Meditation for Beginners – Benefits and how to start your meditation practice

If you’ve been searching for meditation for beginners to land on this post, chances are you already know a little about meditation and would like to get started on implementing a regular meditation practice into your life, or you have no idea about meditation but is still interested to learn about it and the benefits it could bring into your life. Either way, keep reading to find out about meditation and how you can get started on this beautiful journey of self-transformation.

What is Meditation? 

You might have read and listened to many different views on what meditation is. While all these may have sounded different in their own ways, fundamentally the core of meditation is the same. Simply put, meditation is an inner process of transforming the way you view and experience life. It is a process of decluttering your mind from all the mental drama that has been created and learned through the five senses.

Benefits of Meditation

A habit that will help you establish other habits: 

Meditation is one of the most important habits you can establish. The subtle inner clarity and focus that you develop over time through meditation can be very supportive for your personal growth and the successful implementation of other habits that you want to incorporate into your life.

Understand your mental patterns:

The root cause of majority of the suffering in humanity is their own mental drama or self-created vivid imagination of destructive thoughts. Regular practice of mindfulness meditation can help you to disidentify from that subconscious chatter that criticizes and make you feel miserable. This happens to all of us and there is scientific evidence today to show that majority of us spend a great amount of our time fighting to rid our minds from these thoughts.

Learn to observe your thoughts without reacting to it: 

Now, this is my personal favorite thing about my meditation practice. Even after years of practicing meditation I still (and probably will always) have moments of negative thoughts that would mostly flip me out and react in anger. However, what I have noticed is that through daily practice of meditation, I am able to keep them at bay and even if they arise mostly I just observe the thought for what it is and let it pass. This is something that will definitely give yourself the mental solitude that you deserve.

Be present wherever you are: 

Life only happens in the present moment. Meditation helps you to cultivate mindfulness. The consistent returning to the breath during meditation helps you to come back to the present moment whenever you’re distracted (which is majority of the time). Until you feel a glimpse of this experience it can be hard to truly understand the value of the inner wellness this brings into your life.

Reduce stress and anxiety:

When you meditate regularly, you are literally rewiring your brain and its habitual patterns that have been formed over time. How you react to different situations in life is deeply influenced by the things you have gathered through your five senses. Through the regular practice of meditation, you change the way you react to things in a more conscious and responsible manner. Rather than simply reacting out of a painful place, you learn to take more conscious actions, and only if an action is required. Having this sense of wellness and clarity within you can drastically reduce your stress and anxiety levels.

These are only some of the benefits that I have personally experienced. There are so many more benefits of meditation that you will discover as you keep growing and learning from your personal experience.

How to start your meditation practice – A few tips to get you started

Set an intention to commit to meditating at least once a day: 

My advice would be not to set a goal of how many days or years as this may result in you having an expectation by the end of that. The best way is to simply commit to making it happen once a day. This way, even if you miss you can just do it the next day and keep going.

Set a time of the day: 

An ideal time would be the first thing when you wake up as this will help you start your working day with a clear and peaceful mind. I usually do my main meditation practice as soon as I wake up. Some people have found it beneficial to do their practice after their workday and before going to bed. Either way is fine as long as you keep up a regular practice.

Set a dedicated space: 

This is very important as this space can eventually give you a feeling of wellness and help you keep up with your practice whenever you feel discouraged. This does not need to be a big space. It can be a small corner in your living room or bedroom with a yoga mat or a cushion. Keeping some items that remind you to be mindful in this space can also be extremely rewarding.

Continue to learn about meditation: 

This is a journey that will shape your spiritual path. As you progress you will want to try different types of meditation and mindfulness practices. Fully embrace this learning curve with curiosity as this seeking will eventually lead you to find a practice or different practices that you will integrate into your life.

Sit down every day and set a time: 

Finally, the most important tip, which is sitting down to actually practice meditation every day. Just sit down with the intention of practice (can be cross-legged or even in a chair). The important thing is to be comfortable enough that your body will not be a distraction to your practice (Will only happen through regular practice).

With all this being said, It is very important to understand that meditation is not always easy or even peaceful. You should start your practice every day with no expectations and just learn to be present in whatever feeling that arises whether you see it as good or bad. But it truly has some amazing benefits that you will understand as you start and keep up with your practice.