9 Tips To Help You Meditate Successfully
The benefits of meditation are numerous, including improving the quality of life and increasing overall well-being. That is why it has become an action that health professionals highly recommend. If you want to make it a part of your life, read the following tips that will help you meditate successfully and enjoy its effects.
Generally speaking, meditation is the training of the mind to attain a state of peace and tranquility. This ability is not something we manage to do instantly as it requires patience and practice. When we achieve this, however, we can feel sincere happiness as a product of inner peace.
If you want to understand this exercise and benefit from its results, here are some tips that will help you meditate and make meditation a habit.
1. Make it comfortable
Before you begin, make sure you have comfortable clothes on (preferably something loose-fitting). Avoid wearing any accessories that may be annoying, such as watches or bracelets. Lastly, you should try to be barefoot.
2. Select an appropriate time
Choose a time when you know you want to be free of duties and distractions. Set aside this time to meditate and try to make it a part of your routine. An important aspect of this activity is sustainability. If you want deep and lasting change, then it is best to meditate regularly.
If you meditate sporadically, then you run the risk of returning to old habits or falling victim to negative emotions without the ability to make meditation a source of support.
3. Find a quiet place
When beginning this action, it is best to meditate in a quiet place that is free from disturbance. Identify which part of your home is most appropriate for this activity. You can also move to a place that gives you peace of mind. The goal is to facilitate self-observation and involvement in the activity.
4. Sit down correctly
Physical posture is a very important aspect of meditation because it affects one’s state of mind. Ideally, one should keep his back straight while relaxing in his shoulders and arms. One should aim for a balance between relaxation and sitting right.
This means avoiding a position that is too relaxed, as you run the risk of becoming drowsy. One must also not be too tense as it will lead to a state of mental turmoil.
Instructions for meditation usually provide detailed information on posture and provide step-by-step instructions on how to position each part of the body. The most popular positions are as follows: Sitting with your legs crossed, in a chair with your feet on the floor or on a pillow. The idea is to choose the one that gives the most pleasure and suits one’s needs.
5. Do some warm-up exercises
Among the tips that will help you meditate successfully is to warm up beforehand. It helps you feel more comfortable during meditation.
You can do some yoga poses or stretching exercises for your neck, arms and back. It will help your blood circulation and make your body relax.
6. Focus on an object to help you meditate successfully
One way to promote concentration and mental peace is by focusing on an object. It can be the sound of one’s breathing, one’s own physical sensation or a previously seen image.
Ideally, one should let one’s mind be aware of that object, and in case of distraction, one should refocus it as soon as one discovers that one has been distracted.
7. Visualize
Another way to work with the mind while meditating is by visualizing something. For example, it can be colors, to see oneself somewhere else, a road or a god. This mental exercise is ideal for people who have an active imagination and enjoy daydreaming.
8. Accept the thoughts that come and go
The purpose of meditation is not to adapt or suppress thoughts, feelings and sensations. Instead, this activity aims to learn to live with them. In other words, a sense of well-being and peace comes from acceptance.
It is for this reason that one should observe his thoughts without stopping during meditation. Look at your emotions without being carried along by them, and observe all mental, sensory, psychological, and behavioral content passively. In other words , it is without criticizing or drawing any conclusions.
That said, it is ideal to do when this psychic content emerges, to observe it, accept it, and let go of it. The way forward is by refocusing on the object or visualization that one had in mind.
9. Gradually increase the time you meditate in order to meditate successfully
Ideally, one should initially meditate for short periods, and as one progresses, one can increase the time for this activity. For example , one can start by doing short sessions and then gradually increase the time (up to 30 minutes a day or more).
This will make it easier to establish and customize a routine.
Additional recommendations to help you meditate successfully
The above tips will definitely help you to meditate successfully. If you take them into consideration, you will most likely get this habit without any major problems. We also recommend the following:
- Have a tutor: Ideally, you should have a teacher who is experienced and has knowledge in meditation. If you do not have access to any, then you can also resort to books that have been developed to guide and accompany people on this journey.
- Be persistent: Meditate persistently, daily. However, it is not always easy, because it is common for resistance to arise both externally (work, domestic duties, travel) and internally (exhaustion, lack of motivation). We recommend overcoming all these obstacles and trying to always maintain the exercise.
- Meditate regardless of your state of mind: The performance of meditation should not be dependent on your state of mind at any given time. It does not matter whether the action is pleasant or not. What matters is that you keep going.
- Avoid setting goals and milestones: It is common to want to achieve the benefits of meditation as quickly as possible, but impatience is not recommended. Haste and meditation do not go together. If you want deep transformation, then you have to take your time.
