Meditation 101: Considerations for your new practice
Meditation and being mindful do not come naturally to me. They take practice and they take mindfulness. When I first sat down to meditate 8 or 10 years ago, I sat in silence in my living room with my knees uncomfortably crossed one on top of the other. I was overcome by the sounds outside and inside my mind. The neighbors had just come home and were having a particularly loud conversation. The birds were having a field day outside my patio door. And my mind, oh my mind. My mind began to race with all kinds of thoughts, ideas, self-ridicule, and personal worries. These were all of the reasons that had prompted me to try this silly practice in the first place. So… I gave up my meditation practice after only a few, frustrating sessions. When I decided to try again, I had no idea where to begin, what to do, or how to practice. After a number of enlightening months, countless free courses, and many hours of guided and self-lead practice, I decided to share my understanding of basics with the hope that I may simplify your discovery of this time-honored and scientifically-proven practice. In future blogs, I will walk you through an easy practice, but for now, my goal is to provide some grounding education for the foundation of your meditation knowledge.
Meditation vs. Mindfulness
Meditation is just an exercise. When my stomach gets a little flabby, I exercise using sit-ups, crunches, and planks to strengthen and tone. Similarly, to strengthen and enhance my brain, I can train it through repeated exercises like meditation. Meditation is often defined as a set of techniques to encourage a heightened sense of awareness and focused attention. Some might refer to it as a skill while others describe it as a practice. However you describe it, meditation takes repetition to produce skill and to gain results.
Mindfulness, then, is the focusing of attention on emotions, sensations, and thoughts as they are currently occurring in the present moment. I like describing mindfulness as meditation in action. With a good meditation practice, one might develop a natural ability of being mindful. For me these did not come naturally and I didn’t realize that the journey to develop either was what I was after, not just the destination. I just thought I could sit and space out and would come back refreshed. Similarly, I also thought if I put a meditation app. on my phone and I fell asleep, I would wake up meditated. Oh, how far I have come (for the record, I still use meditation apps to help me get back to sleep when I am particularly wired at 0300).
Benefits of meditation
The benefits of meditation are too many to list in a simple blog but the science and the evidence are overwhelming. The scientific proof of meditation’s multitude of benefits dates back to the 70’s, to Harvard University medical researcher Herbert Benson’s book, The Relaxation Response . He describes the physiological response of the body when the mind is focused on a meditative practice. Specific cholinergic and serotonergic responses include lowered blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol as well as improved circulation, feelings of well-being, relaxation and happiness.
Another brainy finding about meditation is the knowledge of neuroplasticity and the development of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) by John Kabat-Zinn. This molecular biologist from MIT researched the effect of meditation training as it relates to immunity, stress-response, cancer development, and even our functionality in the workplace! He concluded that the development of mindfulness is insurmountable in producing positive physical changes, improving immunity and leading to an overall better quality of life. He discovered this through his realization that brain networks change and strengthen based on external and internal stimuli. The more we react to bad things, the stronger those responses and awarenesses become as the neural pathways develop and strengthen. Likewise, our positive responses and experiences strengthen and formulate positive neural pathways. To say it simply if you want more good in your life, you better seek, appreciate, and practice the good. Meditation is the perfect tool to become aware of your responses and to train your brain in the mindful way you wish to respond.
Posture
My old cross-legged stance on attempt #1 was an uncomfortable way to start out. Today, the market for meditation stools, moroccan poufs, and yoga blocks make that experience a thing of the past. The most important position is to sit or lie comfortably. Beyond that, you can tweak your posture and positioning to whatever depth of physiology that you wish.
I prefer to keep a well-upright position with spinal alignment, allowing for the full expansion of my lungs from my shoulders to my abdomen. I sit on a moroccan pouf purchased from Etsy because it keeps my body tall without stretching my hip flexors. My ankles cross comfortably and my hands are rested in my lap. You can rest with palms facing down for a more grounded experience, or facing up to welcome more energy to your practice. Another consideration is the dual stretching of your sit bones both down in a grounding fashion as well as the stretch of your spine upwards. A respected yogi friend described this as allowing the presence of dual energy to participate in your practice.
