Have you ever been curious about meditation and are unsure where to begin or what it is? Pema Chodron says, “Meditation practice awakens our trust that the wisdom and compassion that we need are already within us. It’s vital to help know ourselves: our rough parts and our smooth parts, our passion, aggression, ignorance, and wisdom.” I like this quote because it speaks to my own understanding of meditation – creating space to be with ourselves. Whether or not we incorporate breathing, chanting, specific poses, etc. during this time is up to us, and there is no right way or wrong way to meditate. However, some recommendations for meditation and mindfulness exercises can help develop your practice. This blog explores some of the recommendations and tips for beginners.
What is Your Intent?
When starting your practice, it may be helpful to begin with identifying your intention. Do you wish to connect more with or discover a type of spirituality? Or, connect more to yourself and the present, or combine spirituality with being more present? An important consideration when beginning a practice is recognizing that there are various forms of meditation. Some are derived from religious and spiritual traditions. These include mantra meditation, guided meditation, mindfulness meditation, loving-kindness meditation, transcendental meditation, centering prayer, yoga meditation, amongst others. Also, some do not include the religious or spiritual components and focus on the technique and a mindfulness approach. After naming your intention, do some research on the different styles of meditation. Perhaps try a few that appeal to you. In the beginning stage, and throughout your meditation practice, be curious and compassionate with yourself in the process.
Starting Your Practice
Starting your meditation practice can seem overwhelming and create anxiety in the beginning. Some people worry if they are “doing it right”, for example. However, taking some small steps can help build the foundation for your practice right from the start and ease that anxiety. Here, Tara Brach, author and teacher of meditation, shares her experience in teaching meditation to beginners. In a nutshell, Tara breaks down meditation into two domains, concentration and mindfulness. Concentration includes focusing on a single object, such as breathing or a mantra, to quiet and collect the mind. Mindfulness focuses on “opening the mind in a very conscious way” to ground oneself in the present moment.
At the beginning of your practice, concentration provides the groundwork that allows you to work towards mindfulness. Tara shares that for her beginning students, there is more emphasis on concentration than mindfulness. Other meditations also recommend beginners start mindfulness exercises such as breathing or grounding a few minutes a day to begin their practice. Finally, starting with some guided meditations may help you to get an idea of what meditation may be a good fit for you. One example is a guided sleep meditation, presented by one of our therapists at the practice, Maddie McAllister.
Common Challenges in Meditation
One of the biggest misconceptions people have about meditation involves thoughts. Some think the goal of meditation is that it will help to stop thoughts. However, it is important to remember that this type of goal is unrealistic nor attainable. It is important to remember that the human brain has thousands of thoughts every day, and thoughts popping up during meditation are not a sign that it isn’t working or that you’re doing it wrong. It is just the brain doing what it usually does. Therefore, it is helpful to think of meditation as a way to develop a relationship with your thoughts. Meditation provides space to cultivate an awareness of your thoughts without engaging in them or judging them. Finally, Pema Chodron’s approach to working with our thoughts during meditation is to simply notice when you’re having thoughts, not to judge them, and simply label it as “thinking”, and move on with your meditation.
Using the Acronym RAIN
Personally, one of the mindfulness exercises that I practice regularly is one developed by Tara Brach. The acronym RAIN is a tool that you can add to your toolbox that helps cultivate both mindfulness and self-compassion with self curiosity rather than self judgment. Using RAIN requires four steps:
- Recognize what is happening(acknowledge thoughts, feelings, behaviors)
- Allow the experience to be there, just as it is(allowing takes us out of fixing or avoiding)
- Investigate with interest and care(make space for curiosity in the body, and experience)
- Nurture with self-compassion (Inquire what you may need)
I like this mindfulness exercise because I can use it as a stand-alone meditation or when challenging situations arise. The steps in RAIN deepen our understanding of ourselves and help us identify our internal emotions, and beliefs about ourselves and others, and provide space to work with ourselves in a non-judgmental way.
If you have decided that you would like to start your meditation practice, the tools and suggestions in this blog can help get you started. By identifying your intention, learning the various types of meditation, discovering what techniques work and don’t work for you, and cultivating an attitude of self-compassion, you will discover what your meditation practice will look like for you. What do you need to begin your practice? What parts of this blog, if any, resonate for you?
Are you interested in exploring meditation? Check out our virtual monthly meditation group!
What are your favorite ways to meditate? Join the conversation in the comments below!
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