Meditation for Beginners: 20 Practical Tips to Understand Your Mind
Originally by Leo Babauta from zen habits
The most important habit I have developed in the last 10 years through forming habits is meditation. Without any exception.
Meditation has helped me form all my other habits, it has made me more peaceful, more focused, less worried about inconveniences, more appreciative and attentive to everything in my life. I am far from being perfect, but it has helped me travel a long way.
The best thing about meditation is that you can start it today and you can do it for the rest of your life.
How do you meditate? While there are countless amazing books, videos, and guided meditations on the topic, I just want to share what has worked for me, hoping it will be helpful to you too.
The most important advice I can give: just start.
20 Practical Meditation Tips for Beginners
1. Sit for only 2 minutes
This might seem ridiculously easy, and that's perfect. Start with just 2 minutes a day for a week. If that goes well, increase it to 5 minutes the next week. If that goes well, increase it to 10 minutes. If you get lost somewhere along the way, go back to 2 minutes.
2. Do it first thing every morning
It's easy to say "I'll meditate every day," but then forget to do it. Instead, set yourself a reminder for "after I get up, I'll sit on my couch and meditate for 2 minutes."
3. Don't get caught up in the how – just do it
Most people worry about where to sit, how to sit, what cushion to use... This is all nice, but it's not that important to begin with. Start simple: on a chair, on your couch, on your bed. If you're comfortable on the floor, that's fine too. Sit upright, but don't stress about it too much.
4. Check in with how you're feeling
When you first sit down to meditate, simply check to see how you're feeling. How does your body feel? How does your mind feel? Busy? Tired? Anxious? See whatever you're bringing to this meditation session as completely okay.
5. Count your breaths
Now that you're settled in, turn your attention to your breath. Just place the attention on your breath as it comes in, and follow it through your nose all the way down to your lungs. Try counting "one" as you take in the first breath, then "two" as you breathe out. Repeat this until you get to 10, then start again at one.
6. Come back when you wander
Your mind will wander. This is an almost absolute certainty. There's nothing wrong with you. This is what minds do. This is why it's called "practice." Just notice that your mind has wandered, smile, and gently return to your breath. Count "one" again, and start over.
7. Develop a loving attitude
When you notice thoughts and feelings arising during meditation, look at them as friends, not intruders. They are a part of you, but not all of you. Be friendly and not harsh.
8. Don't worry about clearing your mind
Lots of people think meditation is about clearing your mind, or stopping all thoughts. It's not. This can sometimes happen, but it's not the "goal" of meditation. If you have thoughts, that's normal. We all do.
9. Stay with whatever arises
When thoughts or feelings arise, and they will, you might try to ignore them or push them away. Instead, stay with them a moment. Be curious about it. What does it feel like? Stay with it just for a few seconds. Then return to the breath.
10. Get to know yourself
This practice is all about getting to know your mind. What's going on inside there? Sure, it's crazy, but by watching your mind wander and the patterns it falls into, you're getting to know your mind. And that's rather fascinating.
11. Become friends with yourself
As you get to know your mind, do it with a friendly attitude instead of one of criticism. You can like yourself. We can be our own worst critics, but that doesn't help anybody. If you're having trouble with this, think of yourself as a good friend.
12. Make a mental note
When your mind wanders, you can try making a simple mental note: "thinking." Then gently return to your breath. This takes practice too, but by making this mental note, you're recognizing the nature of your mind, without letting it take control.
13. You're not failing
We all have days when it feels like we are failing. You're not failing. You're just doing what minds do. You're just practicing. You're supposed to notice when your mind wanders, so that's successful meditation.
14. Don't make it too complicated
Just sit, and pay attention to your breath. That's it. It can be complicated if you want it to be, but it doesn't have to be.
15. You can meditate anywhere
If you're traveling or something comes up in the morning, you can do meditation anywhere. In the park, on the train, in the car if you're not driving, on the plane. Meditation is just sitting and paying attention to your breath.
16. Follow guided meditations
If it helps, you can try following guided meditations. There are tons of apps and online videos to help you get started with structured guidance.
17. Check in with friends
While meditation can be a solo practice, you can also do it with your spouse, child, or friend. Or just commit to a friend that you'll meditate every day and check in with each other.
18. Find a community
Even better, find a community of people who are meditating and join them. This might be a meditation group in your area, or an online group.
19. Smile when you're done
When you finish your two minutes, smile. Be grateful that you had this time to yourself, that you stuck with your commitment, that you showed yourself some love. This is important for building the habit.
20. Really, that's it
That's it. Start simple and you'll get good at it. You don't need to make it more complicated immediately. Just sit, and pay attention to your breath, for 2 minutes. Do it tomorrow. You're on your way.
Meditation is not always easy or peaceful. But it really has incredible benefits, and you can start today, and you can do it for the rest of your life.
A Perfect Introduction to Meditation
For a wonderful introduction to meditation, I highly recommend this talk by Andy Puddicombe, founder of Headspace. In just 10 minutes, he explains the transformative power of mindfulness:
Andy Puddicombe: "All it takes is 10 mindful minutes"
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