Meditation is for Everybody

When we practice mindfulness and meditation, we are looking after ourselves in ways that might not at first seem obvious. It’s a mental health solution that’s accessible to us all.

As much as I love to move my body and to challenge my muscles, I have also found so many benefits from practicing meditation regularly.

It is the simplest, most accessible way I have found to heal and calm my mind, to stop the coulda, shoulda, woulda, slow down, halt the inner judge and critic, and reconnect with the present moment - which is all we really have. We exist in a culture that tells us “more is better” and glorifies busy, yet, experience and intuition tells me otherwise. I have found meditation has helped me in a huge way with my mental health which has in turn helped me physically. It’s all connected.

Meditation doesn’t need to be formal. Do it while walking, biking, driving, or as a seated, quiet practice.

I found meditation and mindfulness through my love affair with yoga. Many of my favorite yoga teachers would invite a short meditation practice before or after our physical yoga stretching practice and I was surprised how good it felt. It wasn’t easy, but you can FEEL the benefits pretty quickly. Yoga is often known as a way of stretching, and it’s also a practice of moving meditation. The more you do it, the more you realize that the meditation aspects feel just as good as the physical movements.

Benefits of Meditation

The benefits of meditation are numerous and varied, and supported by science.

  • Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations

  • Building skills to manage your stress

  • Increasing self-awareness

  • Focusing on the present

  • Reducing negative emotions

  • Increasing imagination and creativity

  • Increasing patience and tolerance

  • Lowering resting heart rate

  • Lowering resting blood pressure

  • Improving sleep quality

Meditation is an umbrella term for the many ways to achieve a relaxed state of being. There are many types of meditation and relaxation techniques that have meditation components. All share the same goal of achieving inner peace.

Meditation Alleviates…

  • Anxiety

  • Asthma

  • Cancer

  • Chronic pain

  • Depression

  • Heart disease

  • High blood pressure

  • Irritable bowel syndrome

  • Sleep problems

  • Tension headaches

Step-by-Step Meditation Instructions

  1. Logistics. Pick a spot. I prefer in my living room facing a window or my fireplace. Set your phone to do not disturb. Grab a notebook and pen in case thoughts keep popping up. You can write them down and try to let them go for the duration of your meditation time and pick up those to do items later, if they are pertinent. If you don’t have a quiet space, use earphones / earbuds with relaxing music like this meditation playlist from spotify or this one from sonic yogi.

  2. Sit. Find a comfortable seated position where you can have a tall spine, preferably. I prefer to sit on the floor with my heels near my hips, hero style, on a yoga block. Other options are criss-cross applesauce or upright in a chair. If sitting upright isn’t comfortable and all you can think about is how uncomfortable it is to sit, find another position, or lay down. Laying down doesn’t give the same experience as the long spine perpendicular to the floor does, but it’s better than nothing.

  3. Timer. Set a timer for however long you’d like to meditate, start with 2 minutes and add a couple minutes every day or two. It’s also really nice to try to practice without a timer once in a while, but I might call that advanced / level 2. I love this Interval Timer Tibetan Bowl app. I use it for meditation or yin yoga and has a nice gong sound for when time is up and it starts over automatically. If you are new to meditation start with 2 minutes and work up from there. I feel the benefits with shorter or longer practices and I feel like the benefits build with consistency more than single practice duration. I find 20 minutes to be my happy place where I really notice the benefits creep in to my day-to-day life.

  4. Start with Breath. I start with a few rounds of deep breath. Inhaling as slow as I can, counting 6-8 counts on the inhale, same on the exhale. Perhaps with a little constriction in the back of the throat to slow down the breath. I also like doing Alternate Nostril Breathing (ANB) for a few rounds or minutes, if I’m not congested. I find the ANB practice to be one of my favorite from yoga and it helps me deepen my default breathing patterns and stop shallow breathing which is often a result of stress and busy. It is a great way to calm the nervous system, relieves tension and anxiety, helps concentration, is cleansing and is a fantastic headache cure.

  5. Just Be. This is the hard part. It’s a practice. My goal is usually to relax every ounce of my being. Feel your spine tall with your best posture, head floating above the hips, weight balanced on your seat bones. Try not follow your monkey mind too far down a rabbit hole and always come back to breath and your senses. You can count your inhales and exhales in your head, “inhale 50, exhale 49” and count down from there. You will probably lose track, and just begin again if so. You can also say to yourself a mantra if you have one. I love the So Hum Mantra where you “inhale So, exhale Hum” which means “I am that”. I have also found it beneficial to notice where my mind tries to go. If I find myself obsessing about the recent past or the not to distant future - the past is actually a story and the future is just a fantasy, can you come back to NOW? If work thoughts or to do mind keeps coming up, I try to write down those thoughts and let them go. It’s a funny thing, sometimes my best work ideas come out while I’m trying to meditate. I try to do a body scan and notice any holding patterns and let those go. I try to feel with every cell of my being that feeling of “Nowhere to go, nothing to do”.

