The purpose of meditation is to gradually elevate the mind to its highest possibility of

unconditioned peace and love. There are various rings that a meditator must climb in this
process. It begins with studying or listening to the right knowledge. The test of rightness is that it
is experiential and substantiated by each and everybody. If it is not and if things appear to be
mysterious, there could be something wrong or very ordinary that is being taught. The highest
knowledge is also the simplest one. There is nothing esoteric about it.

Meditation is an effective technique that has been around for centuries. People who meditate
consistently find that there are short-term and long-term benefits. For instance, soon after they
start sitting, meditators begin to enjoy a decrease in stress and anxiety, enhanced well-being, and,
in many cases, improved sleep and overall health. In the long term, meditators are better able to
understand how the mind works and how to work with their minds.

TIPS TO MEDITATE

1. Assume a comfortable position with your body. The most recommended posture for
meditation is seated cross-legged. This is because it balances support for the body and
wakefulness for the mind. However, you can lie down, be seated in a chair, or adopt another
similar posture. The main emphasis for meditation posture is that it allows you to focus your
attention on the meditation without getting distracted by the body.

2. Close your eyes and breathe naturally.

3. Focus your attention on the space directly ahead of you as the spot between your eyebrows.
In Sanskrit, the word for meditation is ‘dhyana’ and it essentially means ‘to pay attention to.’
There are many meditation techniques around but what they all depend on is the application of
attention. Here, you want to be gentle with your attention. Do not strain your eyes but be relaxed
and attentive. If looking between your eyebrows is a strain, try aiming toward the tip of your
nose instead.

4. Do not deliberately imagine or think about anything. Remain composed, relaxed, and
attentive to the space between your eyebrows. The purpose of meditation is silence and stillness.
However, there is a difference between actively thinking and “having” thoughts. Here the
instruction is to refrain from actively thinking. This does not mean thoughts should be
suppressed from arising. In meditation, your attention might be focused and relaxed and without
thought. Then a thought might arise out of nowhere. This doesn’t mean something bad or wrong
happened. You do not need to push the thought away in order to “preserve” or “get to” inner
silence. If you do not follow the thought by thinking about it, then it will leave the way it came.
If you do follow the thought and find yourself engaged in a train of thoughts, gently bring your
attention back to the spot between your eyes and refocus with a calm breath. In this way, you
free your mind from the compulsion to chew needlessly on phenomena appearing in your
consciousness.
5. Set a timer. Do not get up until the timer sounds. Along with thoughts, many feelings may
get churned up during meditation. Some of those feelings may be angry, anxious, energetic, or
restless. Do not allow them to control you. If you simply remain seated and attentive with eyes
closed, you will be victorious over any thought or feeling that arises. It takes more doing to quit a
meditation than to see it through to its end.

Common Issues:

- My thoughts just don’t stop. They can even get more out of control. What am I doing wrong?

For your whole life, perhaps also others before it, your mind has acquired many habits and
imprints. When you sit for meditation, those mental phenomena begin to enter your conscious
awareness. That is how they “leave” or are “dissolved.” This doesn’t mean you forget important
things or knowledge but rather the limits you have unknowingly placed on your perceptions are
being released. At first, this can be overwhelming. It is not a sign of something wrong, it just
requires you to apply sustained effort in the meditation practice.

- How can I stop my thoughts?

All you can do is rest your attention and refrain from deliberate thinking. Be patient with your
mind and reign in your attention as often as necessary when you find yourself lost in thought.
Once rested and focused, your attention simply witnesses whatever thoughts appear. They will
settle into silence in their own time. Moments of silence and contentment will occur and deepen.

- When meditating, I keep having an emotional experience of pain, sadness, obsession, anger,
jealousy, etc. How can I make it go away? Like thoughts, these emotions are also imprints in
consciousness that you have been carrying with you unknowingly. Your body is physically
activating pathways associated with experiences that are not actually happening. In meditation,
those pathways are allowed to burn themselves out. You cannot push them away or escape from
them. All you can do is give them the space to be there. Like watching a thief, you bear witness
to them so as to no longer lose perspective to them. They too will dissipate in time.

- My body parts go numb when I sit for so long. What can I do? It’s fine to stretch out and
massage your limbs if necessary during meditation. Try to keep your eyes closed and attention
focused when you do.

