Simple Meditation Techniques for Beginners
A Single Breath
Breathe naturally. Experience a breath.
Note:
- A breath means a whole breath, not a partial one. A whole breath is the entire process of breathing from the start to the finish, including inhalation, exhalation and any moment of stillness.
- It is about simply being with your breath.
- If experiencing a breath is difficult, try mentally say “breathing in” and “breathing out.” while breathing. Learn more: Training Wheels Or try noticing distinct breathing sensations, such as the rise and fall of your abdomen.
General Guideline for Beginners
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Posture: Sit in a tall and relaxed posture that enables natural abdominal breathing and supports mental calmness. Resting your body weight centered on your sitting bones supports a relaxed and stable posture.
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Breath: Breathe naturally.
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Mind: Experience your breath.
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Background: Mental chatter is a background of your meditation. Instead of trying to eliminate it, benefit from it- be aware of it and also be aware of your participation in it.
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Regular practice: Maintain regular practice. If a long sessions challenging, do a short session multiple times instead. Also practice with a group.
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Preparation: Be prepared for obstacles, particularly those occurring frequently.
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Learning: Learn from meditation experiences by writing down and/or sharing your practice experience with others. (e.g. how you did and what you learned, particularly about yourself.)
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Daily Life: Living with intention and awareness positively impacts your meditation. Spending your day on autopilot negatively impacts your meditation.
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Others: Measure your progress. Seek help if you are stuck. Know purpose of your meditation and set your intention before meditation.
Common Mistakes
Practice incorrectly, reacting instead of responding (doing instead of being, e.g. thinking about breath rather than being aware of it, trying to stop thoughts or to block sounds instead of being aware of them), no daily practice, unaware of obstacles, unrealistic expectations, forcing breath, just imagining, just trying to feel good, incorrect posture, having no purpose (not knowing why meditating), having no mentor or guiding teacher, making no progress, learning nothing new from meditation.