How to Start Meditating? Meditation for Beginners!

You may have noticed that the practices of self-care and personal wellness seem to be all the rage these days, but there’s a reason why you keep seeing words like “mindfulness” and “meditation” all over the internet. It is not just the latest magazine trend or #selfcare hashtag on Instagram -- practicing meditation can actually “improve [your] wellbeing and quality of life” (1).

Our body’s nervous system contains of two parts: sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system “prepares our body to react to stress (“fight or flight”) and the parasympathetic helps us recover from stress (“rest and digest”)” (2). During stress, our body goes into “Fight or Flight” mode and “releases chemicals that temporarily improve performance” (2). These chemicals include “cortisol, adrenaline, and other stress hormones” to enable more blood flow throughout our body to muscles, heart, and brain to allow us to quickly and readily act in the face of immediate danger or stress (2). The parasympathetic nervous system, as you can imagine, has the direct opposite effect. When we are calm, relaxed, and at ease, our parasympathetic nervous system kicks in and sends signals “to the brain to stop producing the stress hormones so we can rest and recover from the stressful event” (2). 

By including practices like mindfulness and meditation into your life, you may start to notice that it helps you “manage stress and high blood pressure, sleep better, feel more balanced and connected, and even lower your risk of heart disease” (1). So, how do you begin a meditation practice when you don’t know where to start?

1. Start with the basics

Meditation can seem overwhelming, but it is actually a very easy practice. The concept of meditation itself is simple -- to train your attention and awareness to achieve a clear and calm state of your emotional and mental wellbeing. There are many techniques to practice in meditation, but some of the more common and popular ones are something as simple as focusing on your breathing, or repeating a mantra/chant during your practice.

You can also familiarise yourself with different types of meditations, such as guided and non-guided. Guided meditation means that there is a teacher who can lead you through your meditation practice -- often this can be in a group or private class setting, a meditation app, or even something as DIY as a YouTube video or audio track. Guided meditations are a great way to start your daily meditation practice with the foundation and help of a teacher to show you the way.

When you become more familiar and comfortable with meditation, you could venture into the world of non-guided meditations -- which means that you are leading yourself in your own seated meditation practice. There are no teachers except you, your breathing and your own awareness.

There is no right or wrong way to meditate, and you don’t “have” to follow one practice or another -- meditation is truly your own practice, so make it uniquely yours!

2. Claim your space

You will definitely want to make yourself comfortable in your meditation practice by finding a quiet space that you can call your own. It can be a spare room, a corner in your bedroom, or maybe somewhere outside on your terrace! Wherever your chosen space it, find it and make it your new meditation home.

Feel free to also create a sacred mini-alter for yourself and decorate it with candles, essential oils, or little trinkets that calm you or bring your joyful memories - anything that makes it personally and uniquely you!

If you share space with someone (like a significant other or flatmate), be sure to let them know that you are creating this sacred space for yourself and your meditation practice. That way, they can be sure to respect your time and space and allow you to enjoy the space iwhich you have created.

3. Same time, same place

We all know that it takes time and effort to create a new habit - and practicing meditation is no different. If you choose the same time and place to meditate, it becomes easier and easier every single day.

Find a quiet time that works for your lifestyle that you can easily commit to (or make room for) in your calendar. I know life is busy, but even 5-10 minutes in the morning can make such a difference.

Some people like to meditate first thing in the morning for a few minutes before starting their beautiful day. Others prefer to meditate in the evenings right before bed, as a way to unwind and close out the day. And some people do both!

Really, it’s up to you -- Experiment and see what feels right for you. 

4. Baby Steps

Remember, there is no destination in meditation -- and it is not a competition! No one is expecting you to be able to sit down and meditate for 10 hours a day on your first try.

So, start small. Start with 2 minutes on the first day, week, or hell, even month! From there, work your way to longer seated meditations. Pretty soon you’ll find yourself floating in space and the ‘chime’ of that meditation bell coming much quicker than you expected.

Thoughts will come, and that’s okay! Meditation is a practice about becoming aware of your thoughts and choosing to observe them rather than cling or dive deeper into them.

5. Download a meditation app

It is totally okay if you prefer to start off with a guided meditation or a timer to help you set your practice. There are endless meditation apps available for you to download on your mobile phone, that any number of them will do the job in helping your meditation practice.

My favorite ones include Calm and Headspace, which are paid mobile apps but do offer free trial subscriptions.*

In the end, meditation is simply a practice of deep breathing, clearing the mind, slowing down, and becoming aware of and observing your thoughts -- essentially, a mini-getaway for your mind and body.

So, what are you waiting for? 

*Not a sponsored or paid post by either Calm or Headspace. Any and all words are the personal preference of the author.

Resources

1. Meditation to Boost Health and Well-Being.

2. Lee, M. Calming Your Nerves and Heart Through Meditation, 2009.

About the author Josie Ng

Josie Ng is a certified yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner and holistic health coach in training. She helps the modern day human to become the best version of themselves — by bringing the Mind, Body, and Spirit, into happy harmony. Currently residing on the beautiful island of Hong Kong, you will often find her making friends with every stray kitty on the street, stretching at the local yoga studio, or eating her way throughout whichever country she finds herself in.

Josie writes on different health-related topics, always from the heart, with the aim to make your health journey more fun, mindful, ánd simple.