A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation

TQ Basic Training MeditationIt’s Tuesday and you’ve just finished up a big meeting with one of your toughest clients. It’s 2:30 in the afternoon and you’ve still got piles of paperwork to sift through before you can even think about calling it a day. Before you begin your dreaded paperwork duties, you make a quick run up to the local coffee shop to grab a triple-shot espresso which, you hope, will be just enough to get you through the rest of your day. Does this sound familiar?

Unfortunately, too many people operate like this. They pair their emotions with commercialized methods of temporarily dealing with them, only to create more madness and confusion in the long term. As you may have already noticed yourself, by way of experiencing this sort of day-to-day craziness we call life, this sort of “temporary fix” is enough to make anyone mad. Instead of trying to boost our energy through a combination of Red Bulls and triple-shot espressos, it may be more beneficial to try the exact opposite: just relax.

One of the best ways to achieve ultimate relaxation is through meditation. Meditation has been around for centuries, yet it’s vastly misunderstood throughout many different civilizations. And, of course, one won’t know the benefits if they don’t get informed.

Meditation, in its simplest form, is a means of transforming the mind. Whether you’re thinking about meditating to help with your concentration, boost your energy levels, heighten your awareness, strengthen your mind, recover from an injury, or stabilize emotions, it can help you reach those goals more effectively. The truth is, anyone can meditate. You’ve just got to know where to start. So, without further ado, here’s a few ways you can begin your path to meditating effectively.

Find your cause

Before you begin meditating, determine what your objectives are. Why do you want to meditate? Would you like to cope with stress more effectively, boost your productivity, or do you just want to see what it’s all about? Putting a cause behind your venture will help you stay dedicated and motivated along the way.

Set the mood

In regards to meditating, setting your mood is extremely important. Often times, the best time to meditate is when you’re most stressed. As you may not be able to meditate during times of peak stress, such as in rush hour or during a meeting, meditating before those times may be your best bet.

Find the time

Everyone has a spare minute or two, right? All you need to delve in to meditation is a few extra minutes every day to set aside for the practice. In the morning, at work, or after work, are all great times to begin meditating. Just remember, though, that a calm mind is important to achieving a heightened state, so whichever time you choose, make sure you can remove yourself from the chaos of your daily lives, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

Remove yourself from the chaos

As I’d mentioned above, it’s extremely important to be able to remove yourself from stressful environments, noisy places, or otherwise chaotic situations in order to maximize your time spent meditating. Lock yourself in your room and forget about whatever anxieties have consumed your day up until this point.

After you’ve found your groove, set the mood, reserved the time, and chosen your environment, you can begin meditating. It’s important to understand that sometimes, discomfort and distractions happen. If they do, try and regain your center by ridding yourself of such distractions the best you can. You can move if you need to, but it’s probably best not to. If you do end up having to move, do so in the least most intrusive way possible.

Remember to always start small. Shooting big can be frustrating for beginners, and can sometimes even scare you away. A good starting point would be about five minutes per day. After all, everyone can find a few spare minutes to dedicate to their meditation, am I right? Don’t get frustrated if you can’t quite figure it all out the first few times. The more you practice, the better you will become. Start small, take your time, and remember that this is something that should help, not frustrate, you.

Note: Specifically, with regards to medical issues, always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Web site.

Tags: , , ,