Meditation for Beginners - Mystical Moxie

Quick, what’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word ‘meditation?’ Is it a Buddhist monk cross-legged and chanting outside of a temple? How about a slim woman in yoga pants contorting her body into unfathomable positions? Maybe it’s a walk through the woods while enjoying the sounds of nature? In reality, meditation is all of this and more.

If that’s surprising to you, keep reading to learn what exactly meditation is. We’ll also go over the benefits of having a regular meditation practice and a simple meditation that you can use to reap those benefits for yourself.

What is Meditation?

There’s a common misconception that meditation involves silencing the mind and getting rid of all thoughts. Not only is this untrue, it’s actually impossible. Meditation is a set of techniques that helps foster a sense of awareness and develop focus. There are many different types of meditation, making it easy to practice, even for beginners.

One form of meditation is mantra meditation. This is probably the most popular form of meditation in Western media representations. To practice it, all you have to do is pick a sound or phrase, and repeat it over and over again. It doesn’t have to be out loud either. This can be as simple as chanting something like “I am calm” in your head while stuck in traffic.

Another common form is mindfulness meditation. This form involves focusing on the present, rather than obsessing over the past or worrying about the future.

Moving meditations are also popular. To practice this form, you need to bring your attention to your breathing patterns and body movements while performing an activity. People often practice this while performing activies such as yoga, running, walking, or weight-lifting without even realizing they’re meditating.

Guided meditations are another good option for beginners. In this type of meditation, someone talks you through a journey in an imagined scene. If you want to give it a try, there are a ton of options on YouTube.

There are many more types of meditation, including the one I’m going to teach you in just a bit, but this should give you an idea of how many different ways there are to practice these techniques.

Benefits of Meditation

Meditation boasts a wealth of benefits. I’m sure you know it’s good for reducing stress; that’s probably how you ended up reading this article. Some of the other benefits include:

Lower blood pressure
Reduced cortisol levels
Improved symptoms of depression
Reduced anxiety
Increased clarity of thought
Improved sleep
Reduced chance of stress-related illnesses

And those are just the benefits that are linked to stress reduction. Meditation can also:

Increase self-awareness
Improve end-of-life outlook for those with terminal illnesses
Lengthen attention span
Reduce age-related memory loss
Fight addiction
Reduce pain
Increase feelings of job satisfaction
Create a sense of inner peace

Many practioners also report increased feelings of kindness towards both themselves and others. The best part is many of these benefits can be attained with just a few days of practice.

A Meditation for Beginners

A simple meditation for beginners is the body scan meditation. This type of meditation involves lying down or sitting comfortably in a quiet place, and focusing your attention on each part of your body, starting from your toes and working your way up to the top of your head.

Here’s how to do it:

Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit or lie down. If you want to play some soothing music or light some incense to set the mood, feel free to do so.
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
Once you feel comfortable, begin to focus your attention on your toes. Imagine a warm and soothing light flowing through your toes, relaxing them and any tension that may be present.
From there, move your attention up to your ankles and lower legs. Imagine the same light flowing here, and again, release any tension.
Continue working your way up your body. Once each body part feels warm and relaxed, repeat the process with the next part. Make sure you don’t forget your neck and facial muscles.
By the time you’ve worked all the way up to your head, you should be feeling pretty good. See the light flowing through your entire body and take a few more deep breaths. You can stay here as long as you would like.
When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes.

That’s it! As you can see, meditation can be very simple once you understand how to do it. If you gave it a try, leave a comment and tell us how it went.