Alternative Therapies

[Terri R.]

How to Meditate: Beginner Level

Meditation promotes health and well-being on all levels. However, not all kinds of meditation are appropriate for every individual. This basic exercise can easily fit into everyone's lifestyle.

Difficulty Level: easy     Time Required: 5 to 20 minutes each day

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Here's How:

 
1. Find a place where you will be free from all distractions. If need be, turn off your phone. You may, however, have your favorite relaxation music playing softly in the background.
2. Sit comfortably, in a chair or on the floor, but keep your back as straight as possible.
3. If you are in a chair, do not lean against the back, but bring your hips forward toward the front edge of the chair.
4. Breathe smoothly and naturally. Inhale through your nose. Exhale through your mouth.
5. Begin to pay attention to the sensations that arise in your body; but not the cause of the sensation.
6. Be mindful of your thoughts, but do not try to control them. Observe them as if you were a witness of your thoughts, not the director.
7. After having spent at least 5 minutes in your meditative state, notice your intention to quit, and how it feels to move your body. Try to bring this sense of calm into your day's activities.

Tips:

1. Meditation is not the same as thinking or just relaxing. Relaxation is a passive process. Meditation involves conscious effort.
2. Choose a meditation technique that is right for you.
3. Do not force your mind to stay focused on any one thing. The ideal situation is to be completely focused without force or mental tension.

[Tracer]

I thought meditation was for relaxation. I can't meditate for very long. I shift gears , I think , and sitting on the edge of a chair would not be a good place for me at that point. I can meditate for a little while, time varies, and then my head tilts back (I think my eyes roll back to) and I seem to go to another level. At that point I need to be laying down or sitting back in a chair.
Sometimes I fall asleep. Strange, huh?

[Terri R.]

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