- I feel sleepy when I try to meditate. Why does this happen? When the mind is not being
actively engaged, it can be in the habit of going to sleep. Whenever you feel sleepy during
meditation, get up and splash some water on your face and go back to the meditation. If you
haven’t been getting enough sleep then forget the meditation and take a nap.

- Can I focus on my breath or something else instead of the space between my

eyebrows? Meditation’s key is application of attention. Attention can be applied to the flow of
breath, an image, or a mantra. However, as you practice, your awareness will settle down into
increasing silence and stillness. Using the space between your eyes is a silent and still point of
focus. Whereas using the breath is a moving point of focus. This has its own benefits and use
too. Having practiced several forms of meditation, I like to recommend this way since it worked
for me best. That said, feel free to explore in order to find what works for you. Whatever you
decide, I would suggest practicing that technique for six weeks before assessing its value to you.

Benefits of Meditation has helped me to form all my other habits, it’s helped me to become
more peaceful, more focused, less worried about discomfort, more appreciative and attentive to
everything in my life. I’m far from perfect, but it has helped me come a long way.

Probably most importantly, it has helped me understand my own mind.

You've no doubt heard that meditation is good for you. It can help you feel calmer, and has a
host of other benefits. However, for many people descriptions of meditation aren't appealing, and
it sounds like just another thing you don't have time to do Meditation is a great way to increase
your resilience to stress. If you have anxiety, it will help reduce your general tendency towards
physiological overarousal and calm your nervous system.

In my therapy practice, the clients who've found meditation the most helpful have generally been
people who are prone to rumination (unwanted overthinking). This makes sense given that
meditation is about focusing your attention on something "experiential" (e.g., sensations of
breathing) and bringing your attention back to this focus when you notice it has drifted to
"evaluation" (e.g., "Am I breathing too fast?") or to another topic (e.g., "I've got so much to do
tomorrow.")

Meditation can help with irritability partly because it helps you learn how to recognize you're
having irritable thoughts before you've blurted them out in ways that end up generating stress for
you (e.g.. nitpicking your partner in a way that causes a fight).

1. Start small with 3-5 minutes (or less).

Some great new data collected from users of the Lift goal-tracking app* shows that most
beginner meditators started with 3-5 minutes. Even three minutes can feel like a darn long time
when you first start meditating, so you could even start smaller. For example, paying attention to
the sensations of taking 3 breaths.

3. Understand the principles of meditation.

Beginning meditators often think the goal of meditation is to get to the point that they can focus
without becoming distracted.

A more useful goal is becoming aware of when your mind has drifted sooner.
Becoming aware of what you're thinking is the basis of successful Cognitive Therapy. You
can't restructure your thoughts if you haven't first developed the ability to identify your thoughts.

Another useful goal for meditation beginners is being able to redirect your attention back to your
point of focus without criticizing yourself.

4. Do meditation your own way.

Most of my clients don't like meditation mp3s. They usually report finding them too "new
agey."

Since walking helps people concentrate and reduces distractibility, a meditation that involves
walking can be a great place to start.

Fellow PT blogger Dr Kelly McGonigal suggests a 10 minute walking meditation involving 1

minute of paying attention to each of (1) the feeling of your body walking, (2) the feeling of your
breath, (3) the sensations of air or wind on your skin, (4) what you can hear, and (5) what you
can see.

Follow this with 5 minutes of open awareness where you allow anything you can observe/sense
to rise up into your awareness. Don't go looking for things to hear, see, feel etc. Just let whatever
rises up into your awareness to do that and be naturally replaced by something else whenever
that happens.

During the open awareness portion, if your attention drifts to past, future or evaluative thoughts,
briefly go back to one of the points of focus to stabilize your attention.

You can adapt these instructions however you want. Make your practice your own. You're in
charge! For example, do a walking meditation in which you focus on one of the above points of
focus for 3 minutes and then do 3 minutes of open awareness.

5. Reduce All-or-Nothing Thinking.

Realistically, there are only a small amount of people who will be willing to meditate on a
regular basis.

Another approach is to do formal daily practice of meditation (such as the walking meditation)
for an initial period, and then start just incorporating meditation into your day in informal ways.
For example, incorporating informal meditation into your day might involve paying attention to
the sensations of a few breaths each time you switch tasks. For more informal meditation ideas
see - 6 Mindfulness Exercises That Each Take Less Than 1 Minute.

