Since meditation is such an age old activity practised by different religions and cultures, there has been a huge range of different meditation techniques developed and amassed over the years. To date, many books and articles have been written on this topic.
Here is a simple 10 step beginner’s guide to meditation:
1. Sit tall
The most common and accessible position for meditation is sitting. Sit on the floor, in a chair or on a stool. If you are seated on the floor it is often most comfortable to sit cross-legged on a cushion. Comfort is key. Now imagine a thread extending from the top of your head, pulling your back, neck and head straight up towards the ceiling in a straight line. Sit tall.
2. Relax your body
Close your eyes and scan your body, relaxing each body part one at a time. Begin with your toes, feet, ankles, shins and continue to move up your entire body. Don’t forget to relax your shoulders, neck, eyes, face, jaw and tongue which are all common areas for us to hold tension.
3. Be still and silent
Now that you are sitting tall and relaxed, take a moment to be still. Just sit. Be aware of your surroundings, your body, the sounds around you. Don’t react or attempt to change anything. Just be aware.
4. Breathe
Turn your attention to your breath. Breathe silently, yet deeply. Engage your diaphragm and fill your lungs, but do not force your breath. Notice how your breath feels in your nose, throat, chest and belly as it flows in and out.
5. Establish a mantra
A mantra is a sound, word or phrase that can be repeated throughout your meditation. Mantras can have spiritual, vibrational and transformative benefits, or they can simply provide a point of focus during meditation. They can be spoken aloud or silently to yourself. A simple and easy mantra for beginners is to silently say with each breath, I am breathing in, I am breathing out.
6. Calm your mind
As you focus on your breath or mantra, your mind will begin to calm and become present. This does not mean that thoughts will cease to arise. As thoughts come to you, simply acknowledge them, set them aside, and return your attention to your breath or mantra. Don’t dwell on your thoughts. Some days your mind will be busy and filled with inner chatter, other days it will remain calm and focused. Neither is good, nor bad.
9. When to end your practice
There is no correct length of time to practice meditation, however when first beginning it is often easier to sit for shorter periods of time (5 to 10 minutes). As you become more comfortable with your practice, meditate longer. Set an alarm if you prefer to sit for a predetermined length of time. Another option is to decide on the number of breaths you will count before ending your practice. A mala is a helpful tool to use when counting breaths.
8. How to end your practice
When you are ready to end your practice, slowing bring your conscious attention back to your surroundings. Acknowledge your presence in the space around you. Gently wiggle your fingers and toes. Begin to move your hands, feet, arms and legs. Open your eyes. Move slowly and take your time getting up.
9. Practice often
Consistency is more important than quantity. Meditating for 5 minutes every day will reward you with far greater benefits than meditating for two hours, one day a week.
10. Practice everywhere
Most beginners find it easier to meditate in a quiet space at home, but as you become more comfortable, begin exploring new places to practice. Meditating outdoors in nature can be very peaceful, and taking the opportunity to meditate on the bus or in your office chair can be an excellent stress reliever.
Meditation is a simple, effective and convenient way to calm your busy mind, relax your body, become grounded and find inner peace amidst the chaos of day-to-day life. Begin meditating today and reap the rewards.
Below is a list of three key forms of meditation which encompasses majority of meditations today. Many popularised meditation methods such as the Jose Silva method and Sedona method fall under one of these forms. I once came across a meditation book which covered over 100 meditation techniques – but most of them were really just nuance variations of the below:
Common Objective of Meditation While there can be many schools of thoughts on how to meditate exactly, the basic underlying objective is the same – to raise your consciousness or energetic ‘vibrations’.
Brainwaves in Meditation Most people use meditation to achieve the Alpha brainwave frequency – where deep relaxation occurs. It can also be used to access the other brainwave frequencies, especially through the aid of meditative music (read section below on meditative music). There are five different types of brainwaves: – Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. Note that our brain displays each type of wave every time, just that one of them tends to dominate at a certain consciousness.
