Meditate today!

The inspiration for this post comes from my aunt, who asked for tips on how to meditate.

I learned how to meditate from an Indian man last Fall, and it seriously has improved my life so much. In order to benefit from mediation, you should work towards doing it three times a day, for at least 10-15 minutes. Now, I've read about meditation techniques that ask the meditator to focus on a task or problem they are having and see how meditating can help them solve it, but that is not how I usually meditate. I find that instead I benefit more from simply restoring a sense of calm to my mind...

Here is what I learned to do:

Turn off any distractions and sit in a quiet place. Breathe in deeply though your nose, counting to five. Hold your breathe for five counts, and then exhale through your mouth, again for five counts. It is important that you maintain control of your breath when you exhale - do not allow it to come wooshing out - control your diaphragm and exhale slowly.

Do this five times with your eyes open.

Repeat five times with your eyes closed.

This deep, rhythmic breathing allows you to begin to clear your mind and prepare it for silence.

Next, focus on one word in your mind. Ironically, my word has always been "breathe" because I often tell myself that, and because I can then focus on the action of breathing while I meditate.

For the next ten minutes, allow yourself to sit in peace, eyes closed, breathing normally, and focusing on your word. When your mind drifts, just bring it back to that word, and you will learn to train your mind not to wander. Also, I find that when I am having a particularly stressful time and it is difficult to concentrate, I literally write the word in my mind on a chalkboard, or watch as my word becomes different shapes and plays across my mind.

There is no wrong way to train your mind to focus on meditating, but I do recommend that you stick with the same word each time you meditate. Also, picking a positive word that represents your goals is helpful. Some ideas would be wellness, passion, faith, or serenity.

After your ten minutes are up, you will do the opposite breathing of the way you came into meditation. Do the five inhales-holds-exhales with your eyes closed.

Repeat with your eyes open.

And then enjoy the beginnings of inner peace.

Thanks for reading!