Doing a sustained period of formal daily practice when you begin meditation will (1) allow you
to try different types of meditation, (2) give you enough comfort and familiarity with meditation
that you can restart formal practice if you're going through a particular period of stress or
overthinking, and (3) develop enough understanding of meditation to come up with your own
ideas for informal meditation practices.

The graph below (also from users for the Lift goal-tracking app) shows that beginner meditators
who practiced for 11 days were over 90% likely to continue to a 12th day. You can see the slope
of the line starts to get flatter around day 8. Sticking with meditation practice at least this long is
important. Doing a 21 or 30 day meditation project is a great way to get started.

Until recently, serious meditators generally belonged to one of two categories. They either joined
a monastery or ashram and devoted their lives to practice; or they left the hustle-bustle of the
worldly life behind and sought refuge in the serenity of isolated hermitages. Nowadays, however,
many people who lead active lives – work, family, school, etc. – are willing to devote time and
energy to meditation because they are convinced of the benefits. Some do their daily meditation
sessions in groups, but far more are now meditating at home.

Some helpful tips:

1. Think about your motivation

Are you meditating because you want to manage stress, sleep better, or cope with chronic pain?
If so, you may do well with guided meditation, relaxation meditation, or chanting. Are you
looking to gain insights into the mind? This is the true goal of mindfulness and awareness
meditation. Is your primary objective to develop qualities such as patience, empathy and
generosity? Gratitude meditation is a good choice. Do you want to go deeper into your
relationship with the divine presence? Spiritual meditation can take you there.

There are many valid forms of meditation out there. When you know why you’re interested in
meditating at home, you’ll know which ones are right for you.

2. Start small and work your way up

While learning how to meditate at home, it’s important to start with small, manageable sessions.
Even three minutes will make a difference. It might sound super short, but for some beginners,
sitting in awareness for a few minutes feels like forever. Starting with short sessions also helps
you to gain the momentum you’ll need to sustain your practice in the long run. As many
meditation experts suggest, the quality of your meditation is more important than the length.
 3. Pick a convenient time and comfortable spot

One of the best ways to meditate at home is to find a quiet place away from noisy distractions.
Pick a time that’s convenient for you. Early morning as the sun rises is a perennial favorite since
this time of day is generally peaceful and there are few interruptions.

You’ll also need to find a comfortable position. While some meditators like sitting in the lotus
position, there are other good options. You can sit on a meditation cushion, chair or even a
couch, so long as you feel comfortable and you can sit up straight. Do your best to find
a position where your spine is aligned. Your neck and shoulders should be relaxed, and your eyes
can be half open or shut during the meditation session.

4. Try a guided meditation

Since you’re just beginning, guided meditation can add a welcome structure to your practice.
Mindworks App is a complete resource that offers Guided Meditations, Mind Talks,
inspirational Daily Cups and much more, all developed and curated by internationally-known
meditation experts. Have a seat, choose from the guided meditations, and enjoy the journey.
Mindworks offers a free trial period with everything you need to get you started.

5. Focus

Whatever form of meditation you choose, awareness of the present moment is key. When you
meditate, you train in being aware of whatever object of meditation you’ve chosen. There will be
distractions in the form of sounds, odors, sensations of discomfort, tension, itching, etc. In
addition, there will be distractions that your mind will produce all on its own: to-do lists, things
you should have done or said, things you plan to do or say, emotions, daydreams… the list is
endless.

To help the mind stay focused on the here and now, one of the best ways to meditate at home is
to focus on the process of breathing. Be very aware of your respiration as you inhale and exhale;
use the breath as an anchor for your mind. When those distracting thoughts pop into your head,
simply acknowledge their presence and go back to focusing on the breath. Alternatively, you can
use physical sensations, sound, or a visual object as the focus of your meditation. Forget about
“emptying the mind.” Noticing and coming back is what meditation is all about.

6.Goodness
Trungram Gyalwa, a renowned meditation master from the Himalayas, teaches that compassion
is a fundamental quality that’s hard-wired in all of us. Meditation helps us control negative
emotions (such as anger and envy) and uncover positive qualities such as lovingkindness and
compassion. Meditation gives us all the tools we need to develop the goodness that already exists
within. For more check out this blog by Trungram Gyalwa Benefits of Meditation for the Mind
and Body.

Ready for some guidance to get you started meditating at home? Mindworks App is a great
resource.