How to meditate and why meditate...and what to do went it gets hard ?
Meditation is now in every mouth, I love it. Many scientific researches have shown the positive outcomes of meditation on adults and even children. Taking a big breath and starting to notice your body functioning is reassuring. It slows down your heart rhythm and releases many unwanted muscular and tensions.
“Meditation brings long term mindfulness.”
There are long term outcomes of meditation : feeling more present to yourself in many stressful moment, having the equanimity, the state of mental calmness.
My starter kit to meditation
1. Find a place, that will be your place. This place should be quiet, where you will not be disturbed. It can be anywhere in your home, in your bed, on your chair.
2. Set a nice atmosphere. You can use online meditation video and define the length you allow yourself for meditating.
3. Define the time. You might want to start with at least 15 minutes meditation. If your life is busy you can even allow just 2-5 minutes of meditation.
4. Take a relaxing position. You may sit on a chair, arms and hands relaxed on your thighs or take the lotus position, on the floor, knees bended and open towards each others, your arms and hands relaxed on your thighs. It does not matter which position you will take as long you are relaxed, and you does not feel any tension in your body.
5. Go. Just close your eyes, and breath slowly through your nose, keep your mouth closed, the tip of your tongue slightly reaching the roof of your palate. Continue breathing and notice all the small movements and vibration of your body, chest.
When meditation gets hard..
Many beginners might feel frustrated during meditation, some obsessive thoughts about daily life details or also things they have to do afterwards. Many things can come to us and distract us from the supposed emptiness we want to achieve.
The desire to achieve this void of thought, is actually the one that will maintain our mind busy with thoughts. Our mind can never be emptied, its function is especially to keep us working, so there is nothing against we can do, our mind will never shut down as long we are alive.
In order to "achieve" the stillness of the mind, we have to stop desire to control our thoughts, and give up, or better, let them go through our mind, without hanging to them.
OK, you will think you are not ready for meditation or meditation is not for you. But this is where you have to keep up and experience further meditation. If those thoughts came to your mind, they needed some more "attention", you have to let them live in you, accept them meanwhile you are meditating. Acceptation is the best way to let them go.
Focusing on your breath sensation, all the sounds, all the vibrations of your body is a good way to go back to yourself, in the stillness you want to find. The mind will then be distracted and slowly give more importance to your body experience during meditation and explore your sensations.
The mind is like a muscle, it needs to be trained. The more you meditate, the quicker you will get into your body sensations and distract your mind.