In this post, I’m going to share the best 3 ways to start meditation for beginners. Be sure to check out this post!
Meditation is a practice that can be beneficial for everyone. From soothing anxiety to reducing stress, many good things come from this technique. However, it might seem scary to beginners. How do you start meditating if you have no idea what to do?
There are three main ways to start meditation as a beginner. These include:
- Using a guided meditation
- Going to a class in-person or by yourself
- Taking it on yourself
All of these are great ways for a beginner to get started, although it’s much easier said than done, and each of these beginnings come with guidelines to help ensure your success.
Keep on reading to learn more about how you can begin meditation with little experience. We’ll delve a little more into the three ways so that you can feel confident enough to start your meditation journey. Everyone has a different way they might prefer, and that is okay. Every starting point is a good starting point.
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How do you Start Meditation for Beginners?
Meditation is an art form that takes a lot of practice. It is not something that you can jump right into and be perfect at doing. The longer that you put effort into it, the better you will become. This skill is not for everyone. Such a simple act requires stubbornness and the ability to push through that not everyone can have.
Starting can be a confusing point for beginners. There is a multitude of advice sources online, but which is the right one? Who knows what they are talking about? We’ll discuss beginning points for beginners in the rest of this piece and guide you towards what might be right for you as a beginner.
Can You Teach Yourself to Meditate?
As a beginner, a question you may have is if you can teach yourself to meditate. After all, it seems like a simple enough practice. In short, you can teach meditation to yourself. However, it can be frustrating if you don’t have an expert to guide you along in your first few steps.
If you decide to teach yourself to meditate, you should be prepared to be patient and do a lot of research. If you practice for long enough and are persistent, you will be able to master meditation in no time at all. If you find yourself frustrated, you should turn to an outside source for instruction.
How Long Should You Meditate for Beginners?
The length of meditation varies based on the person. Experienced meditators can go at it for hours on end, never falling out of their meditative state. Newbies might have trouble holding still for even five minutes. This inability to be till is okay. Beginners should start small and work their way up over. For instance, you might try to meditate for a few minutes on your first try.
Starting slow as a beginner has many benefits. This is because:
- It eases frustration: Trying to meditate for a long stretch on your first try can be aggravating. Testing it out for a few minutes will keep you from quitting the technique altogether and show you areas where you need to improve.
- It allows you to build up: You can add a minute or so whenever you feel you have mastered the amount of time you are on. You will be able to adjust much better than if you went for it all at once.
- It allows mastery: With shorter times, you can master basic techniques before going for longer. A basic understanding of meditation techniques will serve you well as you move into longer and longer meditation sessions.
As a beginner, try meditating for less than five minutes at a time. It will benefit you as you move into longer and more complex sessions. Setting a foundation is critical so that you have something to fall back on if you get frustrated.
3 Ways to Start Meditation for Beginners
As we discussed above, there are three main ways that a beginner can start meditation. All of them are different approaches and vary in usefulness depending on your learning style. You may get more out of one option than you would out of another.
If you have a desire to start mediation, consider one of these three ways. You are sure to gain all the basics by learning one of these methods. It is up to you to decide which one works best for you.
Use a Guided Meditation
A beginner might use guided meditation to start their journey. These are often videos that are prerecorded with a meditation to follow. Guided meditations will have verbal instructions that will guide you in breathing patterns and body positions. All you need to do is listen to the directions given.
Guided meditations can be found on:
- YouTube: Guided meditations on YouTube are plentiful. They range in quality, so you will need to examine your prospects before deciding on one. You can often tell that one is quality if there are a lot of views under the video. You can find almost any kind of meditation on YouTube. You can even find the best meditation for sleep on YouTube.
- The App Store: The app store has many apps that can be purchased or downloaded for free. Some have a free trial, from which you can then decide if you want to buy the app or not. There are plenty of them out there for you to experiment with.
- Music streaming: Often, music streaming platforms have guided meditations that you can listen to. All you need to do is search the term or research an artist online. For those who have a subscription to the streaming service, these are free.
Someone who wants to learn meditation by themselves but likes instruction might prefer this platform. It gives guidance without being pushy or interrupting the meditation session. Most are free, but some must be paid for. There are quality versions for either price, though the paid options are often better in many instances.
Some voices on the guided meditation may be more helpful to you than others. It’s up to you to decide what will work best for you. That way, you can get the best start possible with a speaker that feels comfortable with you. If a voice makes you irritated or frustrated, you should pick a different one for the best possible experience.
Take a Class
If you are someone who learns better with other people, you might want to take a meditation course to get started. These can be done online or in-person with an instructor. They can even come to your home if the group offering classes is small enough. There are many online meditation groups for you to be a part of!
Taking a class is like a guided meditation, but the teacher is right there. They can correct you as you go, and you can ask them any question that you might have. You can’t do that with a guided meditation or by yourself. Taking a class can be beneficial because:
- You can relax: If you have a question, you know that you have someone you can turn to. This is relaxing to many. You can embrace learning without the fear of doing everything wrong unknowingly.
- You can get real-time corrections: Rather than playing a guessing game as to whether you are doing it right, an in-person teacher can make corrections to your posture and breathing as you go.
- You get to learn in a group: Rather than being all by yourself, in a class, you can learn with a bunch of people. Some might find this comforting since nobody knows what they are doing. You are all on the same level.
If you are social and feel more comfortable learning in a group, a class is a good way for you to begin your meditation journey. You can research them online. Often, meditation classes are held in community centers of small businesses. You should check out your area to see what options are available to you.
Meditation classes come in a variety of prices. Often, meditation courses are intertwined with a yoga class that can be beneficial as well. Research to ensure that the class you are taking has an instructor that knows what they are doing. Once you have confirmed your price, teacher, and location, you will be on your way.
Attempt Starting by Yourself
As we briefly discussed above, it is possible to teach yourself how to meditate. This is a viable option for a beginner. If you do decide to start all by yourself, there are a few items that you can do beforehand to make your attempt easier.
These include:
- Researching: You should do all your research before diving into a meditation session. Know what techniques you can use, breathing exercises to follow, and positions to sit in. This information can be found both online and in books. Knowing your stuff before you begin will make the process less frustrating.
- Designating a space: You should set aside a specific location for you to meditate. This way, you begin to associate the sensation with that space. This can be helpful as you master meditation.
- Setting aside a time: Though you may only be meditating for a few minutes your first time, you should set aside at least half an hour, if not more. This will give you plenty of time to experiment and figure out what you are doing.
From this point, you can go about attempting mediation by yourself. If you get stuck, you can do a little more research and find advice from those who have experience in the field. There are always options available to you on the internet or from a friend that has taken on this challenge before.
This is the hardest route to pursue. If you find yourself getting flustered, don’t give up. Take a break and come back to it later. The more you strive to master it, the less complex it will become. In no time at all, you will be able to approach the exercise without any kind of hesitation.
Conclusion
Meditation is a useful skill to have. It can reduce stress, ease anxiety, and allow you to become more at ease with the body that you are in. (There are some specific mindfulness meditations for anxiety if you need it.) A beginner might struggle at first, wondering how they might begin their meditation journey. It can seem like a daunting and impossible process.
The three main ways a beginner can start meditation are by using a guided format, going to a class, or taking it on themselves. All of these are valid ways to gain a base knowledge and push on in their journey. Whatever you choose, you are sure to understand the basics of meditation in no time at all.
