5 tips to help you get started with meditation
Meditation doesn’t promise to solve your problems - unfortunately life, with all its ups and downs, will still happen.
However it can change how you react and relate to certain situations, providing you with a toolkit to cope and manage in those instances. It offers an inner stillness and calm amongst the chaos that may be happening around you. Rather than being trapped by your thoughts and ending up in a tailspin, meditation teaches you to let the thought come in and release it back out.
As long as you have an open mind, dedication and commit to consistent practice, meditation really can transform your life.
So, if you’re looking to make meditation a daily habit, here are some tips that might help.
Step 1 – Be openminded and aware
As mentioned, meditation is no instant quick fix to solving all of life's problems. As with any other form of exercise, meditation takes effort, and it also takes time to see the results.
Start each meditation with an open mind, awareness of thought and try not to have any expectations of how you will feel after.
Step 2 – Create consistency
Like any habit, introducing regular meditation into your routine takes consistency.
It’s important to commit to a regular practice. It doesn’t matter whether its first thing in the morning, on the commute home from work or before you go to bed, as long as you are scheduling in regular time to meditate and are showing up to do it consistently.
It takes discipline and perseverance to make a habit stick, so following a routine — same time, same place — will help build your meditation practice.
Step 3 – Make sure you’re comfortable
There’s no specific outfit or position for meditation, it is just about what is comfortable for you.
Dress however you like, just make sure you’re comfortable and not wearing anything tight or constricting.
You can meditate inside or outside and can sit on the floor, a cushion, bench, chair, or anything else that works for you. Unless you wish to do so, you can forget the stereotypical images of sitting cross-legged by a tree. Just make sure you take a position that feels comfortable to you, whether you are seated, laying down, or standing up.
It’s about what’s makes you feel relaxed and what will encourage you to do it more often.
Step 4 – Set a timer
It’s easy to drift off when you are first starting your meditation practice, so try setting a timer to keep yourself on track.
How long you choose to meditate really depends on your preferences, routine, and schedule. The important thing is that consistency exceeds duration.
For some people, 10 minutes with their thoughts is too overwhelming to start, so instead try 2–5-minute sessions and build from there.
Step 5 – Remember why you started
The reasons to meditate are extensive and are usually different for everyone. In my case, meditation is my medication and has helped me with my mental attitude, pain relief and coping with my disability.
It’s important to be clear on your motivation – think about it, why do you want to meditate?
Being clear about what you want to get out of your sessions — whether it’s to feel happier, calmer, more focused, or less stressed, etc. — will help create the right attitude of mind going in as well as helping you maintain the commitment to your practice.
Don’t forget…
Meditation is a journey of a lifetime, it’s not a sprint for immediate results.
Take it session by session, day by day, and I promise you it won’t be long until you see the benefits start to manifest in all aspects of your life.
There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ when it comes to meditation, it’s a deeply personal journey that really is different for everybody.
Ready to take the next (or first) step on your meditation journey?
If you need any help introducing meditation into your daily life, book in a free 30-minute consultation with me here!
As a Meditation Teacher (Accredited with the British School of Meditation), my mission is to make meditation simple and accessible for everyone, to give people the tools and inspiration to begin a continual daily meditation practice.
You can also download the FREE 21 Day Meditation Challenge and receive 3 weeks’ worth of meditation prompts and guidance to help introduce meditation in your daily routine. Click here to get yours now!
Join my free group ‘Meditation with Rhodope’ here where I share lots of meditation resources, tips, videos, and ideas to guide you on your journey and help you get started with meditation
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