I often hear that people want to meditate, or they want to get back into meditating, but they don’t know how. Or if you tried before, you feel like it didn’t work. You probably have heard so many stories of people who meditate that there has to be something to it!
Well, I need to tell you that you are meditating the wrong way. You need to unlearn everything you know and start over.
I hope you are still with me because once you learn how to meditate right, you can use meditation as a stress management tool and see how your life changes.
You may go and exercise the adrenaline out of your body, but your nervous system will be still in overdrive. Because your sympathetic nervous system is in dominance, your body and mind are still in the stress response.
Meditation, on the other hand, de-excites your nervous system and gets rid of the stress from today. (if you missed my post about the link between stress and the nervous system, read it HERE). And the best thing?
You don’t need a lot of time to meditate.
Truly, meditation is the it tool for your mind and body so the time and energy you take to learn how to use it correctly are time and energy well spent.
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Be Like A Yogi
If you ever googled how to be calm and patient, you probably came across some beautiful photos of a Yogi, sitting in a crossed-leg position meditating. Have you ever wished it was you? Staying calm, present, and confident that you will be all right no matter what happens.
I am here to tell you that it could be you.
Well, maybe not sitting in a lotus position, especially if you have physical limitations. But the calm and confident part.
There is certain assurance coming from meditation, and I want you to have it too.
But there is also effortlessness and the feeling of expanding when we talk about meditation. It is the sense that you can have inner peace regardless of what is happening outside. You can feel the waves of calmness washing over you.
The Unlearning
Or you can feel frustrated, irritated, and unable to quiet your mind.
For a long time, that was me.
I was attracted to meditation, but my practice was casual at best. I imagined Buddhist monks meditating the whole day and I always envied them for their strength to do it. It looked so easy, you just stop thinking and that is it.
But to be honest, if you approach meditation like that, you will never get into practicing it. Just like I never did.
I live in a bustling city, with traffic jams and loud noises. I have a busy schedule and I can’t take hours to center myself. Not saying that for some reason my mind is always at work, and I can’t ever stop thinking!
Does this sound familiar?
Well, my friend. Because the thing you need to unlearn is that meditation means you stop thinking.
When you come back to look at those peaceful Buddhist monks, they are calm and at peace because they let go of the idea that you can ever stop thinking. They are just sitting and observing their own thoughts.
There is liberation in unlearning that.
How To Mediate Right
Now you know what meditation is and that it doesn’t mean you stop having any thoughts. Your thoughts are part of you. What you can do is recognize that you are a thinking, human being.
I love how Emily Fletcher, the founder of Ziva meditation, says that thoughts are not your enemy.
There are there. Your job is to leave them alone and not to occupy yourself with war tactics on how to eliminate them.
The art of meditation may seem hard at the beginning, but the more you practice the easier it gets.
The more you focus on accepting that you have thoughts and observing them, the less you will fight with having them.
So how do you meditate?
First, you need to get yourself into a comfortable position.
Remember the monks? They sit like that because they are comfortable in that position! But I can assure you that they didn’t feel like that on their first day. It takes practice.
You will get there too but start with something that feels comfortable to you.
Begin meditating by focusing on your breath. You are not stopping thinking, you are shifting your focus to breathing.
You can even count your breaths to make it easier for your overwhelmed brain.
Your first few attempts may be rough, but you can improve with each time you focus on your breaths rather than your thoughts.
Your Tool
I use mediation as a part of my morning routine. It gives me the inner peace I know I need, and it helps me to streamline my focus. In a world where we are bombarded with flashy objects all the time, losing focus may cost us too much.
But meditation is a great tool for managing stress. Our nervous system is overloaded daily, so we need a tool to de-excite it.
What would be possible for you if you stayed calm, focused, and relaxed?
Let’s face it, life is full of surprises, and you need to have the tools to help you overcome whatever is on your path.
How to Meditate Right
If you ever wanted to start meditating or you have tried many times and felt like you were not succeeding, now you know how.
You need to unlearn that meditation means that you will stop thinking. This is just not possible. After all, you are a thinking human being.
The power you have is your thoughts. And this is an unstoppable power.
Meditation means that you observe your thoughts, but you let them pass. That is how you can center yourself, regain your focus, and cultivate inner peace.
Start small, and with each step, you will get better, calmer, and more confident.
Tell me, what would you be able to achieve if you felt that way?
Are you part of my community? Join my newsletter to get the latest action steps on how to eat a healthy plant-based diet, de-stress, manage your time better, prioritize yourself, and anything in between so that you INCREASE your energy, SAVE time, and INVEST well in your wellness!