Meditation always strikes me as sex in high school: everyone talks about it but nobody really knows how to do it.. and everyone thinks everyone else is doing it and so everyone claims they are doing it too.
Jokes aside, what form/flavour of meditation do you do and how did you get started?
There is always something more appealing to do than to meditate. That's what makes it difficult but also more important than ever in my opinion. The practice itself isn't actually hard -- it requires nothing but a willingness and a short block of uninterrupted time.
Anyway, to answer your question:
I've been meditating for about 9 years now. I started with Vipassana, which is probably the most beginner friendly and popular these days. I believe apps like Headspace, Calm, etc. use this technique as a foundation. I used Headspace for the first couple years. I thought it was much better then than it is now. I also used Tara Brach's meditations, which you can find freely available online or in podcast form.
The basics are as follows:
Sit in a relaxed but alert posture (sometimes I sit on a meditation cushion, sometimes I lie down), relax your body from top to bottom. I start with top of my head and slowly and deliberately relax all the muscles in my forehead, temples, jaws, neck, shoulders etc all the way down. Take deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. After a few minutes of this my body feels sufficiently relaxed. I find it crucial to quiet the body down first before being able to focus my attention on my breath.
Then I stop trying to control my breathing and just follow it. Distracting thoughts will come up, but when you realize that happens just bring your focus back to your breath. The coming back is the important part. Keep doing this and the spans of time focused on the breath become longer, the distractions shorter and less frequent. Anchors might help you stay focused longer. For example, you can count 1 on the in breath, 2 on the out, up to 10 then repeat. Or you can visualize the breath as a color, flowing in and out of you. Attaching another element to the breath in this way makes it easier to focus on.
Sometimes, but not every time, I will reach a state that feels warm and euphoric. There is a deep sense of calm and okay-ness. It's great to access this but I try not to control it or get too excited about it, otherwise I lose it.
I could go on and on about this. Let me know if you'd like to know more. My practice has changed quite a bit over the years but the basics are still the same: sit, relax, breathe, focus.
metahatem|4 years ago
Jokes aside, what form/flavour of meditation do you do and how did you get started?
ambivalents|4 years ago
Anyway, to answer your question:
I've been meditating for about 9 years now. I started with Vipassana, which is probably the most beginner friendly and popular these days. I believe apps like Headspace, Calm, etc. use this technique as a foundation. I used Headspace for the first couple years. I thought it was much better then than it is now. I also used Tara Brach's meditations, which you can find freely available online or in podcast form.
The basics are as follows:
Sit in a relaxed but alert posture (sometimes I sit on a meditation cushion, sometimes I lie down), relax your body from top to bottom. I start with top of my head and slowly and deliberately relax all the muscles in my forehead, temples, jaws, neck, shoulders etc all the way down. Take deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. After a few minutes of this my body feels sufficiently relaxed. I find it crucial to quiet the body down first before being able to focus my attention on my breath.
Then I stop trying to control my breathing and just follow it. Distracting thoughts will come up, but when you realize that happens just bring your focus back to your breath. The coming back is the important part. Keep doing this and the spans of time focused on the breath become longer, the distractions shorter and less frequent. Anchors might help you stay focused longer. For example, you can count 1 on the in breath, 2 on the out, up to 10 then repeat. Or you can visualize the breath as a color, flowing in and out of you. Attaching another element to the breath in this way makes it easier to focus on.
Sometimes, but not every time, I will reach a state that feels warm and euphoric. There is a deep sense of calm and okay-ness. It's great to access this but I try not to control it or get too excited about it, otherwise I lose it.
I could go on and on about this. Let me know if you'd like to know more. My practice has changed quite a bit over the years but the basics are still the same: sit, relax, breathe, focus.