Meditation surged in popularity during the pandemic, with data from fitness tracking apps suggesting it rose by 2900%. So you’ve heard about it, seen it, read about it… still not sure? Despite meditation becoming a highly sought-after tool for stress relief, finding peace and helping us to relax – it can be hard to get into it if you are a total newbie. Here is a bit of advice …
Tip 1: listen to some meditation while walking.
If you were like me and thought – I’m too busy, I can’t sit still for that long, I’ve got stuff to do etc etc. Then find calming meditation audios to listen to whilst walking the dog or getting your steps in outdoors. If you listen to enough sessions and start feeling the benefits, you will soon make more dedicated time for meditation in your life.
Tip 2: start off with a little bit at a time.
You might hear other people saying how amazing their hour-long meditation was, but if you’re just starting out that will be too much too soon (in fact for some people it might always be too long). Just take it a little bit at a time. Meditating can be pretty overwhelming when you are new to it, so start with 5 minutes to see how you feel. From there, you can build up your meditations to be longer when you feel more comfortable and confident.
Tip 3: be kind to yourself and don’t expect too much.
While you might be expecting a super zen meditation without distractions and no wandering mind, this it may not be the case. It is perfectly normal for your mind to wander; remember to bring it back to the meditation and not to be so hard on yourself. You can always focus on your breathing to shut out other thoughts too. Soon you’ll find it much easier to focus and that will help you in your everyday life too. Speaking from someone with a hyperactive brain and constant racing thoughts, it has helped me no end particularly before bed and trying to be more present with Ted.
Tip 4: journal afterwards.
Journaling is a great way to articulate how you feel after a particular experience. If a lot of thoughts popped into your head, it might be a good idea to note them down, and you can see if a pattern occurs. It will help you to commit to wellbeing and meditation you can see positive thoughts and habits forming in black and white. Journalling doesn’t have to be in a fancy notebook or an activity that takes hours out of your day; just a few short sentences or even just a word on how it made you feel will do the trick. Any excuse for a notepad for me ha!
There are so many benefits to meditating and hopefully this has made it a little easier to give it a try. If you want to try our meditations, @welcometomade on demand has meditation audios for beginners, guided meditations for sleep, breathing techniques and so much more, suitable for all levels. Click the link in my bio to find out more about MADE on demand ?