How to Meditate: A Simple, Not Easy Guide to Getting Started
WHY meditate: Google that question and you will find a plethora of answers like “better well-being,” a “more relaxed mood", “reduces stress and anxiety,” among many other pure health benefits. I think these are great! AND I think that there is far more too it than that. As much as we do not want to believe this, we has humans are mortal beings on this Earth for a finite period. For some reason, many of us choose to spend the majority of that time not being fully present or aware of or existence, continually caught up in the whirlwind of life, never getting a chance to step out and view life from a greater perspective. Meditation is the key to that greater perspective, the ability to stay present, and the capacity for self awareness that leads to profound personal growth. Stripping away all our material possessions and human relationships, we are left only with our minds, and meditation exists to help us connect with our minds.
WHO I learned this from: Grandmaster Christopher Berlow (7th Dan in Taekwondo and author of Mindful Meditation for Busy Lives) first got me started on my meditation journey through my martial arts training, which set the foundation and the passion for what I learned next. The majority of what I have learned since comes from Sam Harris (author of Waking Up, and founder of the meditation app and course bearing the same name). Sam has traveled the world in search of the most secular way to meditate while still retaining all the benefits of meditation. His app is a great course designed to help meditators of any stage on their journey towards enlightenment (cheesy but true). I am currently on Day 9 of the 50 day course and have seen great leaps in the quality of my meditation. His book Waking Up, is also a great place to get started as the course is a big commitment.
HOW TO MEDITATE: There are three components to meditation, how you sit, how you breath, and how you think. Sam starts each of his guided meditations saying to sit either cross-legged on a cushion or upright in a chair. For the less physically abled audience, definitely do the chair. However, for anyone younger than 50, sit on the cushion. You should cross your legs, and if possible have one leg on top of the other (half lotus) or if you’re adventurous you can sit full lotus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8WxwDmDvBI). Your back should be upright with your head tilted downward slightly and your shoulders relaxed. Your arms should hang down from your sides with your hands in your lap and your right hand resting on top of your left, both with palms up.
Once you have assumed the position, begin taking deep breaths. Grandmaster Berlow teaches his students to breath in through their nose while pushing out their lower stomach. This utilizes the full capacity of the lungs and provides a long deep breath. When you exhale, use your mouth and push your stomach in. This should be done in a slow and regular fashion.
The thinking part is the hardest part. It is simple, but not easy. Because the goal is to be more in tune with your mind, you do not want to consciously think. It is alright for thoughts to come to you, and I personally have the best thoughts while meditating. They tend to be the best because I am not trying to have them. Instead of thinking consciously, focus your attention on the sensation of breathing. We tend to either feel the breath most distinctly on the tip of our nose, or through the in and out motion of our abdomen. Pick one and do your best to retain your focus there, on the raw bodily sensation. This will be hard to do for any longer than ten seconds and that is ok (it’s kinda the point). If you are a beginner and this is easy, you are wrong so try again. Once you can do this for about 2 minutes continuously (around 15 deep breaths if you feel inclined to count), then try to shift your attention to other bodily sensations, for example, the part of your back that is killing you because the sitting position is hard. You should focus on each sensation for a long period of time and only switch to a new one when you fully feel the one you are focused on.
This is all very subjective so only experience will guide you. I am still learning so much that I hope to revise this in the weeks to come with many more lessons I learn or write a new, advanced guide to meditation. If you have any questions or just want to let me know what you think, comment or shoot me an email, I’d love to hear from you. The easiest way to get this started is to set aside 5 minutes in the morning (set a timer and play some soft music) and try to get a little better (hmm…1% better?) every day. In a month or so, 5 minutes will seem easy, so try 10. Also be sure to take notice in how you feel the rest of the day, and most importantly, do your best to be aware of the world around you, taking moments to step back and view life from the 10,000 ft perspective. Meditation has helped me to do these more effectively, and I hope you experience the same benefits!