The Beginners Guide to Meditation
Meditation brings up many different responses depending on past experiences with it. Some say its too hard, I can’t sit still for that long, or it’s boring and I get nothing out of it. Let me reassure your that you can make meditation anything that you want it to be. It could be as simple as a walking meditation where you are acutely aware of your surroundings – that is meditation – possibly not what you thought, so let explore some aspects of meditation
“We see it as mental fitness: we look after our bodies, and we should look after our minds and meditation is a very powerful way of doing that.”
Look at meditation as the ability to create an internal space that gives you the freedom to explore your responses to life – if you are struggling with anything delve into it by entering into your safe internal space to explore what comes up for you. Other ways of doing this is to listen to a guided meditation on your desired outcome this could be peace, calm, serenity, help with sleep, stress, or anxiety. For example, when your mind has something else to focus on, you can give it a break from what is causing your stress.
There are a variety of types of meditation, so if one style does not resonate with you, try another one until you find one that works for you.
Here are some examples from the research of Michaela C. Pascoe, Micheal de Manincor, Jane Tseberja et. al. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100037) in the Journal of Compreshensive Psychoneuroendocrinology.
Attentional Family, such as breath counting, body awareness practices
Constructive Family, such as loving-kindness and compassion
Deconstructive Family, such as object-orientated insight, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
There is a plethora of benefits to mediation based on increasing research and scientific understanding, which is why I will always encourage you to continue to find a method that meets your unique needs.
Here are some benefits for meditation as a form of motivation to give it a go:
Meditation decreases blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol and cytokine levels
Meditation increases self-compassion, dispositional mindfulness and meta-cognition
Meditation improves attention and memory
Meditation results in brain changes in the regions of the brain related to emotions.
When introducing meditation into your self-care practices or spiritual practices find one that fits into your lifestyle, don’t try, and commit to a 30-minute practice if you feel like you only have 10 minutes to dedicate to it. Otherwise, it will generate stress which is counterintuitive to what you are trying to achieve, and you are likely to give up on the practice before you start to see any benefits. Start with what you can and over time you may increase the amount of time that you meditate for but any amount of time spent in dedicated meditation will promote some level of benefit, so keep trying until you find a style that suits your needs.
Additional references & resources:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100037