PART 2: How to Meditate for Beginners

• Sit on a pillow or chair with your spine straight. The upright posture will help you focus on breathing and conscious inhalation and exhalation. If the chair has a backrest, try not to turn around or rest in your posture. Stay as straight as possible.

Position your legs in the way that is most comfortable for you. It is possible to extend them in advance or cross them if you have a pillow on the floor. The most important thing is that the posture remains straight.

• Don't worry about your hands. In the images, we always see people resting their hands while meditating, but if it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to. You can place them on your lap, leave them on your sides - choose a position that allows you to empty your mind and focus on your breathing.

• Set the alarm. When you find a comfortable position and are ready to start, set the alarm for the time you want to meditate. Feel the pressure to reach a transcendental state within 1 hour in the first week. Start small, with sessions of 3 to 5 minutes, and work until you reach a half hour or longer if you wish.

• Keep your mouth closed when breathing. You should breathe in and out through your nose in meditation. However, don’t forget to relax your jaw muscles, even with your mouth closed. Do not press your jaw or grit your teeth; just relax.

• Focus on your breathing. This is the main purpose of meditation. Instead of trying not to think about things that annoy you every day, have a positive focus: breathing. If you are fully committed to inhaling and breathing, you will know that all other thoughts about the outside world are gone on their own, without you having to worry about being ignored.

Focus on breathing in the way that is most comfortable for you. Some people like to focus on expanding and contracting the lungs, while others prefer to imagine how air passes through the nose.

It is also possible to focus on the sound of the breath. Simply enter a state of mind where you are exclusively focused on some aspect of your breathing.

• Follow the breath, but do not study it. The goal is to be present in every breath, not to describe it. Don’t worry about worrying about how you felt, or explaining the experience later. Only experience is present. When it passes, experience the next breath. Avoid covering your head with your breath - just have this experience through your senses.

• If your attention is diverted from your breathing, return it. Even after having enough meditation experience, you will know thoughts can fly. You start to think about the job, account, or things you need to work on later. Whenever you see the outside world being interviewed, don’t panic and try to ignore it. Instead, return the focus to the sensation of breathing in the body and let the thoughts fade away again.

You may find it easier to focus on inhalation than exhalation. Keep in mind if that is the case. Try to focus especially on feeling the air when it leaves your body.

Try to count your breaths if you have difficulty getting your attention.

• It is not overcharged. Accept the fact that focusing is difficult for beginners. Don’t blame yourself - in the beginning, everyone has a hard time with an inner voice that doesn’t keep quiet. In fact, some say that this constant return to the present moment is a “practice” of meditation. What’s more, don’t expect that practice to change overnight. The mind takes time to begin to influence. Meditate daily for at least a few minutes, adding sessions whenever possible.

Tips

1. Don't forget to put your phone in silent mode.
2. Listening to soft music helps you relax more.
3. Meditation does not work like magic; it is an ongoing process. Continue to practice every day and you will gradually notice a state of calm and peace forming within.
4. Meditation before bed helps your brain start to shut down and makes you feel better.
5. Usually focused on breathing and chanting mantras like OM, but if you prefer to listen to music while meditating, just choose calm ones. A song may be silent at first, but then change and become a rock in the middle - this is not appropriate, as it interferes with the process of meditation.
6. Disappointment is an expected reaction to this situation. Understand and face it - it teaches you a lot about yourself as well as the more peaceful part of meditation. Let it be and be a unity in the universe.