How to Meditate for Beginners: 9 Things to Keep In Mind

Photo by Shashi Chaturvedula on Unsplash

Meditation is a very useful exercise.

Many health gurus, self-improvement experts, and even many psychologists and therapists recommend meditating regularly to increase both self-awareness and avoid negative thinking and all that that entails.

And while there are many more benefits to a solid Meditation habit, the question is: Where do you begin?

1. Start With Guided Meditations — If you are a beginner you want to start by being walked through the meditation exercise. Sitting in silence (more advanced) is harder and people often judge themselves too harshly doing this.
2. Avoid Long Meditations — At first, try 20 minutes of guided meditation. Ideally a meditation on calm, presence of mind, or relaxation as those are the easiest to do. The longer meditations are often harder or more specific, and that can make someone who is just starting out lose themselves in their thoughts.
3. Re-focus On Your Breath — Do not force the breath but just pay attention to your breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Observe the breath but do not try to control it. Doing this will help you to refocus your mind.
4. You Cannot Not Think — Our mind is always thinking. Meditation does not try to abolish all thoughts but to guide the thoughts to better…