Beginner Meditation For Everyone!

This sweet practice is all about introducing the new meditator to the practice! We walk through the mechanics of practice and then do short and easy-to-follow exercises where you can experience aspects of meditation without being thrown into the deep end of the practice. I hope this mini-practice excites someone to try meditation on a regular basis!

Transcript

Hey there,

This is Jen with Laughing Lotus Wellness.

Welcome to our meditation practice.

Hello and welcome to our beginning meditation.

I'm Jen and I will be guiding you through your practice today.

First,

Let me welcome you in.

Beginning a meditation practice can be a daunting experience.

As a clinical social worker and yoga instructor with a specialty in meditation,

I can't count the number of people who tell me they can't meditate.

First of all,

There are a lot of things that can make meditation challenging,

But for today,

We will just take note of the fact that our brains were wired for thinking.

It is normal for us to be in a state of thought and because of that,

Sitting in a state of silence for long can be challenging for everyone.

One of the first suggestions that I make is becoming friends with your thoughts.

Rather than duking it out with them in your process,

Learn to see them as friends who would just love your attention.

For a minute,

Pretend these friends really want your attention when you are in the middle of an important task.

You probably would lovingly say to your friends,

Friends,

I will be with you in a little bit when I can truly be present to your needs,

Right?

So we give those friends,

Otherwise known as thoughts,

A nod like,

Hey,

See you there and I'll be with you in a bit.

And when they keep interrupting your process,

You patiently and lovingly remind them that you will be back around for them when you are done with your practice.

So let's do an exercise for a moment.

If you're willing,

Close your eyes or soften your gaze.

Just taking a moment to sit here in silence and let your thoughts go.

Just let whatever is going to come up in your mind,

Come up in your mind.

Don't fight it.

No judgment attached.

Just notice.

Now see what it's like to go back to the thoughts and just give them a nod and return to the breath with your focus on your inhale and exhale in and out through your nostrils.

And where do you notice expansion and contraction in your body as you do this?

If another thought comes in,

Give it a nod and again,

Release it and come back to the breath.

So now we're turning from that space.

This is just a great example of what it can feel like to go through a meditation with our friends,

The thoughts.

The next cultural issue that tends to arise is the belief that doing meditation is doing in quotes nothing.

I once attended a meditation course and one gentleman gingerly raised his hand and said he was all about personal growth and development,

But there was,

Was there a purpose to sitting and doing nothing?

Well first of all,

I sent him a little love because I get how it can feel that way when you begin doing meditation.

Our instructor lovingly reminded him that meditation is just taking time for your own self in self awareness in the present moment and the number of beautiful things that come from a meditation practice.

And we'll get into that in a moment.

In a fast paced world,

Meditation can literally feel like the opposite of what we should do.

Truly though,

As you begin to have a steady practice,

You see that the idea of what you are doing,

Nothing,

Is laughable and pretty soon you come to the conclusion that doing your meditation is everything good you can do for yourself in the world.

Truly slowing down allows us to increase our self awareness,

Patience,

Loving kindness,

And we become more productive.

We end up with more time because we are so much more present and able to do our task with a single focus.

Meditation can help us feel more grounded,

Present,

Successful,

And much less reactive.

Feeling more in control of our emotions and how we want to express them is a coup for us as humans.

We create objectivity as to how we want to show up with our experiences,

Which is a whole new way to live our lives.

We're going to do an exercise again.

So closing the eyes or softening the gaze with a focal point,

Whatever is more comfortable for you.

Feel where your seat connects to the earth,

Your chair,

Wherever you may be.

Now becoming aware of the breath as it comes in on an inhale and goes out on an exhale,

In and out through your nostrils.

You might notice how your belly,

Chest,

And back ribs expand with the breath.

And now you might send that sense of hearing outside your home or workspace.

What do you hear?

And now move that sense of hearing inside your home or building wherever you are and what do you hear in that space?

And now we bring our awareness of our hearing inside of our very own space and listen for the sounds.

And now coming back into your space and gently opening your eyes and lifting your gaze.

I just wanted to have an experience for you of just being really grounded for a moment,

Just really present.

So now on to the mechanics of meditation.

First,

You don't have to look like the yogis sitting in a cross-legged position chanting Om.

That is one way to show up,

But it is so much simpler than that.

You can either sit up or lie down.

The benefits to staying seated is that you are more likely to stay awake,

Which means you're having an experience of learning all those skills I mentioned.

You already know how to fall asleep,

Right?

