Meditating is quite possibly the most powerful tool to elevating your life, becoming happier, and manifesting your true desires. At the same time, meditating is super intimidating to beginners who have never done it. It may seem like an advanced yogic practice and you’re going to do something wrong, or maybe, it simply seems daunting to sit still for so long. Either way, this mediation guide for beginners will help make meditation more approachable so that you, too, can learn how to become mindful AF.
The truth about meditation is that it’s actually the simplest thing on Earth. Sure, we can add varieties to our mediation to hopefully gain more insight or simply to keep the learning process entertaining, but when beginners are just learning to meditate, it’s unbelievably simple.
You sit down. You close your eyes. And you listen. Not to what’s around you, but to what’s inside.
That’s it.
But maybe the process still seems daunting.
This beginners guide to meditating is all about looking within to uncover a deeper sense of self awareness
We’re going to break down exactly how beginners can incorporate a routine mediation practice into their life and why it’s so powerful for your being.
Table of Contents
The Benefits of Meditating for Beginners
I can’t stress enough the importance of meditating. You have to make time to know what’s going on in your mind to see what needs to change.
When you change your thoughts, you can change your life.
Not only does this help you bring the best version of yourself to your life, but it is also KEY to:
- Redefining your intentions,
- Achieving your goals,
- And living your dream life.
Maybe deep down in your subconscious, you have a hope or desire that’s different from the path that you’re currently on.
Related: Why I Did a Social Media Detox for 1 Month
Maybe you don’t really like your job, maybe you don’t really like your current friend group, maybe you don’t really like where you live, your routine, or your lifestyle. Or maybe you don’t really want to go to that college, maybe you don’t really like that sport, maybe you don’t really want to follow the script you’ve been told you have to follow.
Maybe you want to see what you’re really capable of in a different way.
Whatever it is you’re feeling or thinking deep within, meditating makes space to discover those desires, or at the very least, remember why you do what you’re doing on your life path.
Quite simply, meditating is checking in. In the end, our life is about our experience, and if we want to affect or improve our life experience, we must first understand where we’re coming from, what we want, and what’s holding us back.
Related – How To Teach Your Kids Mindfulness
Meditating is also an incredible way to recognize our negative thought patterns and self-limiting beliefs.
If you’re not 100% happy in this moment, I highly encourage you to sit down and meditate on why exactly that is.
As daunting as meditating sounds, it’s really quite simple. You sit down (does not necessarily have to be full lotus btw), you close your eyes, and you set a timer for anywhere between 5 minutes to 30 minutes (or more!)
In meditation, you goal is to let the layer of worries or thoughts about the external world fall away to make room for your inner world.
Do this every day for a month and I PROMISE YOU, you will be a new person✨
You will be ignited with new energy, you will have be full of thoughts and ideas you never knew you had, and you may even decide to defy the script you’ve been told you have to follow and go chase your dreams.
From a physical health standpoint, it’s absolutely incredible what mediating can do for your well being.
Some health benefits of meditating include:
- Reduced stress & anxiety
- Increased optimism
- Reduced depression
- Improved attention span
- Increased empathy
- Improved mental discipline
- Better sleep quality
- & more
Related – How to Live the Good Life: Health, Wellness, and Happiness
Overcoming Intimidation
A big part of why mediating seems intimidating is because of the preconceived notions we have on meditating.
Spiritual identities are a common struggle for beginning meditators. Instead of dwelling on the image, turn inward and unleash your true SELF!
It doesn’t matter what it is, there is something you associate with meditating whether you know it or not and it’s actually the biggest obstacle preventing so many of us from tapping into our true potential through meditation.
Maybe you think of an advanced yogi? Or maybe spiritual zen hippie preaching world peace? Or perhaps a fake garden full of tech geniuses in Silicon Valley hashtagging #meditationislife?
You’d think that in a practice of going within and bettering ourselves, we would not care about the image and identity involved.
Related: 39 Ways to Manifest Your Badass Self
Before you get started, I challenge you to create your own idea of meditation.
Make it whatever you want it to be.
What is your pre-conceived notion, image, or identity you’ve associated with meditating? What memory have you tied to the word? Identify it, break free from it, and make meditation whatever the heck you want it to be.
If you want meditation to feel epic, paint it as epic. If you want it to be spiritual, make it spiritual. If you want it to feel graceful, make it graceful.
Make it feel,
- chill,
- graceful,
- dope,
- fun,
- edgy,
- elevated,
- intense,
- modern,
- or authentic,
Make it feel however you want.
Your reality is determined by your thoughts.
Plain and simple, we all wildly benefit from meditating. It holds the power to uncover each of our own individual version of fulfillment.
How to Meditate for Beginners
Enough of the chit-chat. Let’s get zen af.
So how do beginners actually start meditating?
