There is an old saying, “A calm mind makes the mind clear”. Indeed, the meditation method not only helps to practice patience and concentration but also helps to calm the mind and dispel worries in the heart. Therefore, practicing meditation every day is a highly recommended activity. However, to maximize the effectiveness of this subject, you need to know how to meditate properly. The article below will help you answer all questions related to the principles of correct meditation. Read now!
What is meditation?
Meditation is known as a method to help our mind gradually enter a state of tranquility, eliminating chaotic thoughts, the main factor that causes anxiety and extreme stress. In other words, meditation is to manage your mind, bringing your mind back to peace and tranquility.
The effect of meditation is to help improve mental health very effectively. Almost all worries, worries or stress will be relieved after a period of meditation. In addition, this method also helps increase creativity, concentration, and imagination, helping to open the mind. Through that, you will have many new initiatives in studying and working. From there, the efficiency of studying or working will be clearly improved.
Instructions for meditating properly: relax, calm the mind
How to meditate properly? Meditation is not simply sitting and relaxing, but also requires following certain principles.
To maximize the benefits that meditation brings, you need to remember the following correct way to meditate:
• Sit quietly on a comfortable flat surface.
• Adjust your sitting posture: keep your back, head, neck, and spine straight.
• Place both legs on the floor, the thighs and calves need to form a 90-degree angle, and the angle from the ankles to the knees must be straight
• Place both hands lightly on the thighs or on the knees,
• Close your eyes, relax your hands, shoulders, and chin, and enter the state of meditation.
1. Adjust your sitting posture
Adjusting your sitting posture correctly will help you easily go deep into the world of meditation. You can freely choose the meditation position you like, but you need to ensure that the surrounding space is quiet and makes you feel comfortable. You can choose to meditate on a pillow, cushion, chair, or handkerchief, etc. But to have the most standard sitting posture, sitting on a flat surface is the best choice.
2. Keep your spine straight
The correct sitting posture helps you ensure that parts such as the spine, shoulders, and neck are not affected during the meditation process. Adjust your back, neck, and shoulders so that they are in a straight line with the spine.
You can refer to the way to keep your spine straight when meditating as below:
• First, you gently lift your whole body to lengthen the spine.
• Take a deep breath, expand your chest.
• Feel the energy flowing from the base of the spine and out through the top of the head.
• Adjust your breathing gently but still try to keep your spine straight.
A small note here is to relax, relax your arms and your whole body. Occasionally, during meditation, if you feel that your spine is not straight, you should proactively adjust your body, keep your spine straight to have the correct meditation posture. This helps to minimize conditions such as scoliosis, spinal spurs, etc. that occur when meditating at home.
3. Relax your hands, shoulders, and chin
Relaxing your hands, shoulders, and chin is also one of the steps to keep in mind when practicing meditation properly at home.
For both hands:
Gently place your hands on your thighs with your palms facing down. According to some studies on meditation, placing your palms facing down like this will help you feel comfortable, focused, and release the flow of energy in your body better.
In addition, you can also apply the method of placing your right hand on top of your left hand. At this time, the two thumbs will lightly touch each other. Then, place your hands on your thighs with your palms facing up. This method will help your body create more energy and heat for your body.
Shoulders:
Relax your shoulders as much as possible and let them hang down, but still ensure that your spine is kept straight. Letting your shoulders relax like this will help your heart function well and your back become stronger and healthier. A small note here is that you should also regularly pay attention and adjust the height of both shoulders to be equal, avoiding the situation where one side is higher and the other side is lower.
Relax your chin:
The chin also needs to be kept in the most comfortable and natural state. Try to relax your facial muscles, let your chin drop slightly, and do not tense your head and neck. In fact, if you press your chin tightly against your body and tense your facial muscles, it will easily lead to difficulty breathing, shallow breathing, and interruptions during meditation.
4. Close your eyes slightly
The correct meditation posture also includes closing your eyes slightly. Keep your eyelids, eyes, and face light and relaxed by gently closing your eyes. This not only helps you feel comfortable but also helps increase your ability to concentrate, avoiding being distracted by external factors while meditating.
In addition, you can also choose to open your eyes and look at a fixed point on the floor while meditating, in case you are not used to closing your eyes when you need to concentrate. If you do this method, you should note to roll your eyes after a certain period to keep your mind alert and avoid facial tension.
The experience here is that you should choose one of the two forms of closing or opening your eyes before starting to meditate. You should not apply both because you will easily lose your direction, and this can affect the effectiveness of the meditation method.
5. Choose a meditation space
The space to meditate plays a quite important role in deciding whether your meditation process is successful or not. Therefore, before starting, find a really quiet space. Next, turn off all mobile devices, TVs or computers, making sure nothing can disturb you during the meditation process.
6. Set a time and commit to a goal
Time is also quite important factor. If you are completely new to meditation, set a reasonable time goal. Don’t set it too long because it will be difficult to stay focused, and don’t set it too short to ensure effectiveness. The ideal time for beginners is about 5 to 10 minutes.
7. Focus on body comfort
You need to determine the meditation posture that you feel most comfortable in. It is not necessary to sit cross-legged all the time, instead, you can sit on a chair or the floor, as long as your body is in the most relaxed and comfortable state.
8. Focus on breathing, but don’t analyze it
Breathing properly when meditating is one of the factors that you need to pay attention to. Breathing regularly helps you relax and feel more comfortable when meditating for a long time. In addition, focusing on breathing also helps you maintain the meditation time longer than you want. However, you should avoid analyzing your breathing. Because this can distract you, affecting your entire meditation process.
9. Focus on your thoughts
When starting to meditate, the most difficult thing that most people encounter is that their subconscious and thoughts often wander into other thoughts. Therefore, the most effective solution is to focus on something else, which is your breathing. This does not mean that you have to analyze or adjust your breathing, but instead focus on inhaling and exhaling, focusing on the breath at the tip of your nose. Try to make focusing on your breathing a habit, then you will easily conquer the meditation exercise for a longer time.
10. Don’t be too strict with yourself
The effects of meditation on the body are worth your investment of time and effort in practicing this subject. However, don’t be too strict with yourself. The practice should only stop at a moderate level. It is not true that the more time you spend meditating during the day, the faster the results will come. Therefore, instead of trying to force yourself to meditate for a long time, you should take the time to listen to your body and soul to know exactly when you want to immerse yourself in the world of meditation.
11. Combine a light diet
After the meditation process, it is best to eat a light diet. To have an effective meditation method, you should limit the use of meat and add more vegetables and fruits to your daily meals. A diet rich in vegetables and fruits will help purify the body, relax the mind, and make the body will also be healthier.
12. Practice meditation at a certain time
In an effective meditation method, you need to practice regularly every day at a certain time. Only then will this method have the best effect. You can choose to meditate every morning when you wake up, at sunrise, or in the evening before going to bed. This will help you feel relaxed in your soul, sleep well, and work more productively.
Note: Before starting meditation in particular or any exercise in general, you should discuss with your doctor or health professional to have an exercise regimen suitable for your health condition.