READ: 3 Life-Changing Benefits of Meditation
How To Position Your Body
Being comfortable is most important. It is preferable to sit up straight on the floor or on a chair to help cultivate alertness, but if you are ill or need to lie down, that is fine. The mind has been conditioned to sleep when the body is lying down so you may feel sleepier. Your hands can relax on your lap, palms up or any way that you feel most open.
Thoughts During Meditation
Thoughts will inevitably drift in and dance around your mind, but that’s normal. Don’t try to do anything with them – let them be. If you find yourself thinking about what’s passing through your mind, just return to focusing your awareness on the mantra (a word or affirmation you repeat silently) or your breath – you will soon slip into the space between thoughts.
Breathing During Meditation
When we pay attention to our breath, we are in the present moment. In an unforced, natural rhythm, allow your breath to flow in and out, easily and effortlessly.
Meditation Length
The effects of meditation are cumulative, and setting aside as little as 15 minutes a day to retreat and rejuvenate is beneficial. Many schools of meditation prescribe 30 minutes of meditation twice a day, and as your meditation practice evolves, you can extend your time. It’s better to spend just a few minutes meditating every day rather than meditating for an hour a week.
The Five Things That Can Happen During Meditation
- We can experience thoughts.
- We can mentally repeat the mantra.
- We can have thoughts and repeat the mantra at the same time. If this happens to you, place greater attention on the mantra.
- Our thoughts and the mantra can cancel each other out, and we can slip into that place of stillness between our thoughts, the “gap.”
- We can fall asleep. If you fall asleep, when you awaken and if time permits, allow yourself about five or ten minutes to complete your meditation.
Visit the BlackDoctor.org Mental Health center for more helpful articles and tips.
How To Meditate was originally published on blackdoctor.org