However,

Some days just really call for us to take it easy or physically lying down is the answer and so that is completely acceptable.

Some practices also encourage lying down like yoga nidra,

Which is one of my favorite forms of yoga to teach.

The most important thing is that you come to the practice with an open mind and everything else will follow.

Next,

You have the choice to open or close your eyes.

If you are able to and feel comfortable doing so,

Closing your eyes allows you to focus more fully as you remove one of your senses from distraction.

If this is not comfortable,

You can either soften your gaze and find a focal point of some kind.

If you don't have one,

You can play something for just that purpose.

Some people like candles,

Some people would just place an item in front of them,

Anything will work.

And let's do another exercise.

Keeping here as you are,

Nice and tall spine or lying down if that's more comfortable,

Either close your eyes or soften your gaze.

If your eyes are closed,

Know what happens to your other senses when you shut down that sense of sight.

What do you see or notice behind your eyelids?

Swirling colors,

Just darkness.

Just notice.

If your eyes are open,

How do you notice your senses when you are so focused?

Either way,

Eyes open or closed,

Imagine a candle in the darkness.

See it flicker and glow,

Sending out a halo into the darkness.

Just notice this in your mind for a moment while you're breathing here,

Inhaling and exhaling.

And welcome back again.

You can gently open your eyes or come back into the space if your eyes were already open.

These little exercises begin to allow you to have a mindful experience where you can try out the components of meditation.

So now we will go in and I will walk you through a short visualization.

So I invite you to take whatever form of sitting or lying down you prefer and deciding whether to leave your eyes open or closed.

You can gently place your hands on the sides of your body or you can place them gently in your lap.

Just settling into the body of the day,

The body of the moment,

Allowing any thoughts,

Feelings,

Sensations or plans to be present for a moment.

And now imagine placing those things inside a box and placing that box outside of your space,

Just for a little while while we practice together.

Beginning to relax and release any tension across the forehead,

The temples,

The jaw and releasing the tongue from the roof of the mouth if it's there.

And now in your mind,

Imagine that you are outside in a field of green luscious grass.

You can smell the grass and feel the sun as it warms your skin.

There are no insects anywhere near you.

Perfect day.

The warmth is perfect.

The sun is shining as peaceful as you listen to the birds sing overhead.

Off in the distance,

You can see a mountain and to the right,

You hear a babbling brook.

Listen now for the gentle sounds of the water.

You begin to make your way to the mountain in front of you and enjoy the meandering path as it unfolds in front of you.

You are walking through a field of grass and flowers.

Pause a moment to smell them.

Hear the grass as it sways in a gentle breeze.

You are heading towards a trail of trees and plants where there is a path leading further into the woods up to the base of the mountain.

You enter the pathway and the shading compasses you.

Now you hear the leaves rustle with gentle breeze and feel it against your skin.

You see birds lit from tree to tree and small animals who have homes in the trees.

You really take in the beauty and peace of this nature around you as you slowly meander on this path in the woods.

You take note of how it feels to be in a quiet and peaceful place.

On the left,

The trees open slightly to allow you to get a glimpse of a pristine and navy blue lake.

You can see the bold and brilliant yellow flowers growing alongside the lake edge and watch as the ducks skim along the peaceful water leaving a wake behind them.

As you walk down the path,

You can see the mountain and its rough stone coming into view.

The path you're on will lead to the left as you reach the mountain trail and now you trail your hand along the rough stone of the mountain as you walk along taking note of its strength and cool texture.

Pausing here just to note how you feel as you walk along this path,

The strength of the mountain,

The peace of the wind,

The lull of the birds.

And now slowly beginning to return into your space,

Your awareness and your body.

Noting the spaces where your body is touching a surface.

Noting the way your belly,

Chest and back expand and contract with your inhales and exhales.

Slowly and gently opening your eyes or noting the space you're in more fully now.

So there you go,

You did it.

Congratulations,

You completed a meditation.

I recommend trying various types of meditations to find the ones that most deeply resonate for you.

Trying to make an effort to have fun while you're meditating is part of the joy.

You can try out different areas for meditation like the outdoors,

A deck or somewhere peaceful and quiet in your home.

And begin with short amount of time and then work your way up.

The benefits of meditation far outweigh the taking of the time to be in practice.

I promise that given some time you will be so grateful you began this journey.

So until next time,

This is Jen and I'm sending you blessings and light on your meditation journey.

Reviews

That was amazing. So very helpful in learning to meditate.