In nearly every meditation discussion and class someone says “I can’t meditate”. The truth is meditation is not unattainable nor is it as mysterious as it may appear. Everyone can meditate, it just takes a little time.
Below are some tips I wish someone had shared with me when I first started. Hopefully they will help you to embrace meditation and its wonderful benefits.
It is different every time!
Let go of how you think the meditation should feel or how you should experience it. The truth is it will be different every time. For each meditation you will be living a different day and experiencing different emotions so what you bring to each meditationwill differ. This means what you receive from meditation will be different every time. So if one day it doesn’t feel as settled and peaceful as the time before that is ok, it is what it is. The next time you do it will be different again so keep practicing. Your meditation practice will improve and with that so will your mental, physical and spiritual health.
Accept that thoughts will pop into your head
From time to time, particularly when you first start out. Thoughts don’t stop because we are meditating, it just doesn’ work like that. What is important is what we do when the thoughts appear. Do we engage with the thoughts and allow them to take us down the rabbit hole? Do you acknowledge it, let it pass like a leaf floating down the river and bring your awareness back to your breath? The choice is yours! If you do go down the rabbit hole you can still choose to anchor your awareness with your breath. The more often you meditate the easier this will become.
Discover the style of meditation that is right for you.
There is a variety of meditation styles you can explore including:
- guided meditation which takes you on a journey, usually a healing journey, to connect with your heart space. This a great style to start with as the guide will give you an anchor and limit the thoughts popping into your head.
- Mindfulness meditation brings your attention to what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Generally this form of meditation is in silence so that you can be aware of what you are experiencing.
- Breath meditation that solely focuses upon your breath. This can be part of both Guided and Mindful meditation
There are many others including Walking Meditation, Mantra Meditation and Loving-Kindness
Start small
We have all seen the images of the meditation guru, surrounded by nature, looking serene, who can sit still for hours in meditation. Well that has taken a lot of practice over a lot of years and the chances are they started small too. Begin with 5 minutes a day. Simply turn off all distractions, particularly technology. Allow yourself just to sit and focus on one thing – it may be your breath, a candle, a tree or the sky. Whatever you choose to focus upon allow yourself to be fully present. Then slowly build 5 minutes into 10 minutes, and before you know it you’ll be able to do 30 minutes.
Take a minute to ground yourself before beginning!
This will give you the best chance of a positive experience. How you choose to ground yourself may differ each time you meditate. It might be that you spend a minute dancing or rolling a ball under your feet before sitting down. You may choose to hold a crystal or light a candle and watch it for 30 seconds. Whatever method you choose to ground yourself it will help set you up for a great experience.
Pauline Burr at One Body One Soul has over 10 years’ experience as an accredited Meditation Teacher and student of the Gawler Institute.
At One Body One Soul we offer special event meditations as well as meditation courses. Our next meditation course Chakra Healing Meditation starts on 27th February 2025. Looking forward to seeing you there.
One Body One Soul offers holistic healing treatments and courses, in person and via zoom, in Ocean Grove, Geelong, The Bellarine, Richmond, Melbourne and Australia. These treatments and courses include energy healing, remedial massage, meditation, tarot reading as well as Usui Reiki I, Usui Reiki II and Usui Reiki Master Training.