I truly believe that meditation can benefit every single person that does it, and I have witnessed countless lives be changed by it. But I didn’t always feel that way. In fact, when I first attempted meditation over 20 years ago I was not a fan of it at all! I found the process intimidating and hard, and I gave up on it numerous times before finally finding a groove that worked for me. Flash forward a couple of decades, and here I am meditating every single day, (at least once), and teaching it! So to help you in your journey, I wanted to share the 5 tips I wish I had been told as a beginner:

 

1. Remove the Intimidation factor. A lot of people think the aim of meditation is to empty the mind, or switch it off. That’s a very intimidating concept based on a myth. The mind cannot be empty by its very nature. You are hard-wired to think. Your brain is a complex and powerful processing computer that remains at work even when you’re sleep. Let that idea go, and instead embrace the concept of meditation being a tool to teach the brain to focus its energy where you wish to direct it, so you can let things go. Your body will physically manifest anything you don’t make space to process. Meditation is that space!

2. Start small and work your way up. You may struggle to meditate for an hour as a beginner. So start with 1 minute, then 5, then 10 and so on until you have begun to feel those physical, mental and emotional changes you want to achieve through meditation. If you dive in too deep at the start you may find it difficult to sit still and stay with it, which can put you off all together.

3. Make it a habit. Habits take at least 21 attempts to solidify in the mind. Even remembering some key ideas from meditation will take a minimum of 6 attempts before the brain takes the idea, and creates a neurological pathway for it to form a memory. The brain and body won’t do anything unless it is told and shown how to, over and over again. You actually have to create a pathway in your brain to make it work, so be patient with yourself as you begin that meditation journey.

4. Make it sustainable. The real world is noisy and chaotic. You will rarely find a perfect room with candles and sound proof walls to meditate in. Make one of your aims to learn to meditate in any situation. This will help you in multiple ways. Firstly you will find it easier to commit to making time for it. There are no excuses when it’s simply a part your life, rather than something that happens in special circumstances. So learn to meditate at a cafe, at a park, before bed, in an Uber, on the train and yes, even in the toilet when you feel stressed at work! Your brain learns by association, so if you only allow yourself to meditate on your couch, you will only ever be able to meditate on the couch!.

5. Normalise it. Approach meditation as a part of your overall well being plan (or what we refer to as Wellness) and it becomes simpler to include in your life. Just as your physical fitness routine is normal, so is your mental fitness routine. Anything you normalise in your life will stick. And as an added bonus, the skills you learn will contribute to the effectiveness of your physical workouts, because you will learn proper breathing techniques, patience and resilience which all have a place at the table when challenging the body!

 

By adjusting your expectation and application of Meditation, you will find the journey to be enlightening, interesting and fulfilling. Go get the most out of that beautiful life of yours, and remember when the going gets tough, all you have to do is shut your eyes and take a deep breath!