus back to your breath.
As you improve, increase the length of your meditations until you reach two twenty-minute sessions per day.
How to Practice Meditation?
To practice meditation, you should set a specific time that you want to meditate everyday.
This builds the habit of mediation, and it will allow you to improve at a much quicker rate.
We hope this article will be of use to you.
The fact that you want to learn how to meditate is great! – there are few other practices that are as beneficial for your mental health.
Unfortunately, many people get caught up trying to figure out the best way to meditate instead of actually doing it.
You can learn as many basic meditation techniques for beginners as you want – but if you don’t actually begin to meditate on a regular basis, your efforts will be completely wasted.
As long as you trust the process and accept the fact that the benefits that meditation can bring are not noticeable in the day-to-day, you will be well on the way to becoming a master.
So, try not to Google “how to meditate properly” again. You will just be hindering your progress.
If you would like to find out more about meditation or are just interested in self-improvement in general, feel free to scour through MovingForwards to browse our other articles.
Have fun!