Most Common Features of Meditation Practice

  • Focused attention. Focusing your attention is generally one of the most important elements of meditation. Focusing your attention is what helps free your mind from the many distractions that cause stress and worry. You can focus your attention on such things as a specific object, an image, a mantra, or even your breathing.

  • Relaxed breathing. This technique involves deep, even-paced breathing using the diaphragm muscle to expand your lungs. The purpose is to slow your breathing, take in more oxygen, and reduce the use of shoulder, neck and upper chest muscles while breathing so that you breathe more efficiently.

  • A quiet setting. If you're a beginner, practicing meditation may be easier if you're in a quiet spot with few distractions, including no television, radios or cellphones. As you get more skilled at meditation, you may be able to do it anywhere, especially in high-stress situations where you benefit the most from meditation, such as a traffic jam, a stressful work meeting or a long line at the grocery store.

  • A comfortable position. You can practice meditation whether you're sitting, lying down, walking, or in other positions or activities. Just try to be comfortable so that you can get the most out of your meditation. Aim to keep good posture during meditation.

  • Open attitude. Let thoughts pass through your mind without judgment.

Free Favorite Meditation Resources

  • Goodful 5 Minute Mediation. This is a short one and a great place to start.

  • Honest Guys Relaxation Ocean Waves. This is about 5 minutes of setup and guidance and transitions into ocean wave sounds for an hour. So you can use this one for 5 minutes - 1 hour of meditation / relaxation.

  • Yoga Nidra*

  • Sonic Yogi. He has found a way to use sound to help our bodies and minds relax. I love his

  • Meditation Music*

Favorite Meditation Apps

These apps have some of the most wonderful teachers leading meditations and relaxations. I love that they have therapists on staff, some of the best teachers in the world, and so many options. These are great options if you need more guidance.

  • Insight Timer App. My favorite mindfulness teacher Steven Harper recommends this app.

  • Headspace App. A very popular app in general with lots of option.

Everyday ways to practice meditation

Don't let the thought of meditating the "right" way add to your stress. If you choose to, you can attend special meditation centers or group classes led by trained instructors. But you can also practice meditation easily on your own. Or you may find apps to use, too.

And you can make meditation as formal or informal as you like, however it suits your lifestyle and situation. Some people build meditation into their daily routine. For example, they may start and end each day with an hour of meditation. But all you really need is a few minutes of quality time for meditation.

Here are some ways you can practice meditation on your own, whenever you choose:

  • Breathe deeply. This technique is good for beginners because breathing is a natural function.

  • Focus all your attention on your breathing. Concentrate on feeling and listening as you inhale and exhale through your nostrils. Breathe deeply and slowly. When your attention wanders, gently return your focus to your breathing.

  • Scan your body. When using this technique, focus attention on different parts of your body. Become aware of your body's various sensations, whether that's pain, tension, warmth or relaxation.

    Combine body scanning with breathing exercises and imagine breathing heat or relaxation into and out of different parts of your body.

  • Repeat a mantra. You can create your own mantra, whether it's religious or secular. Examples of religious mantras include the Jesus Prayer in the Christian tradition, the holy name of God in Judaism, or the om mantra of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions.

  • Walk and meditate. Combining a walk with meditation is an efficient and healthy way to relax. You can use this technique anywhere you're walking, such as in a tranquil forest, on a city sidewalk or at the mall.

    When you use this method, slow down your walking pace so that you can focus on each movement of your legs or feet. Don't focus on a particular destination. Concentrate on your legs and feet, repeating action words in your mind such as "lifting," "moving" and "placing" as you lift each foot, move your leg forward and place your foot on the ground. Focus on the sights, sounds and smells around you.

  • Engage in prayer. Prayer is the best known and most widely practiced example of meditation. Spoken and written prayers are found in most faith traditions.

    You can pray using your own words or read prayers written by others. Check the self-help section of your local bookstore for examples. Talk with your rabbi, priest, pastor or other spiritual leader about possible resources.

  • Read and reflect. Many people report that they benefit from reading poems or sacred texts, and taking a few moments to quietly reflect on their meaning.

    You can also listen to sacred music, spoken words, or any music you find relaxing or inspiring. You may want to write your reflections in a journal or discuss them with a friend or spiritual leader.

  • Focus your love and kindness. In this type of meditation, you think of others with feelings of love, compassion and kindness. This can help increase how connected you feel to others.

Building your meditation skills

Don't judge your meditation skills, which may only increase your stress. Meditation takes practice.

Keep in mind, for instance, that it's common for your mind to wander during meditation, no matter how long you've been practicing meditation. If you're meditating to calm your mind and your attention wanders, slowly return to the object, sensation or movement you're focusing on.

Experiment, and you'll likely find out what types of meditation work best for you and what you enjoy doing. Adapt meditation to your needs at the moment. Remember, there's no right way or wrong way to meditate. What matters is that meditation helps you reduce your stress and feel better overall.

Thanks to mayo clinic and all the resources linked above for the inspiration for this post.