Meditation for Beginners: A Simple Guide

I'm a huge advocate for meditation, and I often get lots of questions about it. So, I thought I'd put together a simple guide on meditation for beginners. Although it is an easy practice that can be done daily, many people find it quite intimidating. So, I aim to explain a little more about meditation and show you that anyone can do it.

Benefits of meditation for beginners:

Meditation has tremendous benefits for your mind, body, and spirit. It is a great way to practice mindfulness while strengthening your core, increasing productivity, and so much more. These are just some of the benefits of meditation:

1. It reduces stress. If you meditate for even just 5 minutes a day, your stress levels can decrease significantly as you learn to empty your mind of worries and focus on steady breathing. Not only that, but there is also evidence to suggest that meditation can improve symptoms of conditions that can be exacerbated by stress, such as IBS, migraines, and more.

2. It teaches you to focus, so it will become easier to concentrate on other tasks, such as revision or work, for longer periods. Because of this, you will see improvements in all areas of your life.

3. It can help with some mental health issues. By decreasing your stress levels, you can also decrease your anxiety. Not to mention, practising mindfulness can give you more self-awareness and a stronger ability to understand your thoughts and emotions from a different perspective. Thus, you will learn to understand and control your mood while tackling difficult situations better.

What is meditation?

I've noticed that many people tend to over-complicate meditation. Before I began, I did too! The stereotypical idea is that you sit in a silent room, breathe, and your mind empties completely, but that isn't the reality. Of course, it would be difficult if that were the case! Instead, the main idea behind meditation for beginners is learning to accept your thoughts and let them go.

For example, the most common form of practice is breathing meditation, where you focus solely on your breath. Like yoga, you use your breath to control your mind and body. There are plenty of ways to do this, but I suggest simply breathing in and out for five counts each through your nose. This gives you something to focus on, which you can draw back to every time your mind wanders. Your goal is to focus on the present moment and forget about the past and the future. So, every time a thought pops into your head, you can acknowledge it, let it go, and draw your focus back to your breathing. Over time, this will get easier as you strengthen your attention, focus, and concentration.

What you'll need:

There are plenty of sources out there telling you you'll need a meditation cushion or bench, whale sounds, an incense burner, and gosh knows what else before you start meditating, but all you really need is yourself and somewhere quiet to sit. And once you get good at it, you won't even need that! I've found that despite the noise, a long ride on public transport is a fantastic place to take some time out for yourself and meditate.

Something I would suggest investing in is a guided meditation or two to help you when you first start. There are plenty of free and paid-for sources out there, especially on Spotify or YouTube. I will link a few I enjoy at the end of this post for you to try out. Using a guided meditation is great for beginners because it gives you something to focus on other than your breath. Therefore, it is easier to stop any outside thoughts from creeping in. Plus, hundreds of guided meditations focus on specific things, for example, cleansing your chakras, reducing stress, waking up positive, or helping with sleep. These are perfect if you want to start meditating for a specific reason.

How to meditate for beginners?

Firstly, you'll need to make yourself comfortable. Find a quiet area where you are content, you don't feel vulnerable, and you know you won't be interrupted for the time you want to meditate. Now, if you Google "meditation", you'll see hundreds of pictures of people sitting in the Lotus position with their feet on their knees and their hands in a prayer position. However, this isn't necessary. Of course, if that's what you feel comfortable doing, go for it! But for most people, just find a position that you will be comfortable in for a while. This can be sat on a chair or sofa with your feet planted firmly on the floor. (This is a good one for grounding guided meditations as it helps you to imagine your feet grounding into the earth!). Or you can be sitting cross-legged on a cushion or your bed, or even lying down.

Just remember to try and keep your back straight if possible, (this is where the core strengthening comes in!) but remember - it shouldn't hurt. You want to be in a position where you are awake and conscious of your body, but comfortable and in no pain. There is no right or wrong here, so ultimately do what feels best for you.

