Deep Meditation Tips for the Beginner
Deep Meditation Tips for the Beginner
Getting into a deep meditative state may be your ultimate goal for starting your meditation practice, but although it is possible to get into a deep meditative state it is impossible to stay there for your entire meditation because being human means we think...ALOT.
Let me explain.
This is what I will cover in this article:
Why you can't stop thinking during your meditation practice
What the biggest myth about meditation is
How to get into deep meditation
My own story with meditation (my day 1 vs day 500)
I will share my favorite app and a playlist of my go-to guided meditations
I recently celebrated an important milestone in my life...cue the drum roll:
I celebrated 500 days of meditation!
When I posted a story on my Instagram about this, I had a few people reach out asking how, and with that, I realised how many misconceptions there are and how hard people think the act of meditating is.
Why can’t I stop thinking during my meditation?
You might be struggling to stick to a meditation routine because you can't stop thinking during meditation. Having thoughts during your mediation is totally normal, and it’s part of the practice.
Here's the biggest myth about meditation - ready for it?
The goal of meditation isn't that you stop thinking altogether.
Our ability to think is what makes us human beings!
Instead meditation has a different purpose altogether.
The purpose of meditation is to:
1. Start noticing that you are thinking, and
2. Notice what you are thinking - from an observer's perspective.
3. Then, gently come back to your practice with patience and non-judgment.
What is an observer's perspective?
The act of observing yourself during those 5-10 minutes (yes, that's all you need to begin with) of stillness can be very challenging for most of us.
After all, most of us stay busy to stop thinking about what makes us uncomfortable, right?
To observe without judgment and with self-compassion is the purpose of meditation.
It's in the letting go and coming back to the breath, the anchor, in the middle of a long train of thoughts that we learn to be self-compassionate with ourselves.
We learn that we are not our thoughts and that we are the observer.
We learn that our thoughts are how our brains make sense of the world.
We learn that, in time, we get to choose which of our thoughts matter and which really don't.
Eventually, you will find micro-moments of absolute stillness during your meditation practice.
Eventually, you will notice how your thinking isn't serving you during a stressful day.
Eventually, you will start to understand the deep patterns that contribute to your suffering.
How to get into deep meditation
As I mentioned in my previous section, getting into a deep meditative state will come and go during your practice. You might have micro-moment(s) of deep meditative bliss in one sitting, and you might have to come back to your anchor mid-thought 10s of times. Stick with it.
1. Let go of the perfectionist
Seriously, meditation and yoga are two of my favorite ways of practicing to let go of the perfectionist in me that wants to do everything in the best way, all the time.
Give yourself permission to explore your practice.
Give yourself permission to get to know that little voice inside your head.
Give yourself permission to be kind to his/her/their (the voice) and watch as you change the lens with which you see your world.
2. Choose consistency over time.
All you need is a minimum of 5-10 minutes a day to experience the host of benefits from meditation.
The important thing is that you find your minimum and stick with it on a daily basis.
Consistency over quantity of time - you want to aim to meditate every day for the minimum amount of time that you have set. Research shows that it is more beneficial to meditate consistently for a minimum of five to ten minutes than to meditate for an hour a week.
3. Download a free app
There are so many meditation apps out there. You may have tried a couple already. My favorite is InsightTimer - I will link a few of my favorite teachers and courses to get you started further down below.
4. Get clear on your why
What are you hoping to gain by starting this practice? Get clear on your why and remember that WHY when you need some extra motivation to get you started and keep you going.
Here are some benefits to meditating that you may not have thought of.
My playlist to get you started
My favorite meditation app is InsightTimer.
When you download the app you will see a section dedicated to beginner meditators and here's a 7 day course on learning to meditate if you wish to try it.
I go through phases of guided or using a timer and sitting in stillness. I would recommend starting with guided meditations to get you inspired and into a flow.
Some of my favorites if you only have 5-minutes:
The only place you need to be is here (4-minutes)
Simply Be (2-minutes)
3 Minute Pause (3-minutes)
4,7,8 Breathing technique (4minutes)
Some of my morning favorites:
Trusting Life (14-minutes)
Know that you are here, right here (10-minutes)
Waking up into the interconnected world (13-minutes)
Remembering Trust (12-minutes)
Waking One (13-minutes)
My Reflections: Day 1 vs Day 500
You might look at my 500 day milestone and think “I will never get there” but you totally can.
Real talk: I started and stopped meditation for probably 18 months before the day 1 of my 500 day streak.
Reflections from my very first attempt - Day 1
I will never forget my first day - I had just moved to Stockholm, Sweden from South Africa with my husband and our dog, Gino.
There was ALOT going on. SO many new things were happening. I was also in a very emotional place that was more than just about a move and a lot to do with my disappointment in family members and loved ones.
My mind was all over the place.
Great place to start? Right?!
I remember the first realization I had:
“Wait, what, this voice is something else! I don't have to believe every thing she has to say in there” and
“Oh wow, I have thought this thought a million times and gone through this scenario another million times. What is going on in there?!”
Fast forward to day 500
The one word that I would choose to describe day 500 is AWARE.
Awareness is the best gift meditation has given me.
I've become so acutely tuned in that I can now stop myself mid-way through a thought that I KNOW for a fact is not going to serve me.
I can notice the thought that has me freaking out over an email and really question the truth in it.
I am also so much kinder to myself. I realise how so much of what goes on in my brain is its way of protecting me and helping me make sense of this world.
I question each reaction and I notice each story that plays in my head when I am afraid, angry, sad, excited, joyful...
I’m noticing!
