Top 5 Tips to Improve Meditation

It’s no secret that meditation helps to alleviate anxiety and create a more peaceful state within us.  And yet so many clients I talk to say they can’t meditate, or it’s too hard, or they tried and they just aren’t any good at it!  The truth is that no one is good at meditating, not at first at least!  So I put together this list to help you get a handle on how to meditate better.  Please tell me what your own tips are in the comments!

1. You don’t have to sit to meditate - I know everyone thinks they need to be seated in a lotus position to meditate correctly but your form is much less important than your intent.  You can lay down, sit in a chair, stand up, change positions, whatever works for you.  I personally prefer to lay down when I do a still meditation and I think that is just fine!
2. You don’t have to be still to meditate - Some of my best meditations are walking meditations.  But there are a lot of movements you can do while meditating.  Things like yoga and tai chi are intended to be moving meditations.  Things like swimming or cycling are conducive to bringing about a meditative state.  I have a friend who swears by her swimming mediation.  She says when she is in the water it is the only time she can “drown out” the noise of life. If you do want to try a walking meditation I recommend timing your breath to your steps … like 3 steps breathing in … three steps breathing out … or whatever rhythm works for your stride and breathing.  And allow yourself to make adjustments for differences in terrain.  Going uphill might require a shorter count than walking somewhere flat.
3. You don’t have to stay home - nature is one of my favorite places to meditate.  Take advantage of it by combining your time outdoors with a little meditation time as well.  The sound of the ocean, the smell of the trees, the feeling of fresh snowflakes on your cheeks, the babbling of a stream, the scent of the flowers, the sight of wildlife; any of these things can help to put us into a meditative state if we allow it.  When I lived in Michigan there was a park I loves to go to with a tree I called my meditation tree.  I would go for a walk in the park almost everyday and I loved stopping by that tree for a simple deep breath, or a short seated meditation, or a few moments of stretching.
4. Meditation doesn’t have to take forever - two minutes is much better than zero minutes.  At one point I was involved in a meditation group where they taught to meditate with your eyes open.  The thinking was that if you learned how to do that you could meditate anywhere … for 15 seconds in your car while waiting for the light to change … for 3 minutes while waiting for a bus … for a few moments while waiting in line at the grocery store.  Now, personally I am not a huge fan of open-eyed meditation (although you should not drive your car and close your eyes, even at a red light), but this group taught me that there are opportunities for meditation all around us and it is up to us to deliberately choose to engage is that meditative mindset or not.  We do not need to be in a silent place to meditate.  We do not have to have a lot of time.  We simply choose that for this moment we are meditating.
5. It’s okay to use tools - if you like using a candle, or a crystal, or a guided meditation then that is great!  You can use whatever works for you to aid you in better meditation.  One thing that prompted this post for me is that I have used an app called Insight Timer for 365 days in a row as of today.  I have no affiliation with the app and it is free but once I downloaded this app I felt like I was finally able to get in a daily meditation.  I like to listen to a guided meditation as I fall asleep every night.  There is also music and a simple timer which you can use silently or with music asl well.  It is flexible and it tracks my meditation.  It also shows me that there are people all over the world engaged in meditation at any given moment which I find very motivating.  The reason I am talking about this is that it is important to find the things that work for you and that make it easy for you to keep meditation as a part of your regular schedule.  The easier it is for you to incorporate into your life the more likely you are to do it regularly.

That’s it for now, despite the fact that I can think of lots of other things to make meditation easier.  What are some of your ideas?

​Happy Meditating!