Then, the rest is pretty simple. Put on a meditation playlist of sounds, or a guided meditation for beginners, or sit in silence if you prefer. Close your eyes and start to focus on your breathing. If you're following a guided meditation, then just listen to the voice and follow its instructions, but if you're not, it's good to start by acknowledging yourself in the present moment. Once your breathing has settled into a comfortable rhythm, focus on your senses, take a moment to acknowledge everything you can hear, smell, taste, and feel, and accept them and let them go before moving on to the next thing. If your mind wanders, don't beat yourself up. Allow the thought to pass through your mind and leave before bringing your concentration back to your breathing.

Try to focus on the present moment, the feeling of your body sinking into whatever you're sitting or lying on. Ignore all thoughts of things you need to do, worries, or stresses. This is your time for you. Whilst you're in this moment, everything else can wait. Let's be honest, the washing up will still be there when you're done, so there's no point worrying about it right now! Allow yourself to indulge on this chance to rest and be quiet. It may help to imagine a white light starting from your heart or belly and expanding out around you. This is your bubble of protection, and it can be used as a force-field of sorts to stop all thoughts from entering your mind and sticking around as you focus on your breath and how you feel in the moment. This is the best form of mindfulness you can do, and you will probably find you are much more equipped to tackle your worries after you've finished meditating.

You can stay here for any amount of time, from 2 minutes to two hours. Ultimately, it's whatever feels best for you! When you feel you are nearing the end of your meditation, I find it helps to acknowledge your senses again, paying close attention to how you feel at this present moment and whether anything has changed. And then, at the end, give yourself a hug. This sounds silly, I know, but trust me! My Reiki master teacher taught me this one, and it has changed my life! Take a moment to wrap your arms around yourself, or even hold a pillow or teddy close to your chest and hug that if it's more comfortable. Hug tight for a minute or so, and imagine a loving energy enveloping you, protecting you from the outside world. You'll feel so much better for it if you do. Finally, take your time, and slowly open your eyes when you feel happy to do so. Now is a great time to thank the Universe, God, the Gods and Goddesses, the Moon, or whatever energy you want. But, make sure to also thank yourself for allowing yourself the time to rest and meditate.

Tips:

1. Don't be hard on yourself if your mind wanders a lot. We're all so used to being busy with our minds and bodies constantly rushing around, so learning to quieten your mind and let things go will take a while. But, as long as you are being kind to yourself and simply allowing the thoughts to come in and then leave your mind without focusing on them, you're on the right track, and it will get easier over time.

2. Two minutes of meditation every day is better than one hour once a month - little and often is ideal. Try to allow yourself time every day to meditate if you can. As soon as you wake up and just before you go to sleep are both great times to do it, as you're already in a comfortable position. Maybe try leaving your phone for 5 minutes as soon as you wake up and focus on your breathing instead? This can set you up nicely for the day ahead. Or alternatively, putting your phone down and doing a guided sleep meditation before bed can increase your chances of a good night's sleep.

3. If you struggle to concentrate, try counting your breaths. Sometimes, if your mind is particularly busy, it will be harder to stay focused, but counting in and out whilst breathing will give you something to think about and stop any distracting thoughts from entering your mind.

Resources:

Below is a list of free music and guided meditations to help get you started. You can also find them quite easily on other platforms by simply searching for 'meditation music' or 'guided meditation'. These are just the ones I use regularly!

SPOTIFY Good Morning Sunshine - 10 Minute Guided Meditation This isn't a regular meditation, it's a cool meditation! Guaranteed to wake you up smiling and full of energy for the day ahead.

Guided Chakra Balancing - Guided Meditation Album

This is a fabulous album filled with guided meditations created to balance each of your chakras. My most listened to album!

Deep Serene Sleep - 1 Hour Guided Sleep Meditation

If, like me, you take a while to drift off to sleep, this 1-hour meditation is perfect for putting on, and you will most likely be asleep before it finishes every time.

YOUTUBE

Music for Body and Spirit - Channel

Meditation Relax Music - Channel

So, there you have it! A simple guide to meditation for beginners. I hope this gives some of you the confidence to get started, or even to continue your practice if you find you keep putting it off. In today's day and age, it is too easy to get bogged down with busy work days and full weekends, but taking even five minutes out of your day to meditate will bring you so many benefits!