A beginner’s guide to meditation
New to meditation? Need some help getting started? You’re in luck! Kino MacGregor and the Omstars team have put together this simple guide to help you get started on a daily meditation practice. Check out these seven simple steps and give it a try… and let us know what you think!
Meditating might seem a lot more complicated than it actually is. You don’t need to have a calm, quiet mind in order to meditate. In fact, meditation is designed to help you create a calm, quiet mind, even if you feel like your thoughts are constantly all over the place.
Step 1: Find a quiet place where you can sit comfortably for at least five minutes, either in a chair, on the floor, in your bed — anywhere that works for you.
Step 2: Sit up tall and find physical stillness.
Step 3: Begin to relax, softening all the muscles in the body from head to toe. Don’t forget to unclench your jaw.
Step 4: Become aware of your breath, observing each inhale and exhale.
Step 5: If your mind starts wandering, just notice your thoughts, and then let them go, bringing your awareness back to your breath.
Step 6: Continue for at least five minutes, coming back to your breath every time your mind starts to wander.
Step 7: Repeat these steps every day.
See? Meditation can be as simple as sitting still for five minutes and just focusing on your breath. Even if your mind is particularly active and seems to be jumping around, simply sitting down for five minutes and making an effort to bring your mind back to your breath, still counts as meditation.
The best way to get the most out of a meditation practice is to do it every day, with consistency. Think you can find five minutes every day to sit down and meditate? Give it a try for 30 days and let us know how it goes! It might just change your life.
Kino MacGregor is an international Ashtanga Yoga teacher and the founder of the Omstars online yoga platform. Visit Omstars.com to start your free 14-day trial. Get social on Instagram @omstarsofficial
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