How to Meditate

How to Meditate

"We inject far-reaching and long-lasting benefits into our lives: We lower our stress levels, we get to know our pain, we connect better, we improve our focus, and we're kinder to ourselves. Let us walk you through the basics in our new mindful guide on how to meditate."

"It's all going to be okay."

A Basic Meditation for Beginners

    Did you notice....? Yourself getting caught up in thoughts before you came back to reading this? We often have little narratives running in our minds that we didn’t choose to put there, like: “Why DOES my boss want to meet with me tomorrow?” “I should have gone to the gym yesterday.” “I’ve got to pay some bills” or (the classic) “I don’t have time to sit still, I’ve got stuff to do.”

Follow your breath for two minutes. Take a deep inhale, expanding your belly... The first thing to clarify: What we’re doing here is aiming for mindfulness, not some process that magically wipes your mind clear of the countless and endless thoughts that erupt and ping constantly in our brains. We’re just practicing bringing our attention to our breath, and then back to the breath when we notice our attention has wandered.

"... bringing our attention to
our breath."

1. Get comfortable and prepare to sit still for a few minutes. After you stop reading this, you’re going to simply focus on your own natural inhaling and exhaling of breath.
   
   
2. Focus on your breath. Where do you feel your breath most? In your belly? In your nose? Try to keep your attention on your inhale and exhale
   
   
3. Follow your breath for two minutes. Take a deep inhale, expanding your belly, and then exhale slowly, elongating the out-breath as your belly contracts
   

Welcome back. What happened? How long was it before your mind wandered away from your breath? Did you notice how busy your mind was even without consciously directing it to think about anything in particular? 

"You are never too busy for your own mental health."

Repeat after me... "I'm never too busy for my own mental health." Say it to yourself in the shower, before you go to bed, in the bus. Repeat it until it's all you know because trust me when I say this. Stress will build-up, and it's going to affect your relationship with friends, family, and other loved ones. You've always got 5 minutes to relax. Use it.