Develop a daily meditation practice that will soothe your soul in 7 simple steps
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Develop a daily meditation practice that will soothe your soul in 7 simple steps
- Tracey Hancock
There’s a lot of talk about meditation and why it’s worth having a daily practice. While there are many benefits, one of the most significant is that it allows you to be in a place of peace and calm within yourself.
Like most people you're perhaps finding that there's a lot of noise and busyness in your life. We cannot stop the world around us but through meditation it is possible to feel a greater sense of control and to be more grounded.
Meditation will help you support and elevate your overall health, so I'm sure you'll agree it's worth developing a daily practice.
The 7 simple steps are designed to help you go from having never meditated before to developing a daily practice.
Your daily meditation practice
Now before we start, there'll be plenty of people with an opinion on the 'right' way to meditate. There are many different ways to meditate and the 'right' way depends on you. So don't be put off or distracted by what others say, follow these 7 steps to get started now.
Step 1: Choose the length of time
To feel the benefits of meditation aim to do at least 10 minutes at a time. As you feel more confident and comfortable with your meditation practice increase the time or meditate more than once a day. The important thing to remember is you want to be meditating consistently, so 10 minutes done daily will be much better than doing 1 or 2 meditation sessions a week that are 30 minutes long.
Tip: to keep track of the time use an alarm or the timer on your phone but be sure to choose a gentle sound.
Step 2: Choose when
Meditation can be done at any time of the day. The best way to decide when you'll meditate is to think about your daily routine. When will it best suit you to set aside a minimum of 10 minutes to meditate? Is it first thing in the morning, during the day, or in the evening?
Step 3: Choose a location
You can meditate almost anywhere, preferably a place where you won't be disturbed. It might not be practical to have a place that's completely silent so know that it is possible to meditate with some noise around you.
Step 4: Choose a style
There are many different types of meditation but rather than dive into them now I simply want you to think your own style and then match it with how you'll meditate. When you relax...
- Do you like to listen to music?
Choose a gentle piece of music, something without words, to play quietly in the background when you meditate. Sit with your eyes closed and listen to the sound.
- Do you like to hold something in your hand?
Choose an object, perhaps a gemstone or crystal, or whatever is special to you, and hold it in your hand as you meditate.
- Do you like to look at something?
Light a candle and watch the flame. Soften you gaze as you look at the flame while you meditate.
- Do you like to smell something?
Light a scented candle, or burn or diffuse oils while you meditate.
- Do you like to close your eyes?
Then close your eyes for your meditation.
Step 5: Choose a position
Meditation is best done sitting up either in a chair or on the floor. If you're sitting in a chair put both feet flat on the ground. If you're sitting on the floor, sitting cross-legged will be the most comfortable position.
Step 6: What to do while meditating
Simply focus on your breath, inhale and exhale. Thoughts may enter your mind, simply acknowledge them and let them go. If those thoughts are important they will come to mind again when you're not meditating, for now choose not to think about them.
"The goal of meditation isn't to control your thoughts, it's to stop letting them control you." The Age of Enlightenment.Monitor
Step 7: Monitor your progress
When you start anything new it can feel awkward, forced or perhaps difficult to do. But what happens after a while? It becomes familiar, comfortable and just what you do. Stick with your daily meditation practice, it will become easier and be part of your daily routine soon enough.
A great way to keep track of how you're going is to create a progress chart so you can tick off each meditation session. Now if you miss a session promise me you'll be kind and gentle towards yourself. Understand why you didn't do it and what you could do to help yourself be successful.
Ready to start
You're now ready to begin! Commit to meditating daily in a way that feels right for you and notice the difference it makes.
If you have any specific questions about meditating or how to develop a daily practice that resonates with you, or there's anything I can do to help you further let me know.
Go well
- Tracey
Tracey Hancock is a coach and mentor to people wanting to put their health at the heart of everything they do so they can achieve true success in life and business. Using the High Quality Health principles you can create a plan that’s specifically tailored for you to achieve your life and business dreams and goals.
Join the Focused Health Elevation private Facebook group for information and inspiration to help you achieve the level of quality health you need to live your life fully now.