Meditation for Beginners
Meditation can lead to a happier life. While a commitment to practicing is needed, it can be life-changing. We asked three people who strongly believe in the power of meditation to share their thoughts: Hallie Avolio, Simon Parsons and Kevin Bailey. Each practice and teach meditation in their own way, guiding people to a more peaceful and fulfilled life.
Meditation: A Time to Connect with Yourself
Meditation…what is it? What does it mean to you?
In her blog on meditation, Hallie Avolio started out asking these questions: “What images come to mind when you hear the word ‘meditation’? Do you picture a monk, sitting on a barren hilltop, cross legged, hands resting on his knees, eyes closed, chanting ‘ommm’?”
If that’s your initial thought on what meditation is, allow us to change your mind!
“Just sit, breathe, and pay attention to what it’s like to be you. Nothing to add. Nothing to take away. Nothing to fix, or change or do. Just you – sitting, breathing, paying attention. You are welcome here. Here you belong. Here you are enough. Breathe.” (Jason Garner)
What is meditation?
“Meditation is a designated and dedicated time when you are connecting with yourself and your breath,” explained Hallie. “It is about going inward and giving yourself space to just be and connect with your higher self.”
“It helps me create a sense of peace and calm. It grounds and centers me as a calming way to transition into my day,” she added.
The meditation can be your own silent ones in which you concentrate on breath work or you can use guided ones as there are many choices of topics to choose from.
“Meditation is a time of silence, a time for yourself,” Simon Parsons said. “It can allow your brain to process.” It can also be prayer or activities that let your mind disengage (such as gardening). It can be doing something that is pleasing to you, but doesn’t require a lot of thought.
One note he made about meditation is that it’s not shutting your brain or your thoughts down completely. “Observe your thoughts without judging. Just recognize that they are there and take a more objective view,” he advised.
“Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges. So relax.” (Bryant McGill)
Why start meditation?
Hallie started meditation at the suggestion of a friend. She said was struggling with self-doubt and her friend suggested she try it. She downloaded the Calm app and began daily guided meditations. “It was a great place to start as the messages were inspirational,” Hallie said. She was hooked on meditation being a part of her daily routine before the 30-day trial period was up.
“The only thing you need to do to start a meditation practice is the conscious decision to do it! You don’t need fancy equipment. You don’t need a special outfit. You don’t need to find a barren hilltop,” she added.
Simon gave the analogy of the brain being like a computer that becomes bogged down with data and needs to “close some of the windows” to perform more efficiently. Meditation allows the brain to calm down and reprogram, helping it to function more efficiently and productively.
How does meditation relate to emotional well-being?
In a blog post on their website, the Mayo Clinic staff wrote: “When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.”
“The emotional benefits can include:
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
- Increasing imagination and creativity
- Increasing patience and tolerance”
How to start?
Simon gives the following suggestions.
- Start small – 5 minutes a day for 60 days to establish the habit.
- Commit to a time to meditate and stick to it.
- Choose a time of the day and be consistent.
- Suggested first choice: Early morning (your mind is on a lower frequency as you are transitioning from sleep to being awake).
- Suggested second choice: At night, just before you go to bed.
- Choose a place that is comfortable, relaxed, and you are undisturbed.
- Guided meditations are a good place to start.
- Apps such as Headspace and Calm offer guided meditations on a variety of topics.
Simon emphasized that it’s essential to make a commitment. “You have to create a time to meditate. It has to become a priority in your schedule for it to make a difference. Understanding the benefits will lead to the behavior,” he said.
To learn more about meditation, Simon recommends reading Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance by Emily Fletcher.
Hallie agreed that you have to make a daily commitment to yourself in order to see the benefits or impact of it. To start with, meditation can be as simple as five minutes of breathing in/breathing out – focusing on your breath. Or use a guided meditation which is how she started.
Hallie suggests focusing on self-awareness: Who am I? What do I want? What is my purpose?
When choosing a guided meditation, there are a variety of topics to choose from, such as: gratitude, sleep, grounding, energizing, self-love, abundance mindset, time abundance, or money manifestation, plus others.
Helpful tips when meditating
Hallie and Simon gave the following tips to try when meditating:
- Focus on your breath going in and out or focus on a certain sound.
- Create a point of reference to focus on.
- Know that meditation takes practice, so be intentional and remind yourself of your commitment to yourself. If one day doesn’t go good, that’s okay. Try again tomorrow.
- If your mind starts to wander, return to the focus point. Come back to your breath.
- Allow yourself to be quiet and go inward as it’s not about your ego, it’s about your soul and becoming connected with your inner self.
- Realize that the brain can have a million thoughts, so have no judgment with the thoughts coming in. Simply acknowledge them and let them go. Focus on breathing.
- If you get bored during meditation, consider that boredom is a thought, so observe it objectively and let it go. Ask yourself, “Why am I bored? What is my focus?”
- Another suggestion to combat boredom is to set a timer for five minutes and slowly work up to 10 minutes – make a commitment to yourself, but don’t overcommit the time at first.
“Meditation is turning off society and listening to yourself. It only ‘works’ when done for its own sake. Hiking is walking meditation. Journaling is writing meditation. Praying is gratitude meditation. Showering is accidental meditation. Sitting quietly is direct meditation.” (Naval Ravikant)
Link between meditation and happiness
Meditation can lead to a happier life. Kevin Bailey explained it this way: “There are neurotransmitters in the brain which are responsible for happiness. Serotonin is the primary one – the ‘here-and-now’ molecule. It is appreciating what you have. You are content. You are happy with the way things are.”
Serotonin and dopamine
“The neurotransmitter in the brain responsible for pleasure is dopamine,” Kevin said. “Pleasure isn’t happiness. Dopamine is released after going after something – it creates a craving, not happiness. You need another fix. You need something to feel good, so pleasure is used to get something. Addiction involves dopamine.”
Serotonin is not addictive. “The more you meditate, the more serotonin is released. If you meditate every day, you develop more serotonin receptors,” Kevin explained. “Your biology leans towards serotonin by making it and releasing it.”
The key factor with serotonin is that you can start to become a more content person when it is being released.
“Happiness is fleeting, but think about gratitude (something good). When something is going right, the body releases a good chemical (serotonin) and starts to create a pattern in the brain. The neurons start firing closer together, which is the doorway to happiness,” Simon explained.
Focus on gratitude
Have your mind focus on gratitude. Simon suggests: “Think about things you’re grateful for. Think, then feel it. Start with basic things like the air in your lungs.”
Take time to slow down. “It’s hard to be happy if you’re always stressed or anxious,” he said.
“While happiness can be a subjective term, meditation allows you to commit to yourself and love yourself,” Hallie said. “You are love and light. You are worthy. It feels good to feel good. It brings you love that leads to joy and gratitude.”
Benefits of meditation
“Meditation takes practice. It has a stigma of being ‘woo-woo’ but don’t label it. Just take time to connect with yourself and your breath. Be open-minded and non-judgmental. This will help you connect with your inner guidance and take the opportunity for a deeper connection with yourself,” Hallie said.
“Meditation boosts creativity, the ability to think strategically, and IQ. There is more mental clarity,” Kevin said. “It is a process of learning how to release yourself from overthinking and letting thoughts come and go.”
“You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible.” (Deepak Chopra)
With thanks and gratitude to those who made this article possible:
Val Roskens Tews – Author and guest writer for Landing Happy.
Hallie Avolio is the Founder and President of Sassy Healthy Fit. Her passion is to motivate and inspire other humans to live their best lives and show up as their most authentic selves. Her teachings encompass core values, neurolinguistic programming (NLP), mindfulness (meditation, breathwork, etc.), affirmations, gratitude, self-love/self-care, and simple, sustainable, and fun daily rituals. You can find Hallie’s blog on meditation here.
Simon Parsons is a 7-time Presidents Club qualifier in sales for a Fortune 100 company that utilizes and teaches mindset, neuroscience, cognitive behavioural psychology and early childhood development principles in ways that the average person can understand. These principles and practices can help entrepreneurial-minded professionals become high performers in their personal and professional lives. He is passionate about helping people tap into their higher selves and never live a life of regret.
Kevin Bailey is a neuroscientist who has been meditating for 15 years.
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Resources:
Mayo Clinic, Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress.
Other Resources for more information:
How to Meditate – Mindful
Meditation for beginners – Headspace
This article was published by Landing Happy on LinkedIn.