How to learn to meditate, in 8 easy steps

Meditation is an age-old practice that is experiencing great popularity in the West in the last decade, because there are many benefits it brings to mental and emotional well-being and it is very useful in these times.

Whether to calm the mind, to find oneself, or to reduce anxiety or stress, each More and more people are interested in introducing this practice into their daily lives, improving their quality of life. lifetime.

But meditating is not always easy, especially at the beginning, as it requires discipline and practice for its perfection. And as much as it may not seem physically demanding, it also requires effort. Nothing is free in this life, but if you know everything that meditation can bring to your life, it is quite likely that you feel the need to begin to familiarize yourself with its techniques.

The benefits of meditation

In recent years, research on this practice has shown that meditation is effective in improving people's mental health.What are these benefits? What is the use of meditating? Meditation benefits us for different reasons:

• Mitigate the effects of stress
• Positively affects the immune system
• Improves attention and concentration capacity
• It is useful to empathize with others
• Increase pain tolerance
• Improves memory and cognitive functions
• Enhances the appearance of positive thoughts

You can learn more about these benefits in our article: "Science-backed benefits of meditation"

The 8 steps to learn to meditate

The key to developing the habit of meditation is finding the perfect time for you and the type of meditation and posture that works for you. At first you can experiment with the different types of meditation and the correct posture to find the necessary comfort and the ideal mental state to carry out this practice.

But you should know that to overcome the resistances that you can sometimes encounter during the meditative process, continuing with the practice is what really makes you improve. If you want to know how to meditate correctly, follow these steps that I indicate below.

1. Put on comfortable clothes

The first thing you must do to meditate and be in the here and now is to wear comfortable clothes. Taking off your shoes and choosing a loose garment is the best alternative to feel ready to meditate. Forget about tight clothes and take off your watch or other accessories that may be annoying.

2. Find a quiet place

You need to find a place that allows you to be relaxed and without interruptions or interference. It can be the room of your house, the seashore or your garden... Any place is good if it allows you to be comfortable and focused, totally immersed in the activity you are going to start.

3. Sit the right way

To meditate you must sit correctly, that is, on the floor with a straight back, but without tension, taking deep breaths and keeping your shoulders and arms relaxed. Some people prefer to sit in a chair or on their knees instead of the classic posture, and there is also lying meditation. Whatever position you adopt, the back should always be straight and the body, especially the shoulders and arms, relaxed.

4. Focus on one object

Focus on an object or on your breath (with your eyes closed) when you start meditative practice. Later, you can do other types of meditation, such as the "body scan" or meditation focused on sounds.

5. Accept the thoughts that arise and move on

It is common for different thoughts to arise during meditation practice: our personal problems, discomfort of the moment or the insecurity of being doing the meditation well or not (something that usually happens when we start in this practice). But this is normal and therefore we must accept it.

Meditation focuses on the idea that psychological well-being is a state that emerges from the acceptance of thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations without trying to eliminate or modify them, you simply have to observe them in a non-transparent way. prosecutor. Therefore,When these thoughts appear, simply accept them and then return your attention to the object, breathing, sound, or bodily sensation.

6. Increase your meditation time progressively

When you start in meditation, you must start little by little and then increase the time. It is ideal to start with a one-minute meditation, to progressively reach 20 or 30 minutes a day that will help you improve your well-being. Take a look at this video to find out what the One Minute Meditation is:

7. Add it to your daily routine

After reading the steps above, now you are ready to make meditation a healthy habit. With practice you will become a great meditator, which will help you achieve the benefits of this ancient practice.

8. Look for people who also want to start meditation

Few things are more effective than finding "allies" for your daily routine.. Whether it's practicing meditation together, keeping track of your progress, or sharing interesting routines, having support will increase your adherence to meditation.

Keep in mind that the practice of relaxation and meditation should be a pleasant moment, and sharing it with someone else will increase this positive feeling.

Resume

It is scientifically proven that the practice of Mindfulness meditation has the potential to improve people's quality of life. In addition, today there are ways that make this activity even more accessible.

The Clarity app, for example, is a very useful tool in this sense, since it allows us to go through the steps to meditate that we have seen in the previous lines, all with the guidance of a former Buddhist monk. Thus, it provides all the necessary instructions and guidelines to perform Mindfulness meditation whenever and wherever you want. It is an interesting proposal in which the millenary practice of guided meditation meets the potential of new technologies to learn quickly, efficiently and without time constraints. You can download it and use it for free for a week at www.claridad.io.

Psychology and meditation: Mindfulness exercises

In recent decades, meditation has become part of psychological therapy (for example, thanks to the Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy or MBCT), but it has also begun to be implemented in organizations, schools or sports.

And it is that, From psychology, many professionals have realized the benefits of meditation, and specifically mindfulness, for mental health, interpersonal relationships, creativity or optimal performance, both in the sport, the school or work.

• If you want to get started in mindfulness practice, we advise you to read the following article: "5 Mindfulness exercises to improve your emotional well-being"