Meditation is a great tool for boosting health and awareness, allowing us to approach life and our interactions with others and ourselves with mindfulness.
If you’re looking to start meditating or deepen your existing practice, keep reading for meditation tips and ideas to inspire beginners and seasoned meditators alike.
Tip #1: Try different styles
There is no single type of meditation for everyone so it is important to try different meditation types and styles until you find your fit. Allow yourself space to find a practice that works for you.
In addition, our experiences are always changing so it’s important we continuously try different styles to meet our evolving needs.
Tip #2: Make Meditation a Daily Habit and Ritual
Strive to practice every single day at the same time and same place. Set a designated area in your home to meditate and decorate with soothing colors, soft textures, and appealing scents. Your meditation space is personal to you; so make it unique to your needs and design it to cultivate feelings of calm, peace and clarity.
It’s also beneficial to create a ritual of your meditation experience. Use sage or essential oils to fill your space with scent or light a candle. This will help you look forward to practice.
Tip #3 Use Mantras
Do you find it hard to sit still and stop fidgeting? You might benefit from mantra meditation. The silent or soft chanting of a word or phrase can help anchor your mind by providing a focal point. Try chanting the Sanskrit seed sound, Ram, as you meditate to connect to your root chakra. This will aid feelings of groundedness, security and stability.
Tip #4: Add Pranayama
If you find it difficult to focus your mind and stop thinking through your endless to-do lists, try adding a breath awareness to your practice. Pranayama, such as Alternate Nostril Breathing, can help bring your attention to your breath, allowing you to focus and clear your mind.
Tip #5: Try a Walking Meditation
Do you find yourself falling asleep during your meditation practice? You may want to try moving meditations, such as a walking meditation, to keep the body in motion with gentle alertness. In addition, hand mudras can help keep energy lifted. Also, try to avoid meditating at night and don’t forget to sit upright in a chair or in a cross-legged seat with a tall spine.
Tip #6 Enhance Your Experience with Chyawanprash
If you’re looking to elevate your meditation experience, take a teaspoon of Chyawanprash before practice. Chyawanprash is an ancient Ayurvedic herbal jam that has long been used to to enhance the body, mind and spirit connection. Chyawanprash contains all six tastes (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent), which helps wake up the body and mind. In addition, mindful consumption moves awareness out of the mind and into the body. This helps you become more grounded and mentally prepared for practice.
Aside from the above tips, remember to cultivate love, grace and acceptance with yourself and your meditation practice. Don’t worry about clearing the mind of all thoughts; allow thoughts to come and go. Practice being the observer and use your meditation practice as a time to get to know yourself deeper and love yourself more. Remember:
“The more regularly and the more deeply you meditate, the sooner you will find yourself acting always from a center of peace.”
Alexa Bull is an Ayurvedic Health Coach, Yoga Teacher and Aromatherapist based in Brooklyn.
