What reason do you have for learning meditation? These days, there are many but most come down to relieving stress and improving health. In the past, meditation seemed like something that was for people who were into things like yoga. Now, even medical professionals are recommending it for their patients.
The key is slowing down and relaxing your nervous system. By focusing on your breathing and relaxing your mind, the nervous system relaxes along with your entire body. This has been proven in many studies which show an improvement in various medical symptoms specifically and in stress generally.
But making the decision to meditate is just the beginning. How do you learn? Once you start doing a bit of research, you will find that there are an overwhelming number of meditation forms to choose from. Information can come from books or you can attend a seminar or workshop. And some of these are days long- not easy to fit around your work schedule!
Just paying attention to your breathing is a simple way to start learning meditation. In this form, you do deep breathing, such as is taught in yoga or tai chi. You inhale slowly and deeply, imagining that you can inhale that breath all the way down to below the navel. Exhale just as slowly and deeply, counting each inhale and exhale as one breath. Continue counting up to ten and then go back to one.
Generally, people will tell you that you need to empty your mind for meditation. But this is extremely difficult to do at first. Counting breaths will give your mind something to do but does not take away from the ability to relax. Breathing deeply in this manner also will help you to relax your mind and body.
Of course, as with many things, the instructions are simple but not as easy to put into practice. The first consideration is putting aside the time to do it. Quiet times are best, which is why it is often done very early in the morning or late at night. Start small, with just ten minutes a day. Get comfortable with those ten minutes before you try to add more. At first even that is going to be difficult but with time and practice it will get easier and you will reap the benefits very quickly.
