Meditation Techniques for Beginners: 6 Simple Tips
Meditation has helped individuals achieve higher success in their personal relationships, in the workplace, and with their mental well-being. It has been shown to increase focus, circulation, and productivity day-to-day. But introducing meditation into your schedule means making a lifestyle shift and committing to it, which can seem daunting without the appropriate coaching to help you through it.
Unlike other meditation apps, Brightmind is focused on teaching you techniques that work for you. Our specialized guided meditations focus on separating out particular techniques and appreciating them without getting confused, so you can learn the different “rules of the game” and pick the practice that fits best in your life. To do this, our unique app helps users engage with a variety of beginner meditation techniques to help them delve into the world of meditation.
Beginners, To Learn How to Mediate...
1. Keep an Open Mind
Meditation and mindfulness are quite trendy right now. Many professions, from education to business, have used meditation techniques for beginners to help decrease stress in the workplace and increase happiness in their employees. It’s easy to dismiss meditation as just another passing trend—but research suggests its benefits are real. An important thing to keep in mind for beginners to learn how to meditate, then, is keeping an open mind.
Though some people may believe that meditation has a bit of a “millennial” vibe right now, that shouldn’t deter you. People of all ages can take up the practice, from children to seniors, and incorporate it into their lives in a way that works for them. Meditating is about finding a practice that works for your life. Whether that means keeping it short or really dedicating the time to sit and practice, allow yourself to keep an open mind to whatever works for you.
Brightmind offers over 200 meditations from expert coaches to help beginners learn how to meditate and focus. As you begin with our introductory curriculum, keep an open mind and choose an area of your life to target. Perhaps you struggle with sleep patterns and require a pre-bedtime meditation, or maybe you need to learn to focus more intently on the task at hand and increase your attention span to heighten productivity. Whatever your reasons for choosing to use meditation in your daily practice, Brightmind’s app can make it work for you.
2. Know That It’s Not “One Size Fits All”
There is a misconception surrounding meditation that you need to follow a certain set of rules and guidelines to become an expert. To help with this, it’s sometimes beneficial for beginners to think of meditation like the word “sport”.
The word “sport” can refer to a variety of different games and many different rules without actually referring to any one sport in particular. The same can be said for “meditation.” There are a variety of meditation practices and techniques that vary widely and yet all make up the general practice of meditation. This is important for beginners to understand, as many starting practitioners become frazzled and confused due to conflicting instructions or a sense that they’re “doing it wrong.” Just like the particular game of soccer has its own set of specialized rules and techniques, varying meditation practices have their own individualized techniques and ways of helping beginners learn how to meditate. For beginners, learning how to meditate means finding the technique (aka the “game”) that is most effective for you.
Brightmind’s algorithmic approach, for example, helps teach meditation techniques for beginners by exploring the best ways to integrate a daily meditation practice into your everyday schedule. A great alternative to retreats or intensive courses that may be too overwhelming for a beginner, our app provides expert coaching to help you personalize your practice right at home, allowing you to adapt what works best for you into your lifestyle. Within the first four guided meditations in the Brightmind curriculum, beginners are exposed to ten different ways to focus on their meditation practice, allowing them to find a technique that is fun, interesting, or comes naturally to them.
3. Try Different Forms of Meditation
Many retreats and classes will introduce you to just one or two meditation techniques. However, it can be helpful for beginners learning how to meditate to be exposed to several different forms of practice. That way, you can find the one that speaks to you. Some helpful meditation techniques for beginners include:
Sound Meditation
A great introductory technique for beginners, sound meditation enhances your cognitive abilities through focusing on sound. This is helpful in allowing beginners to learn how to practice with a neutral experience that doesn’t involve thoughts or feelings. Since sounds are external, and generally emotionally neutral, this gives beginners a peaceful and simple way to develop their concentration skills.
Using Affirmations
Using affirmations can be another helpful meditation technique for beginners. By choosing a powerful word or phrase to repeat during meditation, beginners can help cultivate goals and positivity in their practice. Learning how to connect your practice to a goal that’s relevant to you right now (such as using the phrase “I love and support myself”) can offer a personal and easy way for beginners to learn how to meditate.
Visualization
This meditation technique for beginners focuses on using certain images in order to align your body and spirit. Using these techniques, beginners approach how to meditate through imagining a particular image such as imaging their own body growing more relaxed with each breath. This practice can be great for combating chronic conditions involving pain and stress as it focuses the mind on a positive image.
4. Choose Your Meditation Locale
For beginners, learning how to meditate is made a bit less daunting when you have a devoted meditation area. As you begin your practice, you may want to experiment with different locations in your home or office. Some advanced practitioners find that they can practice anywhere, but when you are beginning your practice, training your mind usually requires a distraction-free zone.
For many beginners, it is helpful to locate a quiet place where you can sit or lie down comfortably. Having a blanket, yoga mat, or a variety of pillows nearby to help you get comfortable as you are starting your practice can help eliminate distracting thoughts about discomfort.
5. Establish Your Daily Practice
It’s not always easy to take an idea and make it into a habit. Many well-intentioned beginners have begun to learn about meditation, only to abandon their practice a few weeks in. Learning how to avoid this involves a bit of preparation work. Much like you would schedule a sports practice, daily workout, or a meeting, for beginners, learning how to meditate requires commitment. Here are some great ways to establish your new routine:
Put your daily practice on the calendar so that you are held accountable.
Practice at the same time every day so that it becomes routine. Most people find that meditation works best in the morning before other things grab their attention.
Use an app to customize your routine and help record your progress. This can increase motivation.
It’s easy to de-prioritize a new habit you are trying to establish. For beginners, learning meditation techniques requires consistent practice. Luckily, Brightmind has set up gentle reminders through their app to encourage and remind you to meditate at a set time each day.
6. Enjoy the Benefits of Meditation
Once you have successfully established a daily practice, you’ll start to notice the amazing benefits you’ve heard so much about. The most exciting part of learning how to meditate for beginners is witnessing these benefits for the first time.
Successful people have used meditation to help enhance many aspects of their lives, from focusing on obtaining a goal to weight loss, to improving relationships. Brightmind’s meditation techniques for beginners can help you reap those benefits as well as you move through the most challenging stages of your life.
Try Brightmind’s Customized App
You’ll see the best benefits with your meditation routine if you establish it with your own needs in mind. With a simple questionnaire, we’ll help you discover which meditation techniques will work best in order to increase productivity and achieve higher focus and attention. Let the journey begin and download our mindfulness app today.