There are many benefits to meditation including:
Lowering Stress
Connecting to yourself and others better
Understanding your pain
Reducing mental noise
Improving Focus
Personally, I have a hard time being present, especially when I have a lot on my plate. I get easily distracted by work, my phone, the tv; it never ends. Spending time listening to silence in a quiet room allows me to become aware of all the mental chatter that’s going on. From there, I am able to deidentify with the chatter and give the thoughts and feelings space to pass.
If you experience repetitive thoughts or feelings that crop up during the day, meditation may be a great tool for you. Here is my meditation for beginners:
Find a quiet space in your home or outside: Make sure you feel safe and it isn’t foreign. Sitting with your eyes closed in a space that isn’t familiar will cause a natural anxiety/nervousness to occur.
Set a timer: Use your watch or phone to set a timer. Then put your phone on airplane mode (ensure that the ringer will go off when the timer is up).
Sit in comfortable position: Opposed to popular belief, you do not need to sit with your legs crossed to meditate. You can sit as comfortable as you’d like, but you have to avoid a position that will easily allow you to fall asleep (coincidentally, using meditative practices while lying down can help you fall asleep). I sit in my desk chair with my feet flat on the floor, or propped up.
Relax: Notice any tension that you are carrying and let go like you would a closed fist. Continue to scan your body and let go of tension in the brow, jaw, neck, shoulders, chest, arms, hands, back, hips, knees, calves, and feet.
Don’t Get Up: That’s it. Just don’t get up. There are MANY different meditative practices (breathing, mindfulness, transcendental) but for me, I just let go and enjoy the show and try to do nothing. I know that sounds simple as you are sitting in a chair in a dark room in silence, but trust me, there is plenty for your mind to do while you are sitting still. Worrying about tomorrow, singing songs, replaying passed events. Trust me, there is plenty your mind wants to do to keep you from being in the present moment. My only objective in meditation is to create space and become the observer of the “show.” The less I do, and the more I become the observer of all the thoughts, feeling, stories, and emotions, the more I deidentify and remind myself of what I REALLY am.
When I first started meditating six years ago, five minutes was about all I could muster. But that was a huge benefit at the time and led me to the next step. And then the next step. Yesterday, I sat in silence for two consecutive hours (It was horrible, not for me, but my ego). I plan on completing two hours of meditating for the next 90 days. I hope you join me in this challenge in whatever way you see fit. If you are new to meditating, go with 5 minutes. If you have been meditating for a while, challenge yourself.
My last tip is this: just because it doesn’t “feel good” to meditate, doesn’t mean that it isn’t working or it’s not right for you. It may be that there is a part of your mind that is not ok with being still, or being seen. Or maybe you aren’t ok with not doing anything. Regardless, give meditation a try and see your world fall into place in the most peculiar ways.