How to Meditate Properly:
Practice-Based Tips
for Meditation

Have you tried meditating, but your experience wasn't quite what you expected? We've got meditation tips from real Buddhist monks and mental health professionals!

Meditation can help you relax or focus, depending on your goal. It can help you cope with traumatic events and gain the mental clarity needed for important decisions. No wonder it's practiced by all kinds of people, from Zen monks to top CEOs!

We've already covered the basics of meditation. In this post, we'll talk about meditating for specific purposes and give some additional practice-based tips.

When you're anxious throughout most of your day, you're always on edge, always ready for the fight-or-flight response. This kind of uncontrollable anxiety is very exhausting for your body and your mind, but it's also treatable with the right techniques, including meditation!

Meditating helps you explore your worries and fears from a safe distance without being affected by them. Here's how to meditate for anxiety:

• Find a place where you feel safe and comfortable.
  
• Set a timer for a few minutes.
  
• Focus on your breath.
  
• Try to observe your feelings without trying to fight them. You can imagine that your feelings are just a movie you're watching.
  
• You may feel the urge to silence uncomfortable thoughts, but do your best to resist it. They'll only become stronger if you try to fight them.
  

If you feel that anxiety is interfering with your daily life and meditation alone doesn't really help, talk to a mental health professional. They can suggest a combination of treatments that are tailored to your unique situation.

Sometimes you may notice that the same negative thoughts keep replaying in your mind like an annoying song stuck on repeat. This thought pattern, known as ruminating, drains your energy and prevents you from actually solving your problems.

Fortunately, meditation can help you get rid of intrusive thoughts and regain mental clarity.

Here's how to meditate to clear your mind:

• Find a distraction-free place and take a few deep breaths.
  
• Observe your thoughts, but don't let them distract you. If your mind wanders off, gently return your focus on your breath.
  
• You can also try a body scan. Focus your attention on different parts of your body. Is there any tension in your neck? Do your feet feel warm or cold? What does the surface of your chair feel like under the weight of your body? This exercise will help you focus on the present moment and stop worrying about the past or the future.
  

Meditation sounds easy, but it can be quite tricky, especially if you're a beginner.

Sometimes your brain just won't stop thinking about something that happened during the day. Instead of stressing over it, consider journaling before you meditate.

You can also try giving your mind something else to focus on apart from your breathing. It can be a word, a mandala, a mantra, or a color. If you've ever wondered how to meditate like a monk, here's how! Monks don't just sit and observe their breath: they focus on important words and ideas such as love or peace.

Guided meditation is another great option if you don't like sitting in silence. You can find plenty of these online. Don't hesitate to try them out!

If you have ADHD, your mind might feel like an internet browser with 30 different websites open at the same time. This could mean that meditating can be quite challenging for you.

Here are some tips on how to meditate with ADHD:

• Find instrumental music that you enjoy and rely on its rhythm to guide your breathing.
  
• Calm your body with a simple repetitive motion like walking.
  
• Start with just a few minutes. You don't need to meditate for hours to enjoy the benefits!
  

You can also talk to your therapist or another mental health professional that you trust. They'll give you even more meditation tips and strategies!

Here are some more tips that will help you master the art of meditation.

Many people associate meditation with sitting cross-legged like a Buddha statue. But can you meditate lying down?

Yes, especially if you're too tired to sit or can't focus because of back pain. You can even meditate in the comfort of your bed!

Here's how to meditate in bed without falling asleep:

• Try meditating first thing in the morning when you're energized and well-rested.
  
• Open the curtains and your window to let sunlight and fresh air into the room before you meditate.
  
• Use music to keep you awake if you tend to doze off while meditating.
  

Some people swear by meditating with their eyes open. They focus their gaze on a candle or a mandala.

But as a beginner, you might find that closing your eyes helps you focus better. Also, if you're using music or incense to help you meditate, closing your eyes will help you really focus on the sounds and scents.

Meditation is not fighting your thoughts or forcing yourself to stop thinking. Instead, watch your thoughts pass by like random objects floating down a river. Whenever you get caught in your thoughts, gently remind yourself to focus on your breath.

Observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance. Don't judge them or try to control them. Just think of them as clouds passing by.

Clouds might look dramatic and overwhelming, but they're nothing but masses of water droplets. Similarly, even your darkest thoughts are just bits of language and images. And like clouds, they come and go.

It might be tempting to jump straight into an hour-long meditation session, but remember that meditation is like running: you won't run a marathon if you've never trained for it. You'll only end up frustrated.

Treat yourself like you would treat a toddler who's just learning to walk. You'd praise them for making each tiny, wobbly step. And when they trip over their own feet, you'd gently help them get back up and give them lots of hugs, right?

When meditating, reward yourself for the tiniest bit of progress, and don't be hard on yourself if your session doesn't go as expected. If you're just starting, even one minute of relaxed focus might be a challenge. That's OK. Try to meditate for three to five minutes the next time.

Meditation is about deliberately focusing on something. You can use images, words, or sounds to focus on, but the only thing you really need is your breath.

It's always with you, you can always hear and sense it, and it's intimately connected to your emotional state.

Taking several slow, deep breaths will help you relax. It will also provide your brain with more oxygen, making it easier to focus.

It's true that even one attempt at meditating can make you feel more focused and relaxed. But if you want to enjoy all the benefits of meditation, make it a habit.

Schedule some time every day. Ideally, pick a time when you're unlikely to be distracted by other people; early mornings work well. But if you're a night owl, you can also meditate at night when the rest of the world is asleep.

Meditation is easy to learn, but hard to master. Experiment with different techniques and positions until you feel comfortable and focused, and don't hesitate to talk to a mental health professional if you need further guidance.

1. https://habio.app/blog/how-to-start-meditating
2. https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-meditation-anxiety/
3. https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/blog/posts/stress-and-anxiety
4. https://www.verywellmind.com/how-can-i-clear-my-mind-3144602
5. https://www.brightmind.com/blog/how-to-meditate-like-a-monk
6. https://www.additudemag.com/how-to-meditate-adhd-brain-video/