Start Meditating in 6 Easy Steps
It has been a while since I consciously promised myself that I would meditate every day, take control of my life and rule the world.
But to no one’s surprise, I didn’t follow through. My #1 excuse to not meditate was: Lack of the right time and the right place.
I believed — I’m sure most of you also do — that, for one to meditate, one needs to take a chunk of time off one’s schedule, find a calm spot, sit in the right posture and hear the sounds of silence. The vacuum has to ring in your ears before you even consider focussing.
As it turns out, that’s not the right way to approach meditation at all. Meditation is simple, concise and all about letting everything around us in.
I have been meditating for the last ten days, and I found that by following these six steps, we can all achieve to live in the moment and control how we respond to the situations around us.
So, here we go —
1. There is No Right Place or Right Time
First things first, there is no need to find the right place or the right time. Just sit wherever you are and begin to meditate.
Joseph Goldstein, an expert on meditation and mindfulness, has an account of meditating while travelling in a bus full of people with all kinds of noise and sounds around him.
2. Be Mindful of your Surroundings
Know where you are. Notice your posture and the environment around you.
When you sit, know that you are sitting. Gently relax your shoulders and eyes and choose to be aware of everything that is happening around you.
3. Focus on your Breath
Focussing on your breath is the hook for meditation. The journey begins from here. Remember that it is not the only thing we do in meditation but something to hold on to, to regain control of our thoughts.
You have to let your mind wander, and when it does, acknowledge the thought or the feeling and come back to your breath.
4. Make Mental Notes
Start by making a mental note of your breath. Inhale — In. Exhale — Out.
Make a mental note for thoughts, feelings and sensations. Mental notes are what they are, one-word notes, which let you acknowledge the journey your mind takes and helps you be present and in the moment.
5. Let Everything In
It is quite common to feel irritated when you are trying to meditate and are disturbed by say, some traffic on the road or some pain in your body. This external sensation tends to fluster us a bit and result in our failure to meditate correctly.
But that’s just something we all think and believe. Having a perfect setup to meditate is hard, especially when we are always on the move all day and want a few minutes to relax.
And that’s what meditation is all about — letting everything that’s happening around us, in.
Invite all the external sounds and internal feelings into your mind. Make a mental note of the most dominant feeling or sensation. For example, if you have a happy thought, note it as a “happy thought” and come back to your breathing.
6. Keep Going. Don’t Stop.
Consistency is the most important thing. You have to keep at it every day. Try to sit and relax, even if it is for only 2 mins. Establishing a system is more important than hitting the jackpot in the first few attempts.
Keep going and slowly find yourself meditating every day as part of a newly formed habit.
That’s it. It is that simple.
Meditating for even 5 mins every day brings a sense of achievement. I find that I’m more mindful, less agitated and feel calmer when approaching any task or interaction. All it takes is a few minutes of conscious breathing, and I’m relaxed.
Finally, the trick is not to expect drastic changes to your life but to let all the incredible thoughts and sensations around you, into your mind, to feel one with yourself.
