Introduction
We've all seen the Steemit-health posts that tell us that meditation is good for us. There is even a daily meditation minute through @steemit-health where you can win free STEEM just by meditating for a minute (or probably not doing it and saying you did). But what if want to meditate for longer than a minute? How do we go about it? It's one thing to follow a breathing guide for relaxation, but it is a whole new ballgame when it comes to actually sitting down and meditating. In this post I'll be showing you a few of the basics so you can get started.
1. Get comfortable
Not too comfortable otherwise you might fall asleep (I've had way too much experience with this one) but comfortable enough that you aren't going to be moving around too much while you're meditating. I like to sit in a comfy chair or cross legged on a pillow placed on the ground. The specifics aren't important though, the important thing is that you are comfortable and won't have the urge to adjust yourself every thirty seconds.
2. Breathe.
It may sound simple, but sometimes the simplest of exercises turn out to be some of the most difficult. As mentioned previously, you can follow breathing guides (like the ones over at @steemit-health). These are a great tools to help you get focused on the most important part of meditation. When it comes down to it, meditation is sitting and breathing. Nothing else. The sitting and breathing part is easy, doing absolutely nothing else is the hard part.
3. Focus
Now comes the tricky part. Usually when we focus we are trying to complete a task, focusing our mental energy in a certain direction to get things done. The thing with meditation is that it requires focus, but the focus is applied in a way that most people are unfamiliar. This takes a lot of practice. What we are focusing on when we meditate is not a task that we need to get done, but rather, we are focusing on what is happening around us, and around our minds (I'm sure some of you have heard the term "mindfulness" thrown around). This is something that seems easy, but when put into practice becomes quite difficult. Our minds have a tendency to wander and focus on other things. Thoughts float about our heads and soon we find ourselves down the rabbit hole, jumping from thought to thought with reckless abandon. This is natural; trust me. When meditating, it is less important to keep your mind from wandering, and more important to realize when your mind is wandering and bringing it gently back to the state of mindfulness.
4. Breathe.
Again, the most important step in meditation is your breathing. You may be asking yourself "How am I supposed to focus when I don't have anything to focus on?" This is precisely why your breathing is so important. Since our minds have a natural tendency to wander when we are idle, we need to give our brains something to do while we are meditating. Focusing on your breathing. Every sensation. How the inhale feels, how the exhale feels, how your body reacts to oxygen flowing in and out. Your mind will inevitably wander, so a helpful exercise is to count your breaths. Count 1 on the inhale, and 2 on the exhale, 3 on the inhale, 4 on the exhale etc. All the way up to 10 and then start over. This will help you stay focused if you get lost. And don't worry if you lose count when you become distracted by this or that thought, just start back at one and focus on your breathing.
Conclusion
I would say "that's it!" but I realize that this is a beginner's guide and only the tip of the iceberg. I'm not going to tell you that your are a zen master just because you read four steps, but these are the basic parts to getting started with meditation. A large part of being good at meditating comes with just doing it. Good luck out there Steemers