11 simple ways to meditate daily
For the last 2 years, two terms have emerged to be the most searchable -the first is Coronavirus and the second is Meditation.
People want to learn meditation and make it a part of daily habits .so many starts it but find it difficult to stay consistent, to make muscles one needs to exercise daily only then one can see the impacts. if u exercise for 1 month and take rest for another 15 days results will not be seen, and it can discourage u to quit but there is a way to stay consistent and there are techniques to practice meditation skillfully.
Starting meditation is not hard but staying consistent which is the most important factor to see results.
All this said, now let us look at ways to stay regular with meditation.
1. set your intention
Before u even starting meditating set your motive, ask yourself why u want to meditate or make it a habit because to do something mind needs reason it will not follow an activity that has no meaning .motivation can be anything like u want a focused mind, for good health or even just experiencing new thing .make sure desire is strong.
2. remind benefits of consistent meditation
As said, to stay consistent with anything desire must be strong .what will make your will strong and meditation practice glued is its usefulness. Remind yourself of the benefits of daily meditation.
3. try different forms of meditation
Different people find different ways of meditation comfortable. give each type of meditation a try for 15 days u can also do some forms alternatively, practice one type for someday then switch to another, remember ways may vary but the essence of all meditation is one, all forms are designed to relax and make the mind focused. After experimenting with different ways u can choose one that suits u.or choose to meditate alternatively.
4. start small
If u are just starting meditation, start with 2 minutes a day. U can not meditate for an hour on the first attempt. set a timer for 2-5 minutes, practice for one month and then increase one minute each week till it becomes 25-30 minutes stay there. from there allow yourself to meditate for whatever time u can meditate, sometimes it will be 30 minutes another time it could be 10 minutes. At this level time doesn't matter what matters are depth. We are setting time initially not for making u able to meditate for 1 hour but to make it a habit.
5. give up perfectionism
Truly speaking there is no perfect duration to meditate nor there is a rigid process. some see results earlier than others it all depends on individual scenarios, one can be meditating for 30 minutes in a noisy place, but another may be meditative for just 5 minutes in a tranquil place .dodon't compare your meditation with others, if u are not seeing consequences there is one best advice I can give - continue to meditate, honestly u will not see results if u are impatient hence enjoy the process and throw out all the judgements .now u will question -if I am starting meditation with an intention how will I not look for what I wanted from practice .l will say - this is the tricky part, to see results focus on process, not on results.
6. commonplace and time
This is so important for sticking to any habit, place has energy and time has memory .mind records time and place with certain activity to make it part of your subconscious mind(storeroom for all habits)if u want to make anything a habit try to do it at a particular place at a particular time .to meditate choose a commonplace and time, by the time I mean General time like morning, evening or lunchtime.
Try to practice morning if possible, this is the quietest time from both outside and inside, after that there will be no excuse of having other work to do and it's a productive way to start a day.
7. be flexible
Don't force yourself to meditate or stay in guilt if u miss a day or your fixed time to meditate .meditate whenever u get time on a busy day. busyness should not be the excuse for not meditating, u will get time every day at least in bed .meditate before u sleep, cross-legged or laying on the bed.
8. combine with already established habits
Whatever is done repeatedly mind makes it automatic, if u are used to driving from the left side, it will be uncomfortable to drive from the right side. but if u continue to drive from the right side mind will make it familiar and what is familiar mind loves to do that .think about any habit which can be combined with meditation like 'first brush then meditate or meditate then brush .by this way mind will combine the habit of brushing with meditation.
9. make it fun
There are 2 types of inconsistent meditators
1. people who forget to meditate
2. people who do remember but do not feel like doing it or find it hard (bore)
If u are from the second category then think about making meditation fun, u can buddy up to meditate and teach meditation to your friends and family. Share your experience. if u don't want to be crowded then just practice sitting alone, just sit to sit throw all expectations, and u can journal your thoughts too. take it as a new skill to learn.
10. take meditative (positive)info
This is so crucial, one might start meditation by listening to any video about meditation benefits but to continue practice u need the same kind of info going in daily to make your desire to meditate glued.
One can not meditate deeply or even consistently by taking negative information throughout the day. such a mind will get distracted very easily and sitting quiet will feel difficult, increasing your chances to procrastinate or give up.
No. One reason why people find meditation hard is too many thoughts and the inability to sit quietly. what creates your thoughts is information u are taking in through your senses from social media, tv or people around u. control traffic of mind by taking positive and meditative info in.
U can watch spiritual teachers on YouTube, monks or read a self-help book.
Just make sure to feed your mind positive only.
11. Practice throughout the day
Bring some Mindfulness into your day. practice being aware of your body, aware of the movement of feet while walking, and aware of the sensation of touch, this way u will be taking the energy of meditation in none meditative hours of the day and when u will sit for formal meditation it will be very easy to shut down or withdrawing from thoughts, resulting in deeper meditation and the deeper u will go, the easier to meditate, the mind starts enjoying the process through this, then no reason for avoiding meditation practice.
We have discovered these 11 ways but don't bother about implementing each one because all does not apply to every person, it is based on individual-level and preferences .choose the one which works for u.
Give each one an attempt and go with what works for u because each one is on an individual journey and at different stages what worked for me at one level might not work for else at their level hence don't search for the best solution, what helped u is the best.
*Blessings till next read!
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