….and How to Succeed in Your Meditation Practice
Most people don’t know this but, the most important part of meditation is PREPARATION. Without preparation, you’ll find it very difficult to stay focused, sit still, manage discomfort, and complete your meditation practice.
After incorporating a few simple preparation tips, the quality of my meditations improved significantly. I could meditate much longer than I used to, and I felt more focused and at ease throughout and after my practice.
Key preparation techniques to ensure a successful meditation practice
- Wear comfortable clothes and find a COMFORTABLE meditation seat to ensure the body is at ease
- Make the BREATH steady and soothing to calm and relax the nervous system
- Use subtle energy techniques, like chin mudra or inner points of awareness (heart centre or third eye) to strengthen FOCUS and CONCENTRATION
- Minimise distractions (I loved using ear plugs)
- Avoid meditating if you’re highly emotional or very energetic (sometimes it’ll be more beneficial to go for a walk or run instead)
The goals in the preparation phase are finding comfort, welcoming relaxation (or releasing tension) and practicing steadiness. This will strengthen your capacity to become and remain aware, which is one of the main goals of meditation.
There should also be an understanding of the main goal in your meditation practice before you begin. Are you sitting with a question? Are you listening to a guided meditation that will allow a feeling of connection?
Understand what you hope to achieve with your practice.
The preparation phase will take about 3-5 minutes and will become automatic overtime. You won’t achieve the results* (see more below) you’re looking for without mastering the preparation phase. These few minutes before your practice will make a world of difference.
After the prep phase, you are now ready to dive into your meditation practice! During your meditation, continue the steps above but most importantly maintain breath steadiness and breath awareness throughout the practice as the breath will be your main anchor of awareness.
In my meditation workshops, I go into further detail for each preparation tip and even add extras to set my students up for a successful meditation practice. In addition to the preparation tools, they learn about the most important parts of meditation, which are awareness, observation, detachment, and discernment. This is a special meditation sequence that enables self-empowerment, deeper connection to one’s self, self-understanding and self-discovery.
Lastly, students rest in the space of awareness (keeping breath steady and flowing), just BEING. You could only know what I’m talking about here through personal experience. I talk more about this in my workshops and also create the space for this enlightening experience to unfold.
Are you ready to take your meditation to the next level with a few simple preparation techniques?
I offer several options to work together online to help you on your meditation journey. Start receiving all the benefits today with a few simple tips! Find out more by visiting my website or contact me directly.
*Research shows meditation benefits your mental, physical, and emotional health. The practice of meditation gives you so much, including spiritual health too. These are a few of the things it did for me:
- It strengthened connection to my inner guidance system, which helped me make more soul-aligned choices
- It helped me stay calm and better manage difficult emotions during stressful experiences
- It showed me what was meaningful for my life and how to move towards that
- It gave me the confidence and courage to go after the life I really wanted
- It taught me how to love and accept all parts of myself, even the parts I didn’t like
Meditation may not give you the same exact results (because it’s a very individual experience) but it’ll help you look at your blind spots so you can improve those areas that need attention. It also helps you evolve and grow into the next best version of yourself. No matter how you experience meditation, it’ll improve your life in some way.
Find out what meditation can do for you today!
Main photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels
