Meditation for beginners. Where to start, how to do at home

Contrary to the opinion of many, meditation is a very easy process, and everyone can practice it even at home. For beginners, there are many useful tips that are also contained in this article. Regular meditation practices have a huge positive effect on the general condition of a person. This issue will be discussed in more detail below.

What is meditation

One of the most common myths about meditation is that it involves sitting with your eyes closed, legs crossed and a pensive face made. In fact, meditation is a deeper and broader concept. Trainees of this case define it as complete control over their thoughts, awareness of their body and mind as a whole.

Describing meditation without experiencing it is very difficult. It can be compared to the peaceful watching of the sunset or the quiet listening of birds in the forest. This is a special feeling of harmony and awareness. Meditation is an internal dialogue with oneself, a return to a state of calm and, as if, detachment from the outside world with all its problems and difficulties.

Why is meditation necessary

Meditation for beginners at home is a simple and useful process. Practice it costs about 5-20 minutes daily. Meditation is not necessary in order to relax – this is absolutely not the main goal. Meditation is needed to improve concentration and awareness. It helps to understand your own thoughts and easily solve life problems.

In the modern world, there are too many stress factors that distract from everyday routine and create unpleasant situations.

To always remain calm and make informed, smart decisions, you must be aware and understand what is really important and significant in this life. This is where meditation helps. In addition, it has a lot of positive effects for the physical health of a person, the work of the brain and nervous system.

The benefits of meditation for beginners

Meditation for beginners at home brings invaluable benefits to emotional and physical health. In addition, its influence has already been very carefully studied by modern medicine and is supported by scientific data and facts.

Here are the main beneficial properties of meditation:

• Helps relieve stress. Meditation has a positive effect on the brain centers that are responsible for the production of cortisol, the stress hormone. Regular practices not only help reduce anxiety and momentary negative reactions to stressful situations, but also more calmly respond to constantly occurring difficulties. Thus, a person engaged in meditation can control his emotions much better, not break down and not express keen feelings. On the contrary, he will comprehensively approach the problem, look for positive aspects in everything and try to offer a rational solution.
  
• It relieves depression and other mental illnesses . In 2014, scientists from the University of Baltimore conducted a study aimed at identifying the relationship between meditative practices and depression. A group of 20 people began to meditate every day for 15 minutes, and a week later the subjects talked about positive changes in the perception of the world. Thus, meditation can be used as one of the means in the treatment of depression or other mental illnesses. It has the effect of a natural and irreplaceable antidepressant.
• Relieves stress from pain. Many people daily suffer from aching headaches or problems with the back, joints, muscle pain after intense training. Scientists from Boston Medical University conducted a study that proved that after 3-4 days of meditation, the pain sensations decrease and gradually disappear altogether. Meditation affects the subconscious ability of perceiving reality, and gradually a person begins to react very differently to pain and learns to control it.
• Multiplies the gray matter in the brain. Gray matter is precisely that part of the nervous system, thanks to which a person can think, think and adequately perceive reality. Gray matter is responsible for the concentration of attention, the ability to remember and reproduce any knowledge, intellectual data. It dies due to excessive drinking, smoking and stress. To restore gray matter cells, meditation helps. With it, the brain really starts to work faster, remembers information better, in general, meditation makes a person smarter.
• Slows down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in old age. An experiment was conducted at Wake Forest University in North Carolina in 2011. Scientists recruited a group of people over 58 years old who had the first signs of senile diseases – Alzheimer’s, dementia. For 2 years, older people had daily meditation sessions. According to the results of the study, it was found that the brain activity of the subjects increased significantly, the reaction, speed of thought and memory improved. In this way, meditation helps to remain conscious even at an older age.

Preparation for meditation

Meditation for beginners at home does not require very complicated and impossible preparation. However, it is worth taking care of a number of conditions that must be created for a successful session. In most cases, it is because of improper preparation, choice of place and time that people experience the unpleasant experience of the first meditation, as a result of which they quit this activity.

In order to be able to concentrate, concentrate on one’s own thoughts, let go of the outside world and fall into a trance, it is important to create a special atmosphere.

A place

The main role as meditative practices is played by the venue. A pleasant, suitable space can be arranged at home.

To do this, adhere to the following principles:

• Cleanliness and simplicity . A place for meditation should not be littered with extraneous and unnecessary things. It is best to highlight a certain corner of the apartment or house, clear it of all unnecessary things and always keep it clean.
• Solitude . Best of all, if the place for practice is in a secluded corner, where households or extraneous sounds will not bother. It is important that there is silence and peace.
• The light . A man at a subconscious level is always drawn to the sun and light. Therefore, if the place for meditation sessions is located directly in front of the window or just in a bright room, the process will bring even more benefits, and you will want to return to the “place of power” again and again.

Time

The most suitable time for meditation is morning. Then, when the human brain is still half asleep, and the body is filled with morning energy, there is a greater likelihood that it will be possible to get to the very depths of consciousness.

In addition, many practitioners of daily morning meditation assure that this process sets a certain level for the whole day, the mood becomes more positive, and things are solved easier and faster, because the brain feels calm, peaceful and full of strength.

clothing

Natural light tissues are best suited for meditation sessions. It is worth choosing silk, cotton or high-quality viscose. Clothing plays an important role, as it transfers a certain energy to the body – natural fabrics land a person, soothe, and synthetic (such as polyester) or very coarse (wool, velvet) report a negative aura, make thoughts more difficult.

Music

Using music while meditating is a pretty controversial issue. Some consider it worthwhile to practice in absolute silence, concentrating on one’s own thoughts. Others like to listen to calm compositions to create a special atmosphere. In any case, it is better to choose the most neutral music, not distracting from the process.

It can be the sounds of nature – the sound of the forest, birds singing, the murmur of water, or special compositions created for meditation and yoga. Usually they consist of the sounds of traditional Buddhist musical instruments – gong, canyra, tampura, Tibetan singing bowl.

Incense

Most people have actively developed a sense of olfactory memory, and certain smells can mentally return at some points in life. The use of aromatic oils, candles and incense has a beneficial effect on the meditation process. It is better to light them 20-30 minutes before the start of meditation, so that the room is filled with aromas.

A positive property of incense is also that they create a certain individual ritual that is unique to each person. Therefore, over time, awareness of meditation appears as a purely personal process.

Where to start meditation

Meditation for beginners at home should be as simple and straightforward as possible. Otherwise, a person will have an opinion that this process is very difficult and requires a lot of time. For beginners, the easiest way to meditate is by sitting in a comfortable position. You should start with 5 minutes a day and gradually increase the time.

It is believed that the optimal time for meditation is 11 minutes. It is at the 11th minute that a person fully opens his mind, and he is able to immerse himself in his thoughts as deep as possible. You need to ventilate the space in advance and, if desired, light candles or turn on aroma gadgets.

Beginners can also practice walking meditation. Its meaning is to distribute inhalations and exhalations by the number of steps. For example, inhale and exhale every 5 steps.

Home Meditation

It is very simple to organize meditation at home, for beginners it will not be any difficulty. To control your progress and track the duration of each session, lengthening it over time, you can use the following table.

It is designed for 10 days. During this time, you can easily come to the desired meditation time – 11 minutes, and then try to increase it to a minimum of 15 minutes per day.

1 day	5 minutes
2 day	5 minutes
3 day	6 min
4 day	7 min
5 day	7 min
6 day	8 min
7 day	9 min
8 day	9 min
9 day	10 minutes
10 day	11 min

Pose

In the process of meditation, the body posture plays the role of a support – it should not interfere with the main one – unity with thoughts and inner feelings. Therefore, it is important that the very presence in a certain position does not spend a large amount of energy, which can go on a dialogue with your inner world. There are many different variations of postures and asanas for meditation.

However, for beginners, the most suitable will be the simplest – sedentary. To do this, sit on a flat surface (you can put a not very soft pillow) and cross your legs. The pose should be open, the lungs should not be squeezed, as this can interfere with a calm and even breathing. The position of the body must be brought into a relaxed state, muscles should not be strained.

It is important to ensure that the legs do not leak during the session, otherwise this will be an additional distraction.

To do this, you need to try to sit in advance and find the most convenient position. Over time, when meditation becomes a habit and becomes an integral part of the daily routine, you can try to practice new interesting poses.

For example, the pose of a warrior (Virabhadrasana) or the pose of a camel. Such variations require great skill and hard work on yourself and your body.

Eyes, hands, mouth

The whole body should be relaxed. Including eyes, and hands, and mouth. If meditation takes place during daylight hours, it is better to close your eyes. However, if a person is in a
dark room, then they can be left open and look at one point without being distracted by extraneous moments. The mouth should be closed on inhalation and slightly ajar on exhalation.

Do not tighten your lips. If the practice takes place in a sitting position, then hands can be placed on your knees or in front of you. In any case, the main thing is the lack of physical stress in any part of the body. Otherwise, this factor can play a negative role in the resulting effect of meditation.

