Maintaining a steady meditation program might be difficult. With the responsibilities of everyday life, it might not be easy to find time to sit on your cushion. When you finally sit down, nature calls, you realise you haven’t eaten all day, or a stray cat lands on your lap. Needless to say, concentration can be tough.
Maintaining a practice in modern life might feel nearly contradictory on the one hand. On the other hand, this is precisely the purpose of meditation practise. The goal of meditation is to teach us how to be in our current circumstances. It’s not about creating the ideal mood or waiting for the ideal moment. In reality, it might be the richest, most beneficial moment to practise while we’re right in the middle of it.
I used to worry that I wasn’t “doing it correctly” when I sat down to meditate and couldn’t get my thoughts to quiet. I’d sometimes leave meditation much more frustrated than when I’d started.
I’d heard many times that there was no proper way to meditate, but it took a long time for it to sink in. One day, it dawned on me that I show up to meditate precisely how I intended to show up, and meditation is just the act of being in the present moment.
Being with our feelings, on the other hand, maybe really difficult. Finally, the 101 diversions that keep us from practising are merely guises for one simple reality. Having said this, here are a few ways to make your meditation practice easier.
- Dedicate Your Mind
The mind desires to feel significant and wants to feel like it’s in charge. If we anticipate this, we may work with our minds to make it less distracting as we sit.
Many people associate meditation with emptying the mind. While this concept is frequently connected with meditation, most traditions regard it to be the fruit or best conclusion of the practice rather than the activity itself.
Sitting down to meditate with the idea of clearing the mind is like to sitting down to the piano for the first time and expecting to play a sonata spontaneously.
- Try to Visualise Things in Life
Visualisation is one technique for engaging the imagination during meditation. It’s especially beneficial for folks who have strong imaginations and love daydreaming since it gives the mind a familiar area to deal with.
Visualisation may take various shapes, and you can imagine particular colours appearing in your body or seeing yourself in a natural, serene place. You can even imagine a hero, mentor, or deity with whom you have a particular bond.
One of my favourite basic visualisation meditations is to visualise my body as a light body. This meditation is plain and uncomplicated, but it has impacted me significantly. Learning more about this while harnessing YouTube sleep meditation will be a great plus.
- Lay Down and Meditate
The traditional upright meditation position is not the only technique for meditate. One of my favourite meditations takes place while I’m lying down, and it’s known as yoga nidra.
Yoga meditation is a practice that involves washing consciousness across the body, one bodily area at a time, much like a body scan. It also includes intention setting and visualisation, making it a complete package. Yoga is my go-to practice when I’m exhausted or overwhelmed. It makes me feel at ease, relaxed, and revitalised. It can also lead to my falling asleep. That’s great since it’s simply my body telling me I need to relax.
The most basic approach to practising yoga nidra is to listen to a tape. You can eventually record your voice utilising the strategies, intents, and images that work best for you. When you’re extremely comfortable with it, you can do yoga nidra without using a recording at all.
- Don’t Overlook Sensations
One of my favourite meditations for grounding is focusing on my body. I spend a lot of time on the internet these days, and there are times when I forget I even have a body.
I am conscious of my posture while I am sitting or standing at the computer. Is it possible that I’m leaning in an unusual way? Is my back straight? Are my foot sleeping, and I’m not aware of it?
This small amount of awareness is a tiny meditation practice in and of itself. I focus on sensations when I sit down to practise. It’s amazing how many feelings are happening in the body at any given time if we just pay attention to them.
This form of meditation practice can help us connect more profoundly with our bodies and accept them, especially if we are afraid or frightened about the feelings that arise. One can learn this from an online meditation class near me.
- Don’t Strain Yourself
Meditation is supposed to be easy, and I frequently tell my yoga and meditation students to find the sweet spot between effort and relaxation. This is the best spot to be if you want to get the most out of your practice.
It is not necessary to compel the mind to be calm. You can’t. The mind is similar to a toddler’s. It will do what it is going to do. It is advisable to steer it towards more positive activities until it learns how to quiet down on its own.
If you notice that your meditation is increasing stress rather than relieving it, you may be straining too hard. Reduce the amount of time you spend on meditation and try to approach it with a lighthearted mood. Being determined in your meditation practice will not get you anywhere.
The Final Words
A consistent meditation practice may appear unattainable, but it does not have to be. Approaching your practice with an open mind and trying to see what works might assist you in making meditation a realistic part of your life.
