Meditation Tips for Beginners, from a Beginner

January 20, 2017 0 Comments

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Recently I’ve decided to start trying meditation as a way to calm down during high stress times. After hearing about the potential benefits from many online Business Insider articles as well as my counselor and yoga instructor (increased mental strength and focus, lessens fear, anxiety, and stress, etc., etc.), I was determined to start practicing. Here are some tips I learned in my first week of guided meditation with Headspace.

  1. Expect distractions: If you’re just starting, don’t expect to be focused hardly at all. I was able to use my breath as a tether to my focus but I can’t even count the amount of times my mind wandered. It’s natural to not be able to hold focus while meditating during the first week.
  2. Be patient with yourself: Building off of the last point, don’t get frustrated and discouraged if things aren’t going perfectly. Meditating is hard for anyone but for a beginner it can be particularly challenging. Give yourself some time to adjust to it.
  3. Resist temptation to check the clock: What I found most challenging in the first few days was making it to ten minutes. With Headspace you spend ten minutes in guided meditation, and I spent at least 9 minutes wanting to see how much longer I had. Resist at all costs and it will be over before you realize!
  4. Allow yourself to bend the rules: As a beginner, there are a lot of tips, tricks, and rules you can apply. But don’t feel the need to follow all of them. Everybody will find different challenges in it and it’s natural to want to break some of the rules. If something is bothering you during the first week, go ahead and give in to that temptation and then move on with the exercise. In the long run, it will help you focus better for the rest of the session.

Meditation is tough to start, but the benefits only increase as you continue. It’s definitely worth it to stick it out for the initial 10 day challenge on Headspace. 10 minutes seems like forever while you’re meditating, but in the grand scheme of a day, it isn’t much of a commitment to make at all.

~KS

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