How to straighten your back

While sitting on any surface, the main support of the entire upper body is the pelvis. The spine, ribs, neck, shoulders – everything rests on 2 protruding pelvic bones (they can be clearly felt sitting on a hard surface). Therefore, it is necessary to evenly distribute the weight in these 2 areas. Then the body will come to a natural even state.

The back will itself be in a relatively correct position – not to bend much and not to stoop. All the muscles of the upper body will relax and will receive the same slight load.

Another important point is the position of the head. It should not be tilted strongly down and not thrown back, it is better to keep it straight – so that the gaze is directed to a point located directly at eye level.

Meditation techniques

There are about 3000 different meditation techniques. Reading a mantra, searching for one’s “I” inside the mind, focusing on “time and space”. At the initial stage, you can try all this and even more to find your technique and find maximum freedom and get as much benefit as possible. However, it is not necessary to dwell on only one type of meditation.

They can be combined with each other, constantly trying something new, finding interesting nuances, thereby better knowing yourself and understanding how the mind and thoughts work. A common opinion among trainees in meditation sessions is that any meditation technique is just the “key” to the original result, which is always the same.

After all, the main thing is to sweep away external problems, all noise, and focus on your own thoughts during meditation. In any case, any technique leads to this state. But how do you choose the one for yourself

According to the results of some studies, it was found that people who are prone to visual perception of information are more likely to imagine some pleasant pictures and images in their heads. Those who do not fantasize badly have a different path – a sense of energy. She, as if, passes through their body and feels like a tangible object.

Breath

During meditation, breathing should go through the stomach. One can imagine that there is a balloon inside it – when it is inhaled, it is inflated, and when it is exhaled, it is deflated. The basis of proper breathing is calm and measured. At first, it is better to consider breathing in and out. Example: inspiration is done in 5 slow counts, expiration should be longer – 7-8 counts.

It is important that this takes place naturally and naturally. It is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that breathing does not pass to the thoracic. Scientists have found that breast breathing is characteristic of people in stressful situations – it is more intermittent and restless.

Body sensations

During inspiration, the body seems to be filled with energy, saturated, and exhaling, it is freed from all problems and unnecessary thoughts. This thought should be kept in your head during meditation, it will help to visualize your own thoughts and turn them into life.

In general, sensations in the body should be light. After meditation, one usually feels empty in a good way, a surge of strength and a willingness to do something.

External object

Concentration on an external object is characteristic of Trataka yoga meditation. Its meaning is that at first a person with open eyes focuses on some physical external object.

For example, on a burning candle. This occurs within 5-7 minutes. Next, you need to close your eyes and try as much as possible to reproduce in your memory the image of this same candle. This meditative practice trains concentration, visualization, and conscious memory skills.

Imaginary object

This method of meditation is similar to the previous one. The only difference is that from the very beginning of the practice a person must come up with or remember some object and concentrate his attention on it.

The peculiarity of such visualization practices is that a person should think only about this object and discard all extraneous thoughts in order to clear consciousness and mind of all that is superfluous and unnecessary.

Stream status

The essence of this practice is self-awareness as an “observer” of one’s own thoughts. It can be carried out in any position, with open or closed eyes. The bottom line is to observe, as it were, from the outside, all thoughts that appear in the head, and move away from them. Imagine that this is the thoughts of some other person, they are strangers.

This practice helps to become more conscious, and conducting it on an ongoing basis allows you to learn to control your own thoughts and be able to find the same or, conversely, interrupt the unnecessary.

Beginner Mistakes in Meditation

• Excessive effort. You do not need to constantly monitor your result, count minutes and strain excessively. So, meditation can turn into a stressful process. It’s better to relax, stop expecting quick results and direct the vector of attention to your own thoughts. Then, in time, everything will come by itself.
• Very long sessions . Beginners tend to believe that the longer a meditation session lasts, the more useful it is, which is an absolute lie. It’s better to spend 5-10 minutes of meditation more productively and better than to force yourself to sit in one place for an hour.
• Wrong posture. As mentioned earlier, the main thing is relaxation and simplicity. Do not try to perform meditations in very difficult poses, so as not to complicate your own life. It’s better to start small and step by step to become better and develop.
  

Thus, meditation is an invaluable process useful and necessary for everyone. Anyone can practice it at home. Meditation for beginners is simple and clear in execution.

The main thing is to always remember that the main purpose of meditation is to learn to better understand yourself, your thoughts and desires, to be able to recognize the hidden meaning of what
is in the subconscious and always listen to yourself.

Beginner Meditation Video

Instructions to help us begin to meditate: