How to Meditate – For Beginners

Welcome to meditation for beginners!! Let me start out by saying meditation has literally changed my life, and I don’t say that about everything.

I’ve had anxiety since as far back as I can remember and I had been told about meditation numerous times but I always swished it off as something only monks do in far away temples. I wasn’t ready to commit to the legs-crossed, thumb to forefinger, humming lifestyle that I’d seen meditation represented like in pop culture. Turns out, it’s nothing like that! (okay, it’s a little like that, but we’ll get more into that later.. just hang with me)

My first meditation session was just 10 minutes long, and I’ll admit, the whole time I kept thinking to myself, “oh gawd this is boring, I might as well quit”. Honestly, my back was hurting, my thoughts were racing, the music was zoning me to sleep, and I was hungry. I did NOT want to continue. But I did it! I did the whole 10 minutes, and guess what happened after: I was so calm!! Literally, probably the calmest I’d ever been in my whole life. I was hooked!

To be frank, I still get the “oh gawd this is boring I want to quit” feeling sometimes, but I also know the feeling of calmness that comes after, so I push through and do it anyways and I’m always thankful for it.

Now the fun stuff! If you’re anything like me and need a way to relax your anxiety and racing thoughts, then give yourself patience (seriously, patience is KEY), and follow the next steps.

Note: I’m not a trained meditation expert, therapist, or doctor. I’m not prescribing something and I don’t know if it will work for you. These are simply the ways I’ve learned to meditate and what works for me and I’m now giving what I’ve learn to you. Take it or leave it. 🙂

Step 1:

Find a quiet place. Turn your phone ringer to silent. Turn off the TV. And if you have kids, and they won’t stop leaving you alone, tell them you need 10 minutes and if they disturb you they will get a list of chores they have to do. LOL!

Step 2:

Turn on peaceful music. My favorite playlists for this includes distant thunderstorms or soft piano. If you’re still lost, look up meditation playlists on Spotify, there’s quite a few really good ones!

Step 3:

Put yourself in a comfortable position. This can be laying down, sitting upright (legs crossed or not, doesn’t really matter) or in childs pose. Whatever position make sure it’s not one that might put you asleep (hence why people usually go for that cross legged position).

Step 4:

Set a timer. You can easily fall asleep while meditating, and knowing how busy we all are, you most certainly don’t want to do that. Begin with 5-10 minutes. As you get more comfortable you can push yourself for longer.. There’s literally people out there that can meditate for HOURS. Bless them.

Step 5:

Close your eyes and begin focusing on your breathing. To start you can take a few big deep breaths in and out counting to 10 on each inhale and exhale. After those few return your breath to normal. Focus the entire time on the breath. Following it in your mind all the way in and all the way.

Step 6:

Release thoughts that may come up and continue to focus on your breath. This is 100% the hardest part of meditation, but it’s where the real work begins. Thoughts will surely pop up as you sit there in silence. Thoughts may come one at a time, or maybe there’s a truck load of thoughts, either way notice them, but do not judge them and do not linger on them. Every time a thought pops up notice it, but refocus your attention back to the breath. Do not judge or punish yourself if you catch yourself lingering on a thought, rather release it and go back to your breath.

Step 7:

Continue with Step 5 until the alarm goes off. At which time, slowly begin to come back to your surroundings. Scan your body with movement. And open your eyes.

And voila! That’s all there is to meditating! Seems simple right? It is, once you get the hang of it. And you’ll be AMAZED at how calm you are for the rest of the day.

On the other hand if you find self-guided meditation difficult a great app I love to use is Calm. It works really well with teaching the basics of meditation and how to use it in your daily life. It also has a lot of different series that focus on things like work anxiety, depression, habit breaking, and much more! It even has bedtime stories spoken by Matthew McConaughey and other stars to put in right to sleep. I highly recommend trying them out; it’s free to start!!

Note: I am not sponsored or affiliated with Spotify or Calm. I am not making money if you choose to click on the links or use their products. It is at your discretion to use the links/products.

Would love to know how your meditations go! Let me know below as I would love to support you on your journey!

Oh, and namaste!