Types of meditation
While there are countless types of meditation and even more refined styles, there are three most common and most frequently researched types of meditation. Concentration meditation involves the specific focus on a single point (breath, word, mantra, candle flame). While your concentration may weaken and your mind may wander, you continuously bring your concentration and awareness back anytime you notice it has wandered. The benefit of this style is to enhance and develop your ability for deep concentration. Mindfulness meditation involves the simple observance of thoughts as they drift by. One can be aware without getting involved and without judgment. The benefit of mindfulness meditations is to become aware of our human tendency to judge and develop an inner balance based on this awareness. Finally, compassion meditations are often practiced by Buddhist monks and anyone wanting to focus a cultivation of compassion. One envisions negative events and thoughts and recasts them into a positive light through the powers of compassion. Other styles of meditation include moving meditations like TaiChi, Qigong and walking meditations. I personally love guided imagery and visualizations as they often take me to peaceful places, happy places, safe places and places where I can grow as a person. Loving kindness meditations (Metta Meditation) is another practice of cultivating well wishes toward self and others.
Guided vs. self-directed
A final consideration for beginning a journey is whether to use a tour-guide such as a meditation app, recorded sound bytes or a live meditation coach; or to sit with your inner-wisdom to guide yourself through self-led a powerful practice. I have to admit, I have only recently explored the potentials of self-directed meditation but have found this practice to hold tremendous potential for a much deeper experience. The guided version is great for beginners, it is readily available, and can often guide you in a targeted direction to maximize an intended benefit. Meanwhile, self-led meditations are available anytime and anywhere and can deepen your focus and decrease your thinking during a practice.
What to do when your mind wanders
Mind-wandering is a perfectly normal and perfectly frustrating phenomenon of meditation practice and is often the essence and purpose leading many of us (ahem) to meditate. By learning how to allow your mind to wander and how to prevent these wandering thoughts from eliciting emotions and resultant actions, one can truly reap the most powerful benefits of their practice. For me, it often looks like this: I begin my practice. Suddenly, my to-do list begins to grow. I think about what I want to do after I am finished meditating. I cringe when I think about what I haven’t completed that day. Before I know it, I realize I am no longer meditating but have spent umpteen minutes concentrating on the development of a new to-do list.
As I explained about my first meditation practice, this wandering of mind used to cause me to give up and throw in the towel on more than one occasion. Now, I have come to the realization that these thoughts are natural. It is innate to humans to think (thank goodness for that!). Fortunately, the purpose for meditation is not to turn off or end those thoughts but to learn how to allow them to pass through the mind without causing distraction or emotional turmoil. Now when these thoughts enter my mind, I am thankful because I am aware that they have entered my mind. You see, the more I tune into thoughts during a meditation practice, the better I can catch them in my present life, before they cause havoc on my day by soliciting an unwelcome response. So, practice, practice, practice. When you notice they have arrived, tell yourself “wandering” or “thinking” or “daydreaming” and then find a way to refocus. I often try to count breaths for a little bit, counting each breath in and out, or counting for a set of 3 during each inhalation and another set of 3 during each exhalation. If it helps, repeat a word or saying or mantra over and over. Then simply come back to the meditation.
Ready, set, meditate!
There is so much more to know. I could write for hours and hours on this topic because it helps me to gain focus on the tremendous amount of reading, learning, and awareness I have welcomed since beginning the practice of meditation. But with a basic overview of this blog, you will hopefully have the foundation necessary to move forward with a simple practice. So if you are ready to begin, open yourself to a 5 minute self-guided practice bringing focus and awareness to your day….
- Find a comfortable place to sit
- Extend your spine, settle your sit bones, relax your shoulders
- Place your hands in your lap, resting comfortably
- Lower your gaze or close your eyes as you feel your face begin to relax
- Making no external effort in your breath, just begin to notice your breath as it goes in and out
- Pay closer attention to the details of your breath: feel it pass through your nose; notice its warmth; observe how it takes space in your body, from the lifting of your shoulders to the expansion of your lungs, to the filling of your abdomen; feel the inflow of renewal and rebuilding with each inhalation and notice the release of tension and worry with each exhalation
- When your mind wanders, take note, tell yourself “wandering” or count breaths, or repeat your mantra; then return to step 6
- Whenever you are ready, open your eyes, congratulate yourself on taking a step toward a healthier, happier, and more focused you.