Worry will not take away your trouble tomorrow
– Wookiefoot, “Don’t Hold Your Breath”
Only take away your peace today,
Worry will not take away your pain, your sorrow
Bring it back to the breath and it can all melt away
Meditation is one of the few habits that I think will help literally everyone, and it’s an easy place to start.
A few minutes a day of sitting down, breathing, and being quiet can have a ton of positive impacts on your life.
The benefits of meditation have been proven time and time again.
- Enhanced focus
- Reduced stress
- Increased awareness
- Reduced anxiety
- Improved memory
- Better pain management
- More restful sleep
- And so much more
If you listen to the habits and daily rituals of any group of successful people, and you’ll hear it come up more often than not.
See Jonathan Levi’s “Superhuman Podcast” or Tim Ferriss’s book “Tools of Titans” for collections of seriously awesome people. If you prove me wrong, at least you’ll have picked up some awesome knowledge along the way.
The form may not always be the same – there are many ways to practice meditation, and every individual has their own practice.
The practice I describe here is called vipassana, and is primarily concerned with cultivating a particular state of mind that is often referred to simply as “mindfulness”. It is a state of non-judgmental awareness of what is happening.
One simply accepts what is, without the need to make determinations about it or try to make it something else.
It centers around simply focusing on the breath while maintaining awareness of other stimuli that enter our consciousness – without getting caught up in or identifying with those stimuli.
Confused?
Basically, we become observers of the world around us.
Rather than living in the world, we attempt to observe ourselves as though we are a 3rd party. A character in a movie that we are watching.
This allows us to have distance from our thoughts and emotions, which creates many of the benefits and allows us to understand ourselves better. We’re getting to know ourselves again.
There are many benefits to this form of meditation – including all of the benefits I listed above – but this particular kind of meditation avoids all of the ”woo-woo” that can sometimes accompany these
If you want a no-nonsense guide to getting started, read on 👇
Meditation for Total Noobs
Let me kick off by saying that I’m not here to profess that this is the “one correct way” to meditate.
Just that this is a stripped-down, actionable guide so you can get started as soon as possible without a ton of confusing, nuance-laden jargon.
Let me also say that I mean “total noob” in the most endearing way possible – I’m far from “mastery” of this skill, myself. We all have to start somewhere. Acknowledgment of our own noobishness (noobidity? noobism?) is the first step towards truly being able to learn.
What I will do below is try to give a high-level overview of what I do to meditate, along with some insights to get you started.
Feel free to mix and match these as it makes sense to you.
The most important point I can make to start off: do not stress over “doing it right” or getting everything “perfect”. There is no “perfect” outside of accepting what is right now. This moment is perfect, just as it is, and trying to force it to be anything else is simply the rejection of reality.
Another important note: the “best” meditation practice is the one you’ll actually do, so pick what works and run with it. You can always dig deeper and refine your practice later.
Position and Posture
Posture cues during meditation are primarily based on keeping your spine long, your muscles relaxed and your torso expanded to make as much room for the breath as possible.
Most of the other cues are geared towards this end, so just keep those aspects in mind and you’re well on your way.
Really, our options are limited by physics and common sense here.
You can:
- Lie down on your back, with your arms at your side (hand palm-up) and your feet about shoulder-width apart. Let your feet fall to either side. Use pillows or cushions as desired.
- Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground and your back straight. If you can do so without using the back of the chair for support, do so. Otherwise, try to make sure you are maintaining the proper curves in your spine, again using cushions or pillows where appropriate.
- Sitting on the floor or on a cushion is the image most people conjure when they picture meditation. Sit cross-legged in any way that is comfortable for you – full lotus is not necessary, and certainly won’t help if it makes you uncomfortable.
- Another possibility is to kneel, though many people find this to be painful on the knees or ankles if you’re not conditioned for it. A kneeling bench can help – I have one that my dad and I built for my practice.
- Finally, standing is also an option. Simply stand with your feet approximately shoulder-width apart or a little wider, keep your spine long, keep your knees slightly bent (or risk passing out!), and it may help to turn your feet slightly outward.
Moving meditations also exist – such as walking or some yoga practices. These are also fine, so long as the movement itself doesn’t become a distraction from the meditation. If too much of your focus shifts to your discomfort or exertion, it takes away from the experience.
If you want to do Yoga for exercise, great. Do it separately (try meditating after a good Yoga session). Yoga was originally developed as a type of moving meditation and a way to prepare and condition the body for long hours of more still meditations.
So, again, don’t overcomplicate this. You’re not going to be a better meditator because you got into some weird, painful, contortionist position on the floor than you would be simply sitting in a chair if that is more comfortable for you.
Besides, worrying is not meditating 😉
The Breath
The next piece to look at is the breath.
Again, we can make this as complicated as we want to, but there are a few key aspects to focus on to start.
The first is to learn to breathe with your diaphragm and abdomen, not just your chest.
Many people learn poor breathing mechanics as they get older, often for the same reason as they develop poor posture. Too much time sitting in chairs, muscle imbalances, and many other factors come into play.
Poor breathing starves our bodies of oxygen. When we breathe only with our chest, we are really only using about one-third of our lung capacity.
This triggers tons of potential problems.
Our concentration suffers.
Because we are behaving as though we are in danger (short, shallow breaths with hunched-over body language) our brains assume that we are in danger, which triggers the flight-or-fight response.
Digging into this too much further is beyond the scope of this post, but do some searching around on the benefits of proper breathing – Wim Hof might be an interesting resource for you.
So how do we do this?
- Assume one of the positions discussed in the previous section.
- Place your hands on your belly.
- While inhaling, try to feel as though the breath is coming into your body all the way to your belly button. When you do this, you should feel or see your hands move away from your body as your belly expands.
