How to Start (or Restart) a Meditation Practice

Photo by Katerina May

More people are meditating than ever before. The reason is obvious: it offers a whole host of benefits. Not only does it increase a state of calmness and emotional well-being, but a regular meditation practice can also help with high blood pressure, digestive issues and other stress-related illness.

And yet, there are still many people hanging out on the sidelines that find meditation intimidating or have resistance to doing it at all. Some have have started a meditation practice but drifted away. Others have dabbled here and there, but nothing has stuck. Perhaps you can relate. If so, you might find the guidelines below helpful. At the very least, it might relieve some of the pressure about what meditation is supposed to be.

1. Keep it simple. Don’t book a 10-day meditation retreat that requires you to get up at 4:00 am to begin an all-day meditation practice. This is marathon-level meditation and it requires some training and preparation to do this. Instead, just getting quiet for brief periods every day, away from your phone and computer and the noise of the world will contribute to your sense of well-being.
2. Start with guided meditation. With smart phones and YouTube, there are hundreds of sources of guided meditation at your fingertips. Following along with a meditation created by someone else relieves you of…