Have you ever tried meditation but you find yourself uncomfortable? Perhaps your back starts aching or you think you are not doing it right because you keep thinking about so many things. And then, you get mad at yourself. You think you failed at meditating, and that meditation is simply not for you.
Meditation is good for you. It will help you with being more mindful in every relationship you have, it will give you tools to handle your internal triggers, and it will make you more patient and loving, It has been proven that meditation helps with anxiety and depression, and it also helps with being more focused and productive.
If you would like to give meditation a try, here are top 3 tips you should consider next time you start meditating.
Sit on a cushion
Almost every meditation app or guru would mention a cushion when it comes to meditation.
It is not that a cushion will bring a stillness to your mind. It is because sitting on a cushion will allow your knees to be below your hips. If your knees are in line with you hips, or above your hip, your back will naturally start to curve and your posture will be compromised.
It will be hard to keep your back straight and work on your mindfulness when you are uncomfortable. You have many meditation cushions, or you can try pillow or sitting on a chair.
Return to your breath
Every time you notice your thoughts drift away, return your attention to your breath.
Having your thoughts drift is normal, so do not overanalyze them and get consumed by them. Just notice that you were thinking, and return your attention to your breath.
There are many ways you can shift your attention to your breath. One way is to keep your breath as is, and pay attention to the part of the body where you feel the breath the most. Maybe it’s your nostrils, or the back of your throat, or you feel your breath in your lungs. The other way is to do the breath counts. You can achieve mindfulness by inhaling while counting to four and exhaling to the count of seven.
Be kind
Some meditations will be easy. You may feel yourself entering the calm and centered meditative state after 2 minutes of the start of your meditation. But a lot of meditations will feel like you didn’t accomplish anything. You will battle between thinking about the past, future and to do lists, and constantly trying to return to your breath.
This is part of the practice, and the benefits of meditation are long lasting. One thing to remember is to be kind to yourself. You are imperfectly perfect, and your thoughts do not define you as a person. Your thoughts are just that – thoughts. They come and they go. So practice kindness to yourself, and your kindness to others will come naturally. In no time you will see that kindness is what you will be surrounded with.
