Not everybody knows yet what meditation actually means. Meditation is about living life in the present moment and be totally aware of this. It is the one thing we really only ever have. The past is already behind us and we do not have a clear vision of the future. Still we are often busy in our minds with the past or we are involved in sketching all kinds of future scenarios. We never really live life in the moment, except for the moment we see something incredibly beautiful or when we are busy with an extreme sport. In that moment we are totally aware of the world around us and we experience a moment of pure joy.
During meditation you focus on the now and you become aware of your body and the world around you. This has a very peaceful effect on our body and mind and it reduces stress. In the present moment there is no stress, except for when there is a huge danger dawning upon you. The stress that we experience in our current society is actually coming from our fears and worries about the future. By means of meditation you can make these fears and worries disappear.
If you want to start meditating, you first have to find a peaceful spot where you can do this. You can do this at home for instance in a quiet room, but you can also do it outside in the park for example. It is important that during the meditation you are physically comfortable, anything disturbing your physical comfort can distract you from meditating. Therefore it is important to wear comfortable clothing that's loose around the body.
It is often best to plan your moments of meditation in your agenda. Otherwise they might not happen eventually. Plan the moments on set times every day. Really take your time for the meditation, because you really need rest for this. During the meditation you are supposed to close your eyes and let all thoughts float away. Don't think about the past or the future, but only feel how you are here and now. Try to be completely still on the inside, but also do not force this. Forget the world around you and try to focus on your body and breathing.
The first couple of times if will probably not work to not think about anything. That's not a bad thing. If you even do not think about something for ten seconds, you have already come a long way. Meditation is something that you need to keep practicing and only after a while it might happen that you can be really still for the whole session. You need to be patient with this and do not get frustrated when it doesn't happen straight away.
When we look at meditation for beginners, we can find more than enough meditation exercises. It is not very difficult to do these meditations, but you really need to take time to do them. Here below you find two meditation practices that can work really well for beginners.
When you start with the breathing meditation, you first need to sit down comfortably. You can sit in lotus pose or in simple cross legged position, but you can also practice this meditation if you are sitting on a chair. What is most important is that your spine can be sort of straight, that you are not bending forward. For sitting on the floor you might want to sit on a meditation pillow, or any other pillow. When you have found a comfortable seated position, you can close your eyes. Then you can start to observe the rhythm of the breath. You do not need to change anything about your breath. Keep your attention with your breath and feel it going in and coming out of your body.
Most probably your thoughts will drift off during this exercise. The only thing you then have to do is slowly bring your attention back to your breath. Do not get frustrated and also do not become angry with yourself. Do not judge, but bring your attention back slowly. It is not strange if your thoughts keep drifting off during a meditation practice, especially when you are still a beginner. Your thoughts can be very swift and in no time you can be thinking of something else again.
Do you find it really hard to keep your awareness with your breath? In that case it can be a really good idea to count your inhalations and exhalations. Start with one on the inhalation and two on the exhalation. Keep counting until you reach ten and then start with one again.
Another meditation that a lot of beginners like to do is the so called walking meditation. As the name already says, this meditation is practiced whilst walking. You can practice this meditation virtually anywhere, because you do not need to find a space to sit down.
With this exercise you first need to simply stand and focus your awareness on the weight in your feet and the contact between your feet and the ground. Feel how your feet keep you upright and in balance If you have fully focussed your awareness on your feet, you can start to walk. First start in a pace that is a little slower than your regular walking pace. Then start to walk the same way you usually do.
Totally focus your awareness on the movements that you make when you walk and become fully present of them. Also stay present with the soles of your feet and feel how the heels touch the ground and your feet roll towards your toes only to again release the feet from the ground. Be present with every step you take during this meditation exercise. Feel also the sensations that you might be feeling, like the feeling of your feet in your shoes, the socks that are wrapped around your feet and the toes that are touching each other.
Is it not working to keep your awareness with the feet? Then you can also slowly bring the awareness up in the body, where you become conscious of the movements your body is making whilst walking. You can also choose to do this meditation whilst walking barefoot. Then you are directly in contact with the ground and it may be even easier to become aware of the sensations that you are feeling in your feet.
