A Beginner's Guide to Meditation
Lockdown can be a confusing and isolating time. Even if you aren’t in lockdown at the moment, we’ve all experienced uncertainty and stress at some point throughout the last 18 months.
There are many coping mechanisms you can try to help maintain or improve your overall wellbeing during this time, such as daily meditation!
Mediation is an effective way to clear your mind, decrease stress and to reflect on your emotions. It can also help enhance your self awareness, increase focus and improve your sleep! But the question is, how do you even begin the process? Here are some practical tips to help you get started!
1. Set a time: Pick a time that you feel suits your lifestyle and prioritise setting this time aside for a few days. You might want to trial morning vs. night for the first few weeks and slowly find what works best for you! Use a timer and start with 5 minutes of meditation, before slowly working your way up from there.
2. Create a space: You don’t have to make any drastic changes, it might be as simple as lighting a candle, turning off your phone, putting on some calming music or going outside.
3. Wind down before you start: You want to go into meditation feeling relatively calm, so if you’re feeling anxious, stressed or agitated, take some time to clear your mind. Take a few deep breaths, read a few pages of a book, write in a journal or have a cup of tea before you get started!
4. Positioning: Start with either lying down, or sitting against a wall to keep your body supported. You want to try and minimise your movement while keeping your spine straight, so it’s important to pick a comfortable position.
5. Focus on your breathing: Inhale through your nose and concentrate on expanding your diaphragm, following the flow of your breathing. Exhale through your mouth, ensuring that you’re not taking shallow breaths. If your mind wanders during this process, bring yourself back to thinking about the breathing process.
We recommend watching instructional videos, reading a book about meditation or taking a class to help further develop your meditation skills and uncover the different types of mediation. These tips are the perfect first step and we hope you enjoy giving it a try!
