MEDITATION FOR YOUR MIND

Did you know the oldest documented evidence of the practise of mediation are wall arts in the Indian subcontinent from approximately 5,000 to 3,500 BCE, showing people in meditative postures with half-closed eyes? If people have been doing it, all those years ago and people are still doing it now, then surely there has to be some truth to the benefits of mediation, right?

There is no right age to begin, no right or wrong time to start. Learning to meditate is like learning any other skill. If you are new to this skill, it’s definitely easier to be in a class at first with a teacher who will be able to guide you through the practise. 

Learning to meditate is about keeping the body still as well as the mind.

What is Meditation?
Meditation isn’t about becoming a new person, it’s about training in awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective. You’re not just trying to turn off your thoughts or feelings. You’re learning to observe them without judgement and eventually better to understand them. Some practises focus on one specific thing like your breathing and other practises focus on one point and bring your attention back to that focal point when it wanders.

Did you know there are actually 6 types of meditation practises?

• Mindfulness meditation

• Spiritual meditation

• Focused meditation

• Movement meditation

• Mantra meditation

• Transcendental meditation

 
Tips To Start Your Meditation Journey

1. Find a quiet place to start
You want to find a place that will have minimal distractions and if possible, away from any noise. As you become more familiar with the practise, you will probably be able to mediate anywhere but to truly become in tune with yourself, a quiet place is necessary to begin with.

2. Get comfy
You want to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible. Whether it's on the ground, a cushion, a chair, the end of your bed, anywhere really that will allow you to become as still and comfortable for a length of time.

 3. Close your eyes
Closing your eyes allows you to focus on the practise at hand. You can actually meditate with your eyes open too but if you're starting off, this could lead to too many distractions.

4. Just breathe
Some would say control your breath and others would say breathe naturally, do whatever feels comfortable for you at first. The last thing you want is to feel like you’re doing it all wrong and unable to focus because you're concentrating too hard on your breath. 

5. Timeframe
Start with a goal of 5 -10 mins and if you can’t get to 5 minutes because your mind constantly wanders off then start small and just aim for 2 minutes to begin with. When you feel comfortable, work your way up to 5 minutes, 10, 15 and so forth.

6. Your mind will wander
Granted! This will happen a lot at the start and from time to time as you become more comfortable. Practising mediation in a class, will allow the instructor to remind you to come back into the practise when your mind wanders, as opposed to you realising yourself and minutes wasted passing by.

7. Use your breath to focus
If your mind does a lot of the above “wandering”, use your breath as a count to bring your attention back to the practise. 

8. Don’t expect your mind to completely switch off
The practise isn’t about turning off from zero thoughts but to allow your mind to focus on one thing rather than multiple thoughts at the same time. Whether it’s to be aware of your surroundings, gratitude for your life or something that’s been on your mind, there is no right or wrong thing you should meditate about. 

The Summary
Meditation can lead to a whole host of benefits such as promoting emotional health, controlling anxiety, improved sleep and because meditation is a practice in focusing our attention and being aware when it drifts, this actually improves our focus when we’re not mediating. Who doesn’t want to improve their focus in their everyday activities?

Our Exhale Studio has a weekly Mediation class that will help you you to unwind and release. FIT’s mission is to decrease stress, reduce anxiety and increase happiness as you enter the studio, allowing you to be more optimistic and more focused by making meditation easy and convenient for you to do.

You will undertake a regenerative, restorative meditation session where you will calm your mind, control your thoughts and find inner peace and balance. Check out our website for our class schedule in the Exhale Studio for your next Mediation Class.