by Dr Luke of Tail of the Sun

We live in a fast-paced world. We need new strategies in our nervous system to manage all the stimulation and to reduce the binding of stress energy into our bodies. Meditation is one of today’s most effective tools for managing stress, getting into a creative flow, and entering a peaceful state of harmony. Practiced by everyone from celebrities and athletes to everyday people like you and me, meditation has gained in popularity as a powerful technique to change the way you navigate your busy life. Despite this, many people report to me that they struggle with meditation, and eventually give up. Let’s dive into this a little.

What Is Meditation?

Meditation is a simple practice of sitting, calming the mind, and moving into a state of peace within. It can also provide the meditator with a greater linkage to the inner world and create a connection to the unified field around us. While simplistic in its approach, you may find yourself struggling with the concept, relevance, and methods for how to do it. The good news is science continues to provide us with a growing body of positive results from a wide range of approaches.

A key component to meditation is to reduce and control the rate of breath. Science has shown us that sitting in stillness and silence for 20 to 30 minutes each day can reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, promote better heart health, and stimulate greater healing within the body. Some educators are finding that guiding children to breath slowly and quietly has very positive impacts