About Meditation

Why & how to practise meditation

There’s plenty of evidence supporting the numerous benefits of meditation. I recommend meditation for patients to help slow down their busy minds, which in turn helps slow down their busy nervous system & bodies. Slowing down is highly beneficial to health as it allows our parasympathetic (rest & recovery) system  to come back into balance.

There are many different ways to meditate, using the breath, mantras, focused attention & movement. I find the most helpful ways are the ones that move attention to the body. When we focus on the body, we automatically bring our energy & attention away from the mind. This is why exercise can also help to settle the mind in general – because it gets us into our bodies. However with meditation (and gentle movement practices like tai chi or qi gong) we can settle further.

The mind is a bit like a train – if we want to slow the train down, we could stand in front of it, but that wouldn’t be very successful because there is so much momentum. Instead we can turn off the engine & then just stand back & wait.  The train will keep going for a while, but eventually it will slow down on its own because we are no longer fuelling it.  By sitting down, moving attention to the body & letting your thoughts run, you have turned off the engine to the train. The only thing left to do is wait and your mind will eventually slow down.

There are 2 methods below to get you started. Do whichever feels easiest for you.

Method 1 – Feeling the body:

1. Sit comfortably in an upright position.
2.  Set a time limit so your mind can relax, shorter when beginning like 10mins.
3. Remind yourself… there is nothing to do, there is nowhere else to be, there is nothing to achieve.
4. Feel your body. Start with your hands, without moving them, how do you know they are still there?
5. Progress to other areas. Can you feel the inner aliveness? Sit with the inner feeling of different areas of your body or even your whole body at once.
6. If you notice getting caught up thoughts, thats ok! Have a laugh & then bring attention back to your body again. That is part of the process
7. If you are sitting down in this process, you are meditating. There is nothing to get good at here.

Method 2 – Noticing your breath:

1. Sit comfortably in an upright position.
2.  Set a time limit so your mind can relax, shorter when beginning like 10mins.
3. Remind yourself… there is nothing to do, there is nowhere else to be, there is nothing to achieve.
4. Notice your breath. Follow it in and out. See if you can feel it without influencing it. There is nothing to do, just notice.
5. If you notice getting caught up thoughts, thats ok! Have a laugh & then bring attention back to your breath again. That is part of the process.
6. If you are sitting down in this process, you are meditating. There is nothing to get good at here.

Further Notes:

1. Some days will be easier than others, thats OK. Its part of the process. Remember you a getting used to slowing a train that has been running for a while, it has some momentum.
2. Regular meditation for a shorter time is often better than longer meditations less often.
3. The best time to meditate is in the early hours of the morning straight after you have woken from sleep. There is less momentum at this time. However any time is still highly valuable.

I have included a few links below with guided meditations in different styles which may be of interest. They may be helpful until you get used to doing it on your own.