Step by Step Guide on How to Meditate
Meditation is easier than it appears!
Meditation Made Simple
After you have created a sacred space in your home for meditation and prayer, and learned a bit about the benefits of meditation, you are now ready to begin the process of preparing for and making the commitment to a meditation practice. It is a good idea to settle on a time of day ahead of time for meditation and reflection. It should be a time when you feel you can meditate regularly, thus creating a practice over time.
It is important to find a time that is realistic and free of interruption. In the beginning, it is best to start with 10-20 minutes. There are many good beginning guides for meditations with and without music. You Tube is a great resource for guided meditations, smartphone apps such as Calm and Fitbit are also good sources. For anyone who has never sat still for a set period of time, a shorted duration of time such as 5-10 minutes may seem more attainable at first. It is a good idea to use a timer, anything like a wristwatch, phone, alarm clock or Zen meditation timers are readily available on the internet.
Start First with a Mind Check-in
Pema Chodron, a Buddhist nun and resident teacher at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, is the author of many books on Buddhist wisdom including How to Meditate. Her teachings demystify the meditation process and a few excerpts from her book are included in this blog.
When you sit down to meditate, the first thing you need to do is settle into the practice room and allow yourself to just “be.” Settling into the space physically allows you to be grounded in both mind and body. When you begin to meditate, you are still carrying your thoughts and emotions from the day. Therefore, the first thing you want to do, before beginning a meditation is to check in with yourself as to what is happening in the present moment. Some good questions for a check in are:
- “What emotions am I feeling?
- What are the quality of my thoughts right now?
- Am I experiencing any physical sensations right now? Pain, tightness?”
(Chodron 23-25).
Body Scan
Next, after the mind check in, it is good to do a body scan so that one can get a sense of how each body part feels in the present moment. “this can be achieved by standing up and allowing for a deep inhale and exhale” (Chodron 26). Then, starting with the soles of the feet, work upward through the entire body to the top of the head, focusing on how each body part feels. After this is completed one can have a sense of the whole body, standing, relaxed or tense in the present moment (Chodron 27-28).
Posture
“In terms of posture there is a lot of emphasis on a nice, straight posture so that one is not slumping and so the energy can move freely through one’s body. Attention to a relaxed yet strong posture is also conducive to comfort. One can actually help the mind and heart to open by sitting with an open front” (Chodron 29). Additionally, good posture for a sitting meditation involves attention to six points: seat, hands, torso, eyes, face and legs (Chodron 20).
- Seat – One needs a nice stable base, a flat bottom. It can be the flat ground, a chair or meditation cushion. It needs to feel comfortable, yet stable (Chodron 30).
- Hands – The hands are typically in a resting position on the thighs, not too far back but in a comfortable position so that one’s body is not tilted in the direction of the hands (Chodron 30).
- Torso – One’s torso should be upright and comfortable and not leaning forward of backward. One can also use the visualization of an imaginary string at the top of the head that is lifting one up. Shoulders however should not be lifted up. The front of one’s body should remain open with a strong back and be as relaxed as possible (Chodron 31).
- Eyes – One can meditate with their eyes open or closed. However, it is typically suggested to keep the eyes open to enhance the idea of wakefulness. One is meditating to become completely open to life, cultivating the ability to stay present with whatever comes up on the outside or inside. Note that the closed-eyes approach does not encourage the sense of presence in the moment that is being sought. With eyes open, one remains alert to whatever is going on rather then withdrawing, which can happen when one closes their eyes. keeping the eyes open is a gesture of openness (Chodron 32-33).
- Face – “One should allow their mouth to be slightly open – just slightly ajar so that the air can move equally between the nose and mouth. This also relaxes one’s jaw, face, neck and shoulders” (Chodron 34).
- Legs – One’s legs should be comfortably crossed in front of them. However, if one sits, it is not a good idea to have the knees higher than the waist because it could cause pain. If cross-legged position is painful, it would be best to use a chair. A chair should be sturdy so that one can sit erect, heart open, palms on legs, face mouth and gaze relaxed (Chodron 35).
Breathing
Breath awareness is one of the most important aspects of a meditation practice. Being conscious of your breath trains you in the practice of letting go, thus bringing a gentleness to the meditation as you relax and unwind. The flow of a sitting meditation practice is very straightforward. You enter the meditation room, set the timer, stabilize your mind, and take a comfortable posture. The next step is to place your mind on your breath. “Breath is used as a basic object of meditation for many reasons, but one excellent reason is because it’s impermanent. It’s always changing; it’s always flowing; it’s not a stable thing. By focusing on the breath, one is feeling something rather than concentrating on something” (Chodron 37).
Chodron continues, “When you sit, place your attention on your breath. Whenever your attention wanders, bring it back to the breath. With as much precision and clarity as possible, come back to its flow in and out. This is feeling the breath, let yourself be breathed in and breathed out” (Chodron 38). Additionally, as one works with the breath as the focal point of the meditation, one will begin to feel their body and mind becoming synchronized. One is no longer divided. Meditation can be called the “practice of open awareness” or the “practice of natural wakefulness” (Chodron 39). As one grows in their practice, they can lighten their attention on the breath, allowing themselves to be in the open space of the preset moment. One can allow everything that arises – breath, thoughts, emotions, sensations, everything (Chodron 39).
Congratulations! You’ve Completed Your Meditation
This is the beginning structure for a meditation practice. It is not fancy and complicated, but rather very personal, private and reflective. The moments of being still and becoming more aware of sensations thoughts and surroundings, will open the mind and calm the body. It is in this state of awareness that you are best able to contemplate your current situation and choose how best to move forward with next steps in your journey. This process during a job search can be very insightful as it allows new thoughts to surface during the calmness.
It is a best practice to keep a journal near the place of meditation and jot down any thoughts and insights that arise in consciousness during the meditation. You may experience new ideas for using your present skills to strike out in a new direction. conversely, you may remember a previous time when you were involved in a hobby or held a position that really fit your passions. Considering why that passion was abandoned, or why that dream remains unfulfilled, can be extremely enlightening as you consider your future path. Meditation can bring up all types of ideas during the stillness of just sitting and contemplating. This is also a good starting place to begin crafting a vision or direction for next steps in your career journey.
For more step-by-step instruction on meditation, please check out Monique Rhodes at www.moniquerhodesonine.com for wonderful 10 Minute Guided Meditations. Also check out Sean Fargo both on You Tube and on his website www.mindfulness exercises.com for a wealth of how to videos and worksheets and courses on meditation.
Check out our other blogs on career transitions and coping with the emotional side of job transitions. Be sure to sign up for our email list to receive a free copy of our Supportive Reading Resources for Transitions. As always, please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or thoughts at support@mindfuljobalignment.com. Also, you can leave your comments below. We’d love to hear from you!
By: Diana C. Stephens, PhD