Meditation made easy with our expert

Meditation is about achieving a state of deep peace that occurs when the mind is calm and silent. It is about letting your thoughts pass by without identifying them or judging them. One of the nicest things about meditation is that you don’t need much to start practicing it. All you need is yourself, a few minutes and something to sit on. This could be the floor, your bed, or even the sofa.

Meditation starts with you

What you practice during meditation can be different every time. It can be patience – especially when your meditation doesn’t go the way you want it to. And it could be love, generosity or compassion, to name a few other things. But it is important to realise that it all begins with you.  You have to first find love, patience, forgiveness and acceptance in yourself before you can give it to others. And of course, meditation could also be the practice of nothingness – breathing in and out and simply being.

Guided meditation for beginners

It is all much simpler than you think, although truly understanding the simplicity of it is easier when you have some form of guidance or explanation first. There’s a growing amount of good quality apps available for your phone or tablet that can help you on your way.

A voice-guided meditation session can help you with the proper breathing techniques and teach you how to let thoughts float by instead of trying to hold on to them. Some meditation techniques focus on sounds; some use your entire body – ‘scanning’ it down from your toes up to your crown.

No wrong way or time to meditate

You can meditate with open or closed eyes, whichever you prefer. You can do it sitting down, and once you’ve mastered the art of meditation and feel comfortable enough, you can even do it while you’re walking down the street or waiting for the bus.

The time of day that you meditate and the amount of time you do it can also vary. You can meditate for just five minutes in the morning before you start your day, or when you come home after work. All you need is a little ‘me-time’. And when it feels right, you can increase the amount of time you wish to dedicate to meditation. It’s all up to you.

And the only truly important thing is always the easiest to remember:  
Just breathe. And don’t worry. Be happy!