Meditation is a simple way to bring more well-being, peace, and serenity into your life. Learn how to successfully master your first steps into the world of meditation in our concise introduction. Don't worry, it's easy! Together with meditation coach Petra from Koala Mind, we've compiled guided meditations for every situation.
Learn meditation: How to get started
If you're reading this text, you probably already have the most important prerequisite for learning meditation: curiosity and openness to try something new and engage in something you may never have done before.
If you're skeptical about meditation, have serious concerns, or even fear that you're not suited for it, you should know that meditation is truly simple. Anyone can meditate! The origin of the word "meditation" itself suggests what it's all about: It derives from Latin and means something like reflection or contemplation.
And that's precisely the most important principle of meditation: the mindful, concentrated awareness of your own thoughts, sensations, and feelings. With the help of meditation, you learn to focus on your thoughts, your breath, and your heartbeat—and anyone can learn that.
Meditation is as simple as it is effective. It is said to have a whole host of benefits. With meditation, you can, among other things:
Sleep better
Promote concentration
Reduce stress
Overcoming fears
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Become more self-confident [1]
More reasons why meditation is good for you:
Meditation for sleep : Beginners often find it easier to relax and engage in meditation during sleep meditation than in the early morning. You can practice it while lying down or sitting in your bedroom. Through concentrated breathing and focusing on your thoughts, you calm down and prepare your body for sleep. Worries and anxieties are pushed aside, and you feel relaxed and energized: the perfect starting point for a restful sleep.
Sleep better with this evening meditation:
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Meditation for athletes: Meditation is recommended for mental training, especially for athletes [2]. The idea behind it: You can only achieve peak athletic performance if you also strengthen your mind. The positive aspects of meditation—stress reduction, good sleep, and recovery—also benefit you as an athlete. The breathing exercises also improve your oxygen supply.
- Learn inner peace and serenity through meditation: With the help of breathing and relaxation exercises, such as the body scan, you learn to regulate and control your breathing. By slowing your breathing and heart rate, you automatically become calmer – even when unpleasant thoughts are troubling you. You also learn to let unpleasant sensations and thoughts pass and to approach them non-judgmentally. After a while, you will also be able to handle unpleasant situations in your everyday life more calmly. [3]
Learning to meditate: finding the right place, the right time
To complete beginners, meditation often seems like a kind of magic trick, something mysterious or even religious, whose secrets can only be fathomed with a great deal of practice. But it's quite the opposite. Meditating properly is so simple that you can start at any time.
You don't need any special equipment, a lot of time, or even money. You probably already have everything you need at home. And just 5 minutes of meditation a day is often enough for you to feel a positive effect.
1. The right environment for meditation: Find a place where you feel comfortable, relaxed, and can sit comfortably. This could be at the kitchen table, in bed, at your desk, on the floor, or somewhere else entirely. Put your phone on silent and try to create as quiet and distraction-free an environment as possible. Peace and quiet are especially important for meditation beginners. Professionals, on the other hand, can meditate even on a crowded subway.
If you want, you can create a pleasant situation with additional aids: scented candles, dimmed lights, a candle, a cozy blanket or quiet (!) music.
2. The right time to meditate: Perhaps the most important realization is that there is no right time that works for everyone. There are those who start their day with a good morning meditation, and those who want to incorporate meditation before every bedtime.
Listen to meditation for your goals here:
Whether it's before you wake up, after breakfast, during your lunch break, before bed, or even at night, it will take a few attempts to find the best time for you to meditate. It's important, especially at the beginning, to establish fixed times to make meditation a part of your daily routine. Initially, plan for five to ten minutes to meditate.
Finding the right posture for meditation
Everyone is probably familiar with the image of the meditating Buddha [4]: Lotus position, back straight, palms facing upward, thumbs and index fingers of both hands touching. This is indeed one of the traditional positions for meditation.
If you want to meditate in the traditional Buddhist way from the beginning, you should sit directly on the floor in either a cross-legged, lotus position, or heel-sitting position. [5] However, if you have problems with your knees or pelvis, these positions may become uncomfortable after a while. If this is the case, sit on a chair or stool while meditating.
A certain posture is important in all sitting positions: Stretch your spine as far as possible. Imagine that your head is being pulled upwards by a string, like a marionette's.
Lying down is another alternative you should try. Beginners who are just starting out with meditation often find it easier to relax and focus on their breathing while lying down. However, there is a risk of falling asleep.
There are some tools that can help you find a comfortable position for meditation:
Towel or pillow : Place one under your bottom or feet to find a comfortable sitting position. You can rest your head on it when meditating lying down.
Yoga mat : For relaxed meditation while lying or sitting
Zafu cushions : Traditional seat cushions from Zen meditation make meditation particularly comfortable due to their wide seating area
Comfortable clothing : Choose warm clothing made of stretchy material that won't make you feel constricted.
Thick socks : If you sit or lie still for long periods, you'll cool down quickly. Thick socks will keep you warm while meditating.
Guided meditation: usually the best choice for beginners
In a guided meditation, a person will guide you through the meditation. They will give you guidance on posture, guide your breathing, and perform concentration exercises. This makes it ideal for beginners.
There are numerous apps, videos on YouTube or other video services, as well as DVDs and CDs with various guided meditations. Guided meditation for falling asleep is very popular: After a stressful day at work, it helps you fall asleep quickly and enjoy a deep, restful sleep.
Take-home message : Meditating properly is not difficult and anyone can learn it: All you need as a beginner is five minutes of time without distractions and a comfortable sitting position.
Sources:
[1] Hoffmann, U. (2018) What meditation can really do: how to find the right form for you and thus regenerate body and mind. Barth, OW, 1st edition, Munich.
[2] Keim, K. (2017), 4 reasons every athlete should meditate, [ https://www.headspace.com/blog/2016/02/02/4-reasons-every-athlete-should-meditate/ ], last accessed on 20.10.2019
[3] Dehmelt, A.-K., Anthroposophical Meditation, [ http://www.infameditation.de/anthroposophische-meditation/ ], last accessed on 20.10.2019
[4] Matics, K. (2001) Gestures of the Buddha. Bangkok, Chulalongkorn University Press.
[5] Kitzmüller, K. Six Sitting Postures: Sitting Correctly in Meditation, [ https://www.gesundheit-blog.at/richtig-sitzen-meditation.html ], last accessed on 20.10.2019
