While meditation is surrounded by religion, beliefs, and superstitions, it is a valid body state like any other, such as arousal or sleep. By learning steps to meditate, you can reap the benefits of this body state which include relaxation, energy, and perspective on your life.
Meditation is being taken seriously by health researchers interested in stress reduction and methods to improve overall health.
Steps to Meditate for Health and fitness
Meditation is used by people interested in addressing conditions such as anxiety, pain, depression, emotional problems, insomnia, and stress. Meditation is also the ultimate brain workout. Here’s how to get started.
1. Sit
Find a place where you can sit comfortably, uninterrupted for about 20 minutes. The most important thing is to sit with your back as straight as possible. Some people find that sitting on the edge of a cushion helps keep the back straight.
You will hear about special meditation cushions, candles, incense, statues, bells, and so forth — don’t worry about any of that stuff. The important thing is to sit comfortably and to practice meditation often. You can add accessories whenever you want.
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2. Set a Timer
At times when you are meditating, you may secretly be looking for any excuse to get up and do something else. One of the most compelling excuses is to “check the time.” Often during meditation, your sense of timing is lost and that leads to the feeling that you have gone past the time you set for meditation. This will often happen after you have been sitting for 1 or 2 minutes.
A timer helps to assure you that you have not meditated too long. If you do not have a timer, you will probably look at a clock or your watch every 30 seconds.
Set a timer and then forget about time while meditating.
3. Breathe
Breathing is a unique bodily function. It is automatic, we take over 10 million breaths per year without noticing, but we can also control breathing voluntarily. Think of breathing as to how we can communicate with our bodies. If we breathe slowly, our bodies relax. While you sit:
This is your only task in meditation — be aware of your breath. If your thoughts wander, just come back to breathing.
- Bring your attention to your breathing
- Notice everything about your breathing: the inhale, the exhale, and the tiny pause between them
- Breathe naturally, just be aware of your breath
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4. Label
The goal of meditation is not to have no thoughts (that is impossible) but to not interact with the thoughts that occur. If, while you are meditating, you start wondering when was the last time you changed the oil in your car, that is perfectly normal — just come back to your breathing and try not to ‘chase’ the thought.
Some people find it helps to label the thoughts. When you notice yourself drifting, just place a neutral label on the thoughts — if you are thinking about everything you have to do at work, label the thoughts ‘work’ and return to breathing.
5. Don’t Judge
Meditation is hard and perfect meditation is impossible. Your thoughts will drift. You will find that on some days you spend your entire meditation time thinking about your kitchen sink. Your awareness will drift away and the time will disappear. That is fine.
Whenever you drift, come back to being aware of sitting and breathing. Do not judge yourself. Do not create a train of thought about how you can’t meditate, how you are no good at this. Just come back to your breath.
