“How to meditate correctly?” In the modern version, mindfulness meditation is more of a compilation of multiple techniques rather than a dogma. If you are not yet ready to go into deep practices to achieve specific results, it is neither necessary nor desirable to bind yourself strictly to the instructions. Your goal is to relax and clear the mind, not to burden it with unnecessary restrictions.
The basic instructions for a standardized meditation are straightforward: relax, set a timer, breathe deeply, and observe the present moment without evaluation for 5–20 minutes.
However, any beginner in meditation faces the same obstacles. The main one is distracting thoughts and feelings: no matter how hard we try to control them, more often, they control us. And meditation can also seem quite dull at first: if you don’t see rapid progress, you risk quickly abandoning it.
That is why we suggest you read some valuable tips to facilitate your practice.
Decide on a pose
You can meditate sitting, kneeling, lying down — whatever you like, as long as you are comfortable for the entire session. You have to be relaxed. What’s essential for meditation is your back posture. A lot of distracting thoughts and discomfort come from sitting incorrectly. Common problems are poor blood circulation in the legs, roundness in the lower back, and pain in the neck.
Whichever pose you choose, it is essential to adhere to the following principles:
-Keep your back straight but not tense.
-Keep your knees below your hips: this position will help keep your back straight almost effortlessly. If you are sitting on the floor, use a cushion for this.
-Your head and neck should line up with your spine.
-Place your hands on your hips or knees. It is not so important which way you turn your palms. The main thing is that you feel comfortable and want to keep the position of your hands during the practice.
-Another important detail that many people miss is the jaw. It should be relaxed too! Clenched teeth lead to congestion and even headaches. Before practicing, gently move your jaw from side to side.
To hold the same pose comfortably, you can warm up your body: before meditation, stretching a little or doing some yoga asanas is helpful.
Explore the sounds and stimuli around you
“Avoid anything that might distract you” is the most typical advice for beginners. But in practice, it is not 100% achievable: there may be noise coming from the street, it may be too hot indoors, and it may be itchy on the skin.
Ironically, when you accept all distractions, they dissolve. The brain gets used to stimuli and, after a while, stops being distracted. Does the street noise bother you? Listen to it, and study its character. It’s like someone knocking on the door: if you ignore the knock, it will continue, but if you open the door, the one who was knocking will come in, say what he wants, and go away. The nerve circuit will no longer need to compete with other circuits for your attention. You can quickly return to meditation.
Nevertheless, avoid creating an uncomfortable environment on purpose. Aim for the silence, comfy clothes, and pleasant smells around you — but if any of these are imperfect, don’t turn it into a reason to give up on meditation.
Don’t criticize your mind
Some might say that meditation is stopping the flow of thoughts, but that’s not quite right. Try spending any amount of time in silence without allowing a single thought, and you will quickly see that it is as impossible as stopping the flow of a river with your hands.
So, instead of trying to stop the flow, just stay out of it. Instead of clinging to every thought, observe it, acknowledge it, and let it flow past you, returning your attention to your breathing or other selected object.
Emotions are a bit different: they need to be treated the same way as other stimuli (see tip above). If you feel sad, anxious, or, for example, bored, look closely at these feelings. Notice in what part of the body they are sensed and how they resonate with your breathing. Soon enough, your emotions will loosen their grip. If they are too strong, then stop practicing for a while to calm down.
Watch everything that passes through your mind, like a performance in which one actor replaces another. Why get too involved in one thing when you know it will change in seconds?
Do not expect anything
Relax and see what happens. Consider everything as an experiment, keep your interest, and don’t be distracted by your expectations of the result. For that matter, don’t focus on the result at all. Let the process go at its own pace and in its own direction.
Meditation teaches us to see reality exactly as it is. Whether it conforms to expectations is irrelevant; you must let go of all preconceptions for a while.
Don’t expect enlightenment, immediate relaxation, and other pleasant effects that meditation promises you because if you concentrate on expecting results, you will never get them. Meditation is an art that allows you to observe your feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Only by gaining some experience in observing your inner self will you succeed in the art of relaxation.
Add more fun!
Let’s face it again: if something makes you tired, it’s only a matter of time before you stop doing it. So try to make your practice as enjoyable as possible.
Here’s what you can do:
- Set up a meditation space. Light a candle with your favorite scent.
- Reward yourself with something nice for each practice.
- Meditate in company or “on a dare”: whoever lasts the longest in a row is the winner.
- If you have no one to share this interest with, monitor your progress in other ways. Reward yourself for every milestone: 3 days, a week, or a month of meditations in a row.
One of the Inite app’s goals is to turn meditation into a fun game and thus help you form a new habit. The app rewards you with cryptocurrency for each completed meditation, helps you track your progress, and enables you to share your thoughts with a large community. The more often you meditate, the greater your reward, the higher your level, and the more deeply a habit is grafted onto you, which is sure to bring positive changes in your thinking and outlook.