Before You Meditate If You Are New To Meditation If you are new to meditation, It is highly recommended that you start off with guided meditation – i.e. some form of external guidance, whether from a person or in the form of a pre-recorded audio file, where someone is instructing you. This will make the process easier to follow.
Use of Meditation Music Some people may like to use meditation music while some prefer to just meditate in silence. Meditation music does help to shift into a higher consciousness, for two reasons. First, the music provides a focal point for you to focus on so you do not wander around in your thoughts. Second, meditative music vibrates at a higher level than normal music and this shifts you into a higher vibrational than the one you are normally in. This is why meditative music can also be called ‘consciousness-raising’ music.
Within the pool of meditative music available in the market, there are some which are able to raise consciousness more effectively than others, so you can listen and pick which suits you the most. Some meditative music are sounds of nature, while the guided ones like Paraliminals have narration to induce you into a particular state so you can easily achieve your goals.
Meditate for as long as you want, till you feel cleansed, purified, refreshed and good to go. I recommend 30 minutes to start off. If you want to meditate longer, that’s even better. After meditating for a certain period, you will reach a point where your consciousness starts to shift above the physical reality (Alpha, possibly Theta or even Delta state if you are a veteran meditator). When that happens, you become detached from your physical self and become an observer to your physical reality. The longer you meditate, the deeper the state you will be in and the higher the consciousness you will enter.
Watchouts During Meditation: A common feedback I get on meditation is people end up falling asleep during the process. This is usually a sign you are mentally fatigued with mental clutter – All the more you need meditation, since it clears out the clutter in your mind. Staying awake is one of the largest difficulties for new meditators in still meditation since there is no active stimulus to keep you engaged.
One way is to ensure you are well-rested before the meditation – such as meditating when you wake up in the morning, after a good rest. My meditations are much more focused when we do them at an alert state rather than when we are already tired. Once you successfully let the thoughts be cleared, you will emerge from the meditation more energetic instead – since your clutter is removed and your mind is now fresh.
Some may also experience resistance during the meditation, especially when negative thoughts come to the surface. Simply continue to observe these thoughts from the back of your head. Let them float by. Be aware these thoughts are just thoughts and they are not you. Some may feel fidgety with the passiveness of meditation and think of doing other things during the process. Recognize these feelings and thoughts, do not engage with them and continue to maintain in your meditative stance. Once you push past the highests point of the resistance, you will start easing into a comfortable state of your meditation. The more the clutter you have in your mind, the more difficulty you will find in focusing. Simply continue with it. Once you get past the point with the most resistance, you will ease into the meditative state very naturally.
Start Meditating Today Performing this simple act at least once every day brings you clear benefits, as outlined in 10 Reasons You Should Meditate. Once you finish your first meditation, you will start looking forward to the second, the third, and the next one – until it becomes a natural habit You will feel calmer, more peaceful and more focused.
Here is a simple 10 step beginner’s guide to meditation:
1. Sit tall
The most common and accessible position for meditation is sitting. Sit on the floor, in a chair or on a stool. If you are seated on the floor it is often most comfortable to sit cross-legged on a cushion. Comfort is key. Now imagine a thread extending from the top of your head, pulling your back, neck and head straight up towards the ceiling in a straight line. Sit tall.
2. Relax your body
Close your eyes and scan your body, relaxing each body part one at a time. Begin with your toes, feet, ankles, shins and continue to move up your entire body. Don’t forget to relax your shoulders, neck, eyes, face, jaw and tongue which are all common areas for us to hold tension.
3. Be still and silent
Now that you are sitting tall and relaxed, take a moment to be still. Just sit. Be aware of your surroundings, your body, the sounds around you. Don’t react or attempt to change anything. Just be aware.
4. Breathe
Turn your attention to your breath. Breathe silently, yet deeply. Engage your diaphragm and fill your lungs, but do not force your breath. Notice how your breath feels in your nose, throat, chest and belly as it flows in and out.
