If your life is full of stress and anxiety, incorporating meditation into your life is a great way to manage these ailments. Meditation also helps reduce symptoms of insomnia, high blood pressure, poor blood circulation, and other conditions from stress and anxiety. However, knowing where to start searching online can be intimidating for beginners.
Five simple tips on how to do online meditation are:
- Find a comfortable course and a comfortable spot
- Do not cross your legs if it is uncomfortable
- Clear your mind and observe the online course
- Let the course guide you to the end
These tips can help beginners learn how to relax and get comfortable.
If you are ready to incorporate meditation into your life, the last thing you should do is search “how to meditate” in your search engine and choose the first site at the top of the list. Read on to discover how you do online meditation, the tips of the trade, and two beginner courses that could be advantageous in entering the world of meditation.
Article Contents
How Do You Do Online Meditation?
Online meditation is similar to regular meditation that you may perform on your own or in an actual brick-and-mortar classroom. Usually, it begins with sitting or lying down in a quiet room that is free from outside distractions. Then you usually try focusing on your breathing, an object in the room, or even a particular word to begin clearing your mind.
If you are just entering the world of meditation, the above steps are easier said than done. For some, it is extremely difficult to clear the mind from the stresses of the day and enter a calm, stress-free world of meditation. There are specific types that are the best meditation for stress. Most beginners need some outside help to teach them how to meditate correctly, depending on which type of meditation is being used:
- Concentration meditation—focusing on a single point in the room, such as your own breath, a single word or sound, a candle flame, or a mantra. This can be difficult for beginners to perform for long periods of time.
- Mindfulness meditation—helps you observe and reflect upon the wandering thoughts that flow through your mind without judgment. You will end up raising your own awareness of building your inner balance by accepting your thoughts, not judging them.
- Movement meditation—you gain awareness by completing repetitive steps over and over again, such as through Tai Chi.
Online meditation Websites are a great way to learn how to meditate at your own pace, practice where you are most comfortable, and not feel intimidated by others around you. Most of the online meditation sites are pre-taped videos, so you can learn anywhere at any time. There are also beginner courses that understand the difficulties of meditation.
Performing online meditation does not mean you simply open up an app, sit with your legs crossed, and then begin breathing and clearing your mind. There are five simple tips that can help you get started so that you do online meditation correctly and not waste your time sitting quietly for a long period of time only to still feel stressed.
5 Simple Tips on How to Do Online Meditation
Performing online meditation is more than simply opening up your laptop or smartphone app and following instructions. You will need to follow the five tips below to make sure you are setting up the area in which you will meditate appropriately, correctly sit and focus on your breathing and mind, and then guide yourself out of meditation.
The first step is to find an online course that is right for you. Luckily, there are many courses that cost nothing so that you can try them out before purchasing the videos or a subscription. You can repeat the five tips below with different online courses until you find the perfect instructor, course, and mantras to help clear your body and mind.
Find a Comfortable Course and a Comfortable Spot
Once you discover an online meditation course that is right for you, you will want to find a comfortable place in your home or wherever you plan to meditate, that is free from external distractions. You want to make sure you can set up the device you are using to take the online course in an area where you can see and hear the instructions.
Wherever you set up your meditation area, it should feel safe, comfortable, and peaceful. For example, if you have a clean area of your bedroom and you know no one will disturb you, you can pick a spot in there to begin. Make sure you clean the area around it because clutter lying around could end up cluttering your mind.
One suggestion could be to meditate beside a small table that you can put your laptop on to play the online meditation course. You can add some candles, flowers, crystals, and rocks around it to help cleanse the area and your mind. The key to finding the perfect spot is an area where you can use the online class and feel clean and focused.
Do Not Cross Your Legs if It is Uncomfortable
Most meditation beginners believe they need to sit down with their legs crossed, as they have seen in the movies. However, sitting in this position is not comfortable for everyone. If your online course tells you to sit a certain way, try that first. If it is not comfortable, you should sit or lie down comfortably so that you can clear your head:
- Sit down on the carpet, leaning your back against a comfortable surface
- Lie down on the carpet comfortably (although not always recommended)
- Sit on a chair if sitting cross-legged makes you experience numbness in your legs
- Sit on a cushion for added softness
- Sit cross-legged on your bed leaning up against the headboard
There is no specific way you need to sit in order to meditate properly. The key here is to find a position that is the most comfortable for you so that you can focus on clearing your mind, not on how uncomfortable you are sitting. Although it does mention lying down as an option, this should be a last resort if nothing else works to meditate.
Lying down could be counterproductive in that you should be sitting upright to help aid and ease the flow of energy. Lying down during meditation may just end up encouraging you to fall asleep, not actually meditate in which you are relaxing but still maintaining a state of awareness throughout the meditation process.
