In my last post, I outlined seven benefits of meditation but I realize that I didn’t mention how to actually meditate.

I failed as a writer and educator… so I’m here to redeem myself and explain how to actually meditate.

What Is Mindfulness Meditation?

It’s important to note that there are numerous types of meditation and many schools of thought like spiritual meditation, movement meditation, and transcendental meditation.

Mindfulness meditation is the practice of focusing on staying in the present and awareness of the body and mind. That may be an oversimplified definition for some, but it will do for now.

Most often, this type of meditation involves focusing on your breathing and being aware of the different sensations of the body.

Misconceptions of Meditation

Perhaps it’s easier to define meditation by saying what it’s not.

One common misconception of meditation is that it involves completely “emptying” your mind and forcing yourself to not think of anything. On the contrary, mindfulness meditation is more about becoming aware when thoughts enter your mind or when you start to drift off, noticing when that happens, and then bringing yourself back to your point of focus.

Meditation isn’t forceful. It isn’t a punishment for your brain. It is more about exercising awareness.

The Basics

Because this is a written guide, I will do my best to be brief since it doesn’t work well to disrupt your meditation to keep referring back to set of instructions.

For this meditation, we will be focusing on the breath and scanning the body.

Find a comfortable place to sit either on a chair or on a cushion on the floor. Settle in and relax.

Start by taking a few slow, deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Notice how your breathing feels. Fill your belly and lungs and follow the path of the air from the very beginning of the breath to the very end. When does the breath start and end?

After a few breaths, allow your breathing to resume its normal pace, not forcing anything. Focus your attention on your breathing. Feel the air passing through your nostrils and into your lungs.

When you notice a thought entering your mind, there is no need to feel like you made a mistake or that you’re meditating incorrectly. In fact, it’s good that you’re noticing this. This is the basis of mindfulness. You’re becoming aware of your thoughts. Each time you notice these thoughts, you are exercising the muscle of focus and awareness. Acknowledge the thought and then bring your attention back to the breath.

Each time a thought enters your mind, notice and be aware of it, and bring your attention back to your breathing.

Scanning Your Body

Once you get a hang of mindful breathing, you can move on to scanning the body. Essentially, you’re bringing your attention and awareness to how your body with feeling.

Start at the top of the head and scan your attention down. Do you notice any points of tension? If you do, let it go on the exhale of your next breath.

How about your neck? Your shoulders? Are you holding tension there? Scan down your arms. Let go of any tension in your hands.

Bring your attention to your chest, then your abdomen. Feel the weight of your body pressing down into the chair or the floor. Continue this practice to your feet. Let go of any tension that you may come across.

Learn to become aware of how your body is feeling and anything that comes with it. Is there tightness in your chest? Are you feeling anxious about anything?

After this scan, maintain the relaxed state and return your focus to your breath.

Some Guidelines For Beginners

It’s best practice to start small. Set a timer for 5 minutes and try for shorter sessions. Find a time during the day that you have some peace and quiet.

It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that you might be meditating wrong. Again, the exercise is focus and awareness. Don’t try and force your mind to empty. That is nearly impossible. Be gentle with yourself. Meditation is about bringing self-awareness and mindfulness, not punishment.

A great way to start a meditation practice is to utilize guided meditations. There are many apps like Calm and Headspace that will provide guided meditations for specific goals and valuable bits of education regarding the benefits of meditation. There is a good reason why these apps regularly rack up 5 star reviews and people happily pay for yearly subscriptions.

Wrapping Up

I outlined many of the benefits of meditation in my last post. This is something that stays in my daily routine.

You should probably give meditation a chance for at least a week before deciding that it isn’t worth your time. Any new activity takes a while to see its effects, and meditation is no different.