5 Tips For Your Meditation Practice
Lets face it, meditation can be an intimidating and illusive practice. One of the largest misconceptions about meditation is that it is an act of clearing your mind. The truth is, meditation will not prevent you from having thoughts. In fact, the harder you try to rid yourself of thoughts, the more challenging the practice of meditation becomes. Instead of approaching your meditation practice with the goal being a clear mind, let your intention be a focused mind. Whether you’re a daily meditator or totally new to the practice, here are five tips that will revolutionize the way you meditate! Before you start, I highly recommend investing in a meditation journal. This journal is full of meditation tips, tricks, and techniques to keep you motivated.
1. Meditation is a practice
Don’t be bummed if you can’t calm your mind right away, or if you become easily distracted. The fact that you are carving out time to practice is more than enough. Having thoughts during meditation is normal. Try not to focus or judge your thoughts, just let them come and go. The amount of time you decide to sit and meditate does not matter, start with five minutes and work your way up.
2. Consistency trumps time
Set an alarm on your phone for however long you are deciding to meditate. This way you won’t get distracted by checking the time. If you’re getting antsy and want to stop before the allotted time, take three more rounds of deep breaths. Maybe you decide to stay after those breaths, maybe not, but at least you did more than you thought you could.
3. Stick to one technique
don’t go from mantra to breath work to visualizations. Even if you’re not feeling it after a minute or two, sticking with the same technique per session, will help you maintain your focus overtime. This also helps build dedication, focus, and commitment. It also gives you great insight into what techniques work best for you and what techniques don’t. I recommend keeping a journal so you can track your sessions and look back on how certain techniques made you feel during your meditation practice.
4. Make your meditation practice a habit
Meditate at the same time each day if you can. Sometimes schedules don’t allow this, but meditating right when you wake up or right when you go to bed will create a ritual. Your body and mind will easily fall into this practice the more consistent you are with the time of day you practice. This goes back to consistency trumps time. When you carve out time and make meditating a habit, you’re re-wiring your brain to think and behave a certain way. By staying consistent in your meditation, your meditation practice will yield quicker results. Meditating is similar to working out a muscle, the more you work it, the stronger it gets.
5. Keep a meditation journal
When you are done meditating write down your experience. Note if you had any sticky thoughts that kept entering your mind, and any sensations in your body. I recommend keeping a meditation journal not just of your personal experience in practice, but to keep track of the meditation techniques that work best for you. Journaling before and after meditation can bring you closer to personal awareness, deepening your connection with yourself and others.
Interested in learning more about the practice of meditation? Check out my post about my favorite meditation techniques.
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