Clear Your Mind and Observe the Online Course
The main benefit of online meditation courses is that they guide you through the meditation process from beginning to end. Close your eyes, clear your mind, and let the online instructor guide you to clearing your mind and focusing on your awareness. However, you also want to decide what you will use to clear your mind.
Clearing your mind does not mean you have to force yourself not to think about anything. Instead, it is using your online instructor as a guide to let your mind think, but not engage or judge those thoughts. You will be taught how to passively observe what is going through your mind in order to gain acceptance and awareness.
You should either focus on an object like a crystal, a flickering flame, or your own breathing. It may be difficult for beginners to focus on mantras in the beginning, but your online course will more than likely guide you towards that more intermediate process. Speaking of breathing, this leads to tip number four.
Breathe Correctly
It seems pretty simple to say–breath. Yes, when meditating, the most important tip is to simply breathe naturally without making any additional efforts to control your breath. Instead, focus on how your chest, shoulders, stomach, and body move each time you inhale and exhale. Do not worry about controlling the pace of your breath, just observe.
Breathing is key to affixing your mind into a calmer place during meditation, but that does not mean you should alter your breath in any way that is unnatural or unusual. Instead, breathe as you normally would while being more aware of the rising and falling feeling it produces in your body.
Let the Course Guide You to the End
Just because your online video ends does not mean you should jump up right away and continue on with your day. When you are done taking the online meditation class, slowly ease yourself from the meditation state to your physical state. This may take anywhere from fifteen seconds to a minute. Then, slowly open your eyes and refocus.
You will need to get re-adjusted with your surroundings, so if you open your eyes too quickly and stand up, it may be unsettling and even cause you to fall over. After your online session is complete, take a minute or two to reflect on how you are feeling mentally, emotionally, and physically. Try asking yourself these three questions:
- Do you feel calmer now than you did before the meditation course?
- Is your mind more clear and aware?
- Do you feel you can focus better on the day in front of you?
The more you incorporate meditation into your daily routine, the easier it will be to answer those three questions above after you complete each online course. But, where do you begin searching for a beginner meditation course that is right for you?
Two Great Courses to Get You Started on How to Do Meditation
There are numerous Websites, online courses, and apps that offer free or low-cost, subscription-based meditation for beginners. Many sites that charge for their services offer free trials so you can try out the different courses to see if they are right for you. Then you can decide whether you want to pay for the full meditation experience online.
Below are two beginner online courses that offer meditation practice that fits your schedule and needs. They vary in style, courses, and price, but are both geared to beginners who are just delving into the world of meditation.
The Essential Guide to Meditation
If you are looking for a place to start that offers a complete guide to online meditation, The Essential Guide to Meditation is a meditation practice site for beginners through advanced meditators. The guide is $249.99 for lifetime access to the site – there is no timeframe in which you must complete the course – and includes the following:
- 44 video lessons that are split into six sections and can be taken on your schedule, anywhere at anytime
- An accompanying guide that gives an overview of every type of meditation
- An online community to get guidance and connect with other classmates
- Lifetime access to all of the materials that can be retrieved from any device, your desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone
The instructor, Charlie Knoles, is a Vedic Meditation teacher and director of the online meditation teacher training site, The Veda Center. All classes are streamed and can be accessed from any location at any time of the day. The community discussion boards give you the opportunity to get personalized questions answered from other students.
All in all, you will get video lessons, comprehensive notes and worksheets, and meditation tips. Also included are healthy recipes to complement your healthful lifestyle of incorporating meditation into your life.
Yoga International’s Meditation for Beginners
Yoga International is a meditation site that offers courses at all levels that can be completed in the privacy of your own home or on the go through a variety of courses from world-class teachers. If you are a novice, they offer a Meditation for Beginners course that is specifically aimed at beginners just entering the world of meditation.
It is important to note that this is a “Members Only” course, which means you will either need to complete it during the thirty-day free trial period or purchase a membership. This members-only course is a seven-day challenge that goes step-by-step through the different aspects of meditation, including:
- Breath-counting techniques
- Focusing on the mind
- Using mantras for soothing and awareness
The course begins with an overview and introduction to meditation before entering into how to count your breaths and then Mantra Meditations I and II, and then the Soham Mantra Meditations Versions I and II. Because it is aimed at beginners, there are ample introductions to meditation and the mantras before performing the tasks at hand.
The first three modules and fifth introduction to Mantra module are short, anywhere from 1 to 3.5 minutes each, and then the other three modules that incorporate the lessons are between nine and sixteen minutes in length. This means you can complete the seven-day course without spending hours on end with each of the seven modules.
Outro
Meditation is one of the healthiest ways to melt away both stress and anxiety from your life. Although it cannot be properly done overnight, taking an online course in the right setting will help guide you into the world of meditation so that you can learn correctly how to cleanse your mind, body, and soul.
(If you are looking specifically for mindfulness meditation for anxiety, follow that link!)