You may also get a very different sense of your breath, and it may make you feel calmer in just a few breaths if you’re unused to breathing this way.
If you don’t notice a huge difference right away, that’s OK too. Just try to keep this sense of “breathing into your belly” as you meditate.
If you’re wondering why the posture is such a big deal, try that same breath while hunched over with poor posture. Notice a difference? The quality of your breath will be much lower, and your capacity will decrease rapidly. You simply don’t have the same amount of room available for the breath to come into.
If you want a way to practice this breathing, specifically, I can give you an exercise called the Balloon Breath.
In this breathing technique, we will aim to “fill up” our belly with air, then the middle of our abdomen, then finally our chest.
- Inhale deeply into your belly, really feeling the air “fill up” your stomach.
- When this is done and your belly feels full, try to “fill up” your lower chest
- Finally, move the reset of your inhalation to your upper chest and fill it up.
- Now exhale fully, using your abdominal muscles to “push” out all of your air until your lungs are empty.
- Repeat for 5-10 breaths.
This drill should help you get a feel for it – try it out.
Thoughts
There is a common misconception that, while meditating, your thoughts will somehow cease to be or become “quiet”.
In my experience, this is not the case.
Instead, what happens is more like the phenomenon in which distracting noise fades into the background. It is still there, it didn’t go away…you just don’t really notice it anymore. You no longer have an emotional, personal reaction to it (“Why is that noise interrupting ME?! It makes me feel angry and irritated! Don’t they know I’M trying to work?!).
So, do not try to suppress your thoughts. This will never work.
Why?
Simple: don’t think about penguins in pink tutus.
See? The harder you try to avoid thinking about it, the more it consumes your thoughts.
This is also why constantly focusing on what we’re worried about actually brings those things about…but that’s a topic for a different post, too.
Instead, simply notice them. What is the thought about? Is it useful? Is it a worry, doubt, or fear?
Realize that the thought is just another “thing” that you are conscious of – much like the temperature of the air, or the sounds around you.
Eventually, you will find yourself lost in one of these thoughts.
It happens. It is not a “failure” when this happens, it is just a part of the process.
Sometimes our thoughts are sneaky – our mind and ego like to be the center of attention and will find subtle ways to get back in the spotlight if we let them.
When this happens, simply notice it. Give yourself some mercy. Then, gently guide your focus back to your breath and start over.
Some people find it useful to try to count their breaths as a way to “anchor” them. Experiment with this if desired.
Remember: the moment that you notice that you are distracted and bring your focus back to your breath is not a failure – it is an opportunity to practice.
We are practicing keeping our focus on our breath. We are also practicing noticing when we are distracted, whether by thoughts, feelings, or sensations.
When combined, those two skills allow us to exist in a state of awareness in which we are not disconnected from the world, but we are also not emotionally identifying with it.
This allows us to see the world from a more objective perspective. A less emotional viewpoint.
Ok, so what do I do?
Ok, now that we understand why we’re doing what we’re doing and how it can help us, let’s get to the simple step-by-step guide:
- Determine the length of your meditation. Start small, especially at first, to help you build the habit. You can always increase. Set a timer for less time than you think you can go, and allow yourself to sit longer if you find the urge to do so when your timer runs out. Eventually, work your way up to at least 15 minutes per day.
- Assume your meditation posture (see above). You can close your eyes, keep them open, or half-close them – again, totally up to you. Personally, I find myself more easily distracted with my eyes open. If you’re doing a moving meditation, it is probably best to keep your eyes open for safety reasons.
- Check in with the sensations that your position causes. What does it feel like where your body contacts the ground? Pressure, warmth, tingling, etc.
- Once you feel settled in, connect with your breath wherever you feel it most prominently in your body. For some, this is the nose. For others, the belly. Most fall into these two categories. Become aware of the process of breathing, without feeling the need to control your breath.
- Notice what stimuli arise. What do you feel? What thoughts or emotions do you notice? What sounds or smells do you perceive? Notice these things without judgment or the need to “fix” or “change” them.
- When you notice that you have become lost in thought or sensation, acknowledge it and return to your breath.
- Repeat for your desired time.
These instructions are, admittedly, deceptively simple.
Much like the instructions for standing on your hands can be boiled down to:
- Flip upside down
- Balance on your hands
- Try not to fall down
It’s easy to see these instructions and assume that this will be easy…
It often is not.
But it is worth it. Every minute of it.
If you’re in a safe place and can do so, set a timer for two minutes right now and try this out.
If you want to try guided meditations, I advise the Beginner Course from Insight Timer. I’m not affiliated with these folks in any way, but they have a 40-day beginner course of roughly ten-minute guided meditations that are a great way to both learn more about the practice and establish your habit (40 days of consecutive meditation should have you well on your way to an established routine).
TL;DR
- Meditation is a simple, powerful habit used by many successful people that can bring tremendous benefit to your life.
- There are a million ways to overcomplicate meditation, but you can strip away the fluff and woo-woo to focus on the “secular”, proven techniques like vipassana.
- Meditation boils down to a few key points:
- Assume a position with your body relaxed and alert and your back straight.
- Breath deeply and relax
- Connect with your breath and feel the sensations associated with it.
- When your mind wanders, simply return to the breath without judgment or reprimand.
- Repeat until your practice time expires
Action Steps
- Try a meditation right now (or, if right now isn’t safe, as soon as possible) to take action on this article.
- Download Insight Timer and try a few of their beginner meditations.
- Do 10 Balloon Breaths right now (or, again, as soon as it is safe to do so) and then do a one-minute “mini-meditation” (these can be done anytime, really, so save this trick for later).
So now that you have all this extra focus, what do you do with it? What about accelerating your learning speed by as much as 300%?
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