Do you feel apprehensive about the idea of meditation? Maybe even intimidated. Yet, you find yourself interested in learning about it? For starters, let’s say it is ‘okay’ to acknowledge that you are looking for a solution to something. Whether it is alleviating anxiety, stress, or a busy mind, needing to assert a sense of direction, or maybe something you haven’t put your finger on yet. However, you are actively looking for something. Meditators are here to welcome you in saying they’ve been there too and you have come to the right place....

What is meditation?
Meditation, in all reality, isn’t just a trending buzzword. There is no need to feel put off by foreign terms or practices you may find obscure. Meditation is simply a practice towards reconnecting with yourself. You are dedicating time and practice to the one being you need to focus on before you give in to external demands – you. Meditation is a practice of genuinely observing yourself, your thoughts, and emotions: this is your greatest gift to you. It allows yourself forgiveness to be human and you will find greater peace of mind and a calmer, relaxed you. You deserve to be your best self.

Understanding the language of meditation

Meditation
Meditation comes in many forms, methods, and is realized in different ways. Essentially, it is the practice of training your mind. How you accomplish it depends on the type of meditation such as guided and unguided (or silent), mindfulness, focused, mantra, a movement like tai chi or qigong, mantra energy meditation like kundalini, and transcendental, just to name a few. While there are many ways in which one can practice meditation, it’s important to set a foundation for your goals. Your own understanding of these types can affect the benefits and ability for you to achieve your meditation goals for yourself.

Mindfulness
Approaching meditation usually starts with recognizing your thoughts and practicing mindfulness. What does this buzzword mean? Mindfulness comes down to being engaged or disengaged rather with your surroundings and thoughts at that moment. To determine if your thoughts are focused on the present moment or not. And then, to let go of depressive thoughts (usually attached to the past) and anxious ones (which are associated with the fear of the future) to exist in the present. You can observe and learn to live with them, by acknowledging them at a distance.

Think of mindfulness as an awareness – an awareness of thoughts and/or the origin of the thoughts. To be mindful or aware of them as a practice offers a skill that can be carried throughout the day. Meditation is an act or a practice towards developing the skill or craft using different methods to practice mindfulness for a certain length of time, more intensely. Meditation is the practice, mindfulness is the goal.

How do I approach meditation?
Contrary to popular belief, meditation isn’t only for a select group of people able to hone in on a trance-like state on command. It is approachable and available to anyone. All you have to do is choose to start. If you can appreciate that meditation is a journey and not a destination, you are already on your path to inner peace.

Look at meditating as a way to reclaim yourself. Meditating is a practice central to wellness and a way to better assert choices for yourself. By empowering your ability to choose and sort through your thoughts and emotions as well as being present, you can rebalance how you approach exercise, career, diet, nutrition, mental wellness, love, and success. Additionally, it is a powerful tool for when you need to manage stress and reorientate how you tackle your life goals.

How to start: a guide for beginners
You’ll be happy to know meditation requires minimal preparation and material tools. To get started, use these steps:

Before

1. Start meditating by envisioning
   All you have to do is desire it. When you visualize a process or an outcome in your mind, it already becomes a part of a conscious decision. By allowing your body and mind to become familiar with it, meditation becomes tangible and possible.
2. Find a space, make a place
   Try to establish a stress-free area. Begin by quieting the space. Silence devices. Close windows to the noisy outside world. Declutter and eliminate distractions as best as you can. Use a relaxing scent or dim the lights to help calm you – do what works best for you. Although those with busy lifestyles also like to practice meditating in a park, on a walk or during a commute, creating a space specifically for meditation allocates a place for it in your life. It is acceptable if you hear noises while meditating. The noise that attempts to interrupt our practice can actually be part of our practice to calmly let the sound in and then let it go without a response.
3. Set aside time
   Most people choose to incorporate meditation in their morning routine. Some twice a day, obtaining different benefits and different practices by practicing both in the morning and at night. Allocating 10 or 15 minutes is beneficial for beginners to start the day off with a calmed, focused frame of mind. You can eventually work your way through longer sessions when you feel capable. If you can practice every day, great. If you can only practice every three days or so, this is okay too. There or no hard and fast rules. Only that practice gets you better – do what works for you. Progression is a good goal.

During

1. Get into position
   Get comfortable and sit on the floor with a carpet, mat, or cushion. You should sit upright in a chair, but it’s not essential. As you begin, focus on your breathing – the simple inflow of air, holding it within, and breathing out. Slow your thoughts to focus on the simple daily bodily mechanics. Find your pulse and feel the calm beating throughout your body.
2. Observe your thoughts
   This is where most folks find it easier said than done. To reiterate, there is no right or wrong way to meditate. Meditation is a journey, acknowledge your thoughts at a distance and then let them pass. Letting them pass and finding the stillness of silence before the next thought comes is the true state of bliss and the goal of meditation. This is how meditation supports mindfulness. By recognizing awareness and non-awareness, distraction, and non-distraction, you’ll learn to turn away thoughts and not react to them. In this practice, you acknowledge your busy mind and then allow yourself to look for stillness, and in doing so you become still and mindful.
   This ebb and flow pattern, between thoughts, entering and thoughts leaving, will be the basis of your meditation. The more you can sustain the observation between thoughts without judgment, the better you’ll be able to relate to your thoughts and feelings outside of meditation. This ultimately trains your mind over time.

After

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