Step 1 // Set the Intention
Even now as you’re reading this blog, it’s very possible that you’re still not setting the inner intention to actually meditate. You might still be pondering it and telling yourself “Maybe I should meditate.”
In order to actually make it happen, you have to make an inner promise to yourself that you’re going to try.
Related – Finding Your Bhavana: How To Create Desire When You Don’t Know What You Want
Step 2 // Choose a Meditation Space
A part of the intention setting process is knowing where you’re going to actually sit down and meditate. I know personally that anytime I have a big transition in life (maybe moving houses and changing a routine) I stray away from my mediation practice. A big reason for that because I haven’t chosen a set place to meditate.
Pick a place to meditate and you can even go further as to create an ideal ambiance. Perhaps set up your block and blanket for your chosen seated position (talk more about this soon), get an essential oil diffuser or some sage incense, and hang a chakra flag.
Related: 10 Tips for Creating a Sacred Space in Your Home
Step 3 // Set a Schedule
Life is busy and chaotic. We’re all guilty of making the excuse, “I have no time to meditate” but that’s not true. We all have at least 5 minutes of time to mediate every day.
Most of us have routines so the best way to incorporate a new meditation practice is to simply add meditation to the schedule at a set time.
Related: How to Be A Badass
Step 4 // Find a Comfortable Position
Don’t worry, you don’t have to sit in full lotus in order to meditate.
The 2 primary ways to be seated while meditating are Virasana (also known as hero’s pose) and Sukhasana (basic cross legged seated position). Both poses are typically done with support from blocks and blankets for anything longer than a 10 minute meditation.
To support Virasana pose, start kneeling and place 1 block longwise on it’s lowest height between your heels to sit on. You can even stack 2 blocks on their lowest height if your muscles are really tight.
To support Sukhasana, place a block on its lowest height and place a yoga blanket over the block to cushion the sharp edges of the block and your ankles on the ground. Sit on the block in a cross legged position. Again, you can use 2 blocks if your hips are tight.
While you do want to be as comfortable as possible, meditating is about turning inward so try not to be hyper aware of your limbs. I’ll be honest, my feet fall asleep every single time I meditate no matter how many blocks I use and truthfully, that’s part of meditating: not focusing on the physical body.
Related – Self Care for Each Enneagram Type
Step 5 // Music + Guided Meditations
When you’re first getting started with meditating, you won’t be able to simply sit in silence and clear your mind. You will need some sort of ambient noise to ground yourself to.
Typically I recommend beginners use a guided mediation like this one when you’re first practicing. Guided meditations are a great way to hold your focus to something other than the distractions of your day and there are a helpful path to what you should be focusing on.
Check out our free beginner’s chakra meditation here.
If you don’t feel like you need help knowing what mindfulness aspects to focus on during meditation, then simply listen to ambient meditation music.
We made a Spotify of our favorite meditation songs that keep us engaged, calm, and grounded which you can see by clicking here.
Step 6 // Start Small
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they’re meditating is that they do a long mediation 1 time, get bored and find it too uncomfortable, and then they don’t meditate again.
Instead, start small, make it a habit, and then work up to longer meditations.
No meditation is too short to be worthwhile. Start with 5 minutes. When that’s comfortable and you’re ready to go deeper within yourself, then extend your practice to 10 or 15 minutes.
Related – Beginners Guide to Chakras
Step 7 // Begin
You know the benefits. You know what’s preventing you from doing it. And you know how to actually meditate. Now DO IT.
We spend way too long pondering things without actually committing.
My favorite saying about meditating is,
“It’s the hardest easy thing you could ever do.”
Don’t overthink it. Just begin and slowly you will start to awaken your true self, your fullest frequency, and your real inner power.
Expanding Your Practice
Once you lay the foundation of a basic meditation practice, then things start to get fun. There are so many different prompts and practices and each and every one of them is simply to deepen our awareness.
One of our favorite types of meditation is chakra meditation. These energy hubs within us are incredibly powerful and are capable of unleashing our true energy.
If you don’t know what chakras are, read out Beginners Guide to Chakras here or read our comprehensive post on the chakra all of us seem to struggle with, Sacral Chakra Healing Guide.
You can also check out our 49 powerful chakras affirmations that you can repeat silently or out loud during your meditation practice.
Hope this helps you take away intimidation and start your meditation practice as a beginner. If you have any questions, let us know in the comments below.
Follow us on Instagram @chakrabadass for more tips and inspiration on badass self growth and mindfulness!
Related:
- Free guided chakra meditation
- Beginner’s Guide to Chakras
- Tips for Teaching Kids Mindfulness
- Sacral Chakra Healing Guide
- The Yamas + Happiness
- How to Make A Relationship Last
- How to Make Your Own Kombucha
- 25 Books that Will Change Your Life
