How to Meditate, the very basics.

It can be for you. You can learn and use meditation in your life.

We often think of meditation as something for other people. If you’d like to see how meditation can be for you, I’ve compiled a few links and tools to get you started. Keep reading.

A simple definition of mindfulness: notice what is happening right now, without judgement. Practicing this skill can pay great dividends in relationships, times of stress, and for personal reflection and growth. Here are two studies (among hundreds) that document some benefits of beginner-level mindfulness on people’s mental health using brain scans: one from the Harvard Gazzette, and one from a medical journal.

I've been meditating for about 13 years, with times of consistency and times of sparseness, but the practice is always something I go back to when life gets tough because of the benefits it provides my mind, body, and spirit. Like going to the gym, every time I get started again I'm like, why did I stop doing this!? How long? I typically do 5-8 minutes when I’m sitting by myself. When I’m doing walking meditation, then I go by distance (to a specific landmark for example). And when I'm with a group, (which is my favorite,) meditations are usually about 20-minutes.

Watch a short video with the basics of mindfulness meditation—without that “guru” annoying voice.

Very simple instructions—To learn how to begin (and without that soft “guru” vibe some people don’t find helpful) here's a strait forward video that gives an overview of basic mindfulness techniques. The only thing I would add is that sitting straight in a chair with your hands on your thighs is a great starting position (and it's the one I use most frequently.)

After you give that a view, and if you feel like you want a little guidance, you might let this video be your guide for a five minute sit. Then go ahead and try it by yourself—just you and a timer.  (I have no affiliation with these videos, and there are a zillion out there like them.)

You can find a community to make meditation an even more powerful part of your life.

If you become interested in learning more, please reach out and we can talk about ways to find you a community here in Denver, Boulder, or the surrounding area that works for you and your available times. I have found that nothing strengthens my meditation like in-person instruction, sitting in a group, listening to a teacher. 

Lastly, please note that meditation—regardless of the teacher—is not inherently spiritual or religious. Although used by many (most?) religions to deepen and enrich a spiritual journey, the practice of watching your thoughts can be entirely secular and requires no beliefs or faith in any system or deity.  

Thanks for reading, and thanks for taking your mental health seriously. When you care for yourself, you also care for every person in you life and all the people you life touches. True self-care is caring for the world.