Society moves quickly; keeping pace is often challenging. While it can be easy to become immersed in the constant running around that comes with meeting goals, sometimes life gets in the way and keeps you from sleeping enough hours per night. With all these activities going on simultaneously, your mind may start running on autopilot.
Gaining control over your mind is the ultimate accomplishment; mental health plays a pivotal role in what results are produced from you. Meditation allows you to set your pace and feel more like yourself than ever.
Meditation is an invaluable way of strengthening mental health, offering peace and clarity of thought. Meditation can also be used to develop mental strength that allows one to overcome grief, manage stress or manage anger – not forgetting its beneficial effect in setting aside day-to-day stressors!
Meditation can be a challenging practice without proper guidance; here are a few tips to help calm your mind:
1. Prepare an Appropriate Environment
Meditation requires you to create the ideal conditions in which to practice it, free from distractions that could impede its practice. So make sure your phone is turned off or on airplane mode to prevent receiving calls and SMS that might disturb the peaceful experience you seek when practicing this art form.
Your meditation area should provide a tranquil space where you can take the time for yourself. Avoid background conversations which might interrupt you by choosing a place with few or no people present – some experts suggest staying in your cupboard; I would say any place is acceptable, provided distractions have been removed and it makes you comfortable to visit it any time of the day or night.
2. Establish a Meditation Routine
Make a commitment to yourself that you will practice regularly at a set time of the day – perhaps mornings or evenings due to their quiet atmosphere and cool climate are an ideal time. To further promote consistency, link an activity such as taking a bath with doing meditation – for instance
Consistency is key, but don’t feel guilty if a day passes that doesn’t go according to plan. Keep trying until you find what works for you!
3. Settle In
Get yourself comfortable on a chair where your body is upright. A meditation cushion or pillow are also good choices; just be careful that no objects rest against it or lie flat, which could result in sleep. Do not stand or move about; your mind needs to stay relaxed yet alert so if your body moves around so will your thoughts. For maximum effectiveness it is best to sit still so your thoughts won’t wander off-track as much.
4. Take Deep, Conscious Breaths
Once you are settled and comfortable, focus on your breathing to establish a rhythm. Try audibly breathing through both nose and mouth a few times; this should ease tension in your mind and calm you down. Once this step is completed, close your eyes slightly or stare absentmindedly at an object to reduce any distractions and maintain concentration.
5. Take an honest inventory of your thoughts
Source: blog.alomoves.com Be mindful of any thoughts that arise in your mind on an ongoing basis; don’t attempt to stop or control them as this will only distract and intensify them further. Rather, observe and be an observer to your thoughts without making judgments about them if any prove difficult to handle; write them out or speak about them with someone trusted if any prove difficult to manage; looking back over this can provide insights into why certain behaviors emerge so that negative responses can be managed more easily.
6. Notice Your Body Reactions
Notice which parts of your body feel stiff or tense and which areas feel relaxed, and monitor how the chair or cushion touches against you; additionally, examine how elbow and knee curvatures and other parts are functioning – taking note if tensioned areas require active correction before breathing through them until tension eases off.
7. Do Not Meditate After Meals
In order to create an environment conducive to relaxing while remaining alert, feeling heavy should not be part of your meditation practice. Aiming for calmness often results in sleeping rather than meditation practice so try having your sessions prior or two hours post mealtime (you might find it harder to focus when hungry and when full).
8. Train together as a group
Source: ArtofLiving.org
If you find it hard to calm your mind on its own, try meditating in a group setting instead. Their presence may provide additional encouragement and lead to an enhanced experience thanks to collective energy.
9. Gradually Disengage
After your meditation session has come to a close, take some time to savor and reflect upon its worth before slowly disengaging with it and continuing your daily activities as usual. Reminisce over that moment again while closing your eyes consciously. Consider what steps need to be taken or goals set for that day or month and then slowly open them while being grateful for what was learned in that stillness before going about your day with ease knowing your mind is under control.
10. Be Gentle With Yourself
Try not to push for perfection when practicing meditation. If it seems as if nothing is working out just the way you want, don’t give up; keep incorporating these tips and incorporating actions during meditating until it clicks for you. Even if it takes longer than anticipated to reach relaxation, celebrate that feat nonetheless and be ready to try again tomorrow if need be! Keep in mind, though, that the results of meditation tend not to show themselves immediately; over time you should notice yourself becoming calmer over time.
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