5. Establish a mantra
A mantra is a sound, word or phrase that can be repeated throughout your meditation. Mantras can have spiritual, vibrational and transformative benefits, or they can simply provide a point of focus during meditation. They can be spoken aloud or silently to yourself. A simple and easy mantra for beginners is to silently say with each breath, I am breathing in, I am breathing out.
6. Calm your mind
As you focus on your breath or mantra, your mind will begin to calm and become present. This does not mean that thoughts will cease to arise. As thoughts come to you, simply acknowledge them, set them aside, and return your attention to your breath or mantra. Don’t dwell on your thoughts. Some days your mind will be busy and filled with inner chatter, other days it will remain calm and focused. Neither is good, nor bad.
9. When to end your practice
There is no correct length of time to practice meditation, however when first beginning it is often easier to sit for shorter periods of time (5 to 10 minutes). As you become more comfortable with your practice, meditate longer. Set an alarm if you prefer to sit for a predetermined length of time. Another option is to decide on the number of breaths you will count before ending your practice. A mala is a helpful tool to use when counting breaths.
8. How to end your practice
When you are ready to end your practice, slowing bring your conscious attention back to your surroundings. Acknowledge your presence in the space around you. Gently wiggle your fingers and toes. Begin to move your hands, feet, arms and legs. Open your eyes. Move slowly and take your time getting up.
9. Practice often
Consistency is more important than quantity. Meditating for 5 minutes every day will reward you with far greater benefits than meditating for two hours, one day a week.
10. Practice everywhere
Most beginners find it easier to meditate in a quiet space at home, but as you become more comfortable, begin exploring new places to practice. Meditating outdoors in nature can be very peaceful, and taking the opportunity to meditate on the bus or in your office chair can be an excellent stress reliever.
Meditation is a simple, effective and convenient way to calm your busy mind, relax your body, become grounded and find inner peace amidst the chaos of day-to-day life. Begin meditating today and reap the rewards.
Below is a list of three key forms of meditation which encompasses majority of meditations today. Many popularised meditation methods such as the Jose Silva method and Sedona method fall under one of these forms. I once came across a meditation book which covered over 100 meditation techniques – but most of them were really just nuance variations of the below:
- Still Meditation or Mindfulness Meditation - Meditating through focusing your attention on an object or process, such as your breathing, a flame, a mantra, a visualization, music, etc. An open focus is maintained. This means even though you are concentrating on something, you keep an open awareness of everything else that is happening around you and inside your mind.
- Moving or Walking Meditation - Gaining awareness through using simple repetitive steps. Some examples are Tai Chi, yoga or even simple walking exercises.
- Concentration Meditation – This is usually practised in religions. It is similar to mindfulness meditation with 2 differences (1) you concentrate on a religious prayer (2) you are required to maintain a closed focus where you close your awareness off from anything other than the prayer.
Common Objective of Meditation While there can be many schools of thoughts on how to meditate exactly, the basic underlying objective is the same – to raise your consciousness or energetic ‘vibrations’.
Brainwaves in Meditation Most people use meditation to achieve the Alpha brainwave frequency – where deep relaxation occurs. It can also be used to access the other brainwave frequencies, especially through the aid of meditative music (read section below on meditative music). There are five different types of brainwaves: – Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. Note that our brain displays each type of wave every time, just that one of them tends to dominate at a certain consciousness.
- Gamma (100 – 38 Hz): This is when we encounter a situation of extreme stress and anxiety, leading us to transcend our typical activities and achieve peak performance. Think of the times when people perform incredible feats of behavior beyond their normal capacity- for example, a mother lifting a car to save her child, the underdog winning against overwhelming odds. People who play video games, such as Final Fantasy 7~8, will be able to associate this with limit breaks.
- Beta (38 – 15 Hz): This is our waking, conscious state and normal frequency we operate in. It’s characterized by logical, analytical ‘rational’ thinking and mental alertness.
