Why meditate?
Whilst meditation originated in the Hindu tradition, it is primarily through Buddhism that most westerners first encounter the practice. Throughout its history a range of meditation techniques have developed within the Buddhist tradition and today the different schools of Buddhism use them in different ways. For example, in the Tibetan tradition, meditators often use mantras, or repeated short phrases, to help focus their mind. In the Theravada tradition, mindfulness is often developed by paying attention to the breath, or to body and also feelings, to ourselves and to others.
Meditation gives us power: learning meditation helps us take responsibility for your own feelings and emotions and to improve them for the better. Meditation helps us change our way of thinking: benefits include increased concentration, clarity of thought and a sense of calm. Meditation gives us insight: regular meditation can help us understand how our minds work and to harness our ability to cultivate new, more positive ways of thinking. |
How can I get started?
Getting started takes a few basic steps:
Below are a few steps for a 10 minute meditation - that really is all you need. The same time as taking a shower or preparing your morning breakfast. Planning your meditation:
Preparing your meditation:
Your meditation practice:
Winding down: At the end of the ten minutes: simply sit for a minute or two and enjoy the moment. Open your eyes when you feel you want to and re-engage with your surroundings thinking about, for example, what you can feel, hear or smell. As your meditative practice improves you'll notice that you can feel quite different at the end of your session, calmer and more peaceful, so you may need a couple of minutes to fully re-engage with the world - this is fine. At this point don't beat yourself up if your session hasn't gone as well as some others, this is inevitable and just look on it as an opportunity to enjoy the really productive and relaxing sessions much more. Take your meditative practice with you: Find opportunities in the day to check in with how you felt after you'd meditated, how calm and peaceful you felt. Take a couple of breaths and enjoy the experience. You can do this in moments of stress, or just when you want to take a moment. The more regularly you meditate the greater the benefits will be. |