- Alpha (14 – 8 Hz): Alpha state is the bridging state where the conscious mind meets the subconscious mind (between Beta and Theta) and the gateway to deeper levels of consciousness. It is a very tranquil, serene state – we get into this frequency when we are daydreaming and relaxed. Here, we retrieve information from our subconsciousness and experience intuitive guidance, creative ideas, and even epiphanies. Many famous people such as Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison have used the Alpha state to gain clarity and gain insightful solutions to problems which they could not solve in their conscious state.
- Theta (7 – 4 Hz): We shift to this frequency when we enter REM sleep. In this state, our subconscious mind is dominant and we enter into a trance state. This is a very expansive state of meditation – we can feel our mind expanding beyond physical boundaries – including our body.
- Delta brainwaves (3 – 0.5 Hz): The slowest of all brainwave frequencies, delta occurs when we are in extremely deep sleep. We are completely unconscious at this state. In this state, our physical healing is accelerated due to the trigger of the human growth hormone.
Before You Meditate If You Are New To Meditation If you are new to meditation, It is highly recommended that you start off with guided meditation – i.e. some form of external guidance, whether from a person or in the form of a pre-recorded audio file, where someone is instructing you. This will make the process easier to follow.
Use of Meditation Music Some people may like to use meditation music while some prefer to just meditate in silence. Meditation music does help to shift into a higher consciousness, for two reasons. First, the music provides a focal point for you to focus on so you do not wander around in your thoughts. Second, meditative music vibrates at a higher level than normal music and this shifts you into a higher vibrational than the one you are normally in. This is why meditative music can also be called ‘consciousness-raising’ music.
Within the pool of meditative music available in the market, there are some which are able to raise consciousness more effectively than others, so you can listen and pick which suits you the most. Some meditative music are sounds of nature, while the guided ones like Paraliminals have narration to induce you into a particular state so you can easily achieve your goals.
Meditate for as long as you want, till you feel cleansed, purified, refreshed and good to go. I recommend 30 minutes to start off. If you want to meditate longer, that’s even better. After meditating for a certain period, you will reach a point where your consciousness starts to shift above the physical reality (Alpha, possibly Theta or even Delta state if you are a veteran meditator). When that happens, you become detached from your physical self and become an observer to your physical reality. The longer you meditate, the deeper the state you will be in and the higher the consciousness you will enter.
Watchouts During Meditation: A common feedback I get on meditation is people end up falling asleep during the process. This is usually a sign you are mentally fatigued with mental clutter – All the more you need meditation, since it clears out the clutter in your mind. Staying awake is one of the largest difficulties for new meditators in still meditation since there is no active stimulus to keep you engaged.
One way is to ensure you are well-rested before the meditation – such as meditating when you wake up in the morning, after a good rest. My meditations are much more focused when we do them at an alert state rather than when we are already tired. Once you successfully let the thoughts be cleared, you will emerge from the meditation more energetic instead – since your clutter is removed and your mind is now fresh.
Some may also experience resistance during the meditation, especially when negative thoughts come to the surface. Simply continue to observe these thoughts from the back of your head. Let them float by. Be aware these thoughts are just thoughts and they are not you. Some may feel fidgety with the passiveness of meditation and think of doing other things during the process. Recognize these feelings and thoughts, do not engage with them and continue to maintain in your meditative stance. Once you push past the highests point of the resistance, you will start easing into a comfortable state of your meditation. The more the clutter you have in your mind, the more difficulty you will find in focusing. Simply continue with it. Once you get past the point with the most resistance, you will ease into the meditative state very naturally.
Start Meditating Today Performing this simple act at least once every day brings you clear benefits, as outlined in 10 Reasons You Should Meditate. Once you finish your first meditation, you will start looking forward to the second, the third, and the next one – until it becomes a natural habit You will feel calmer, more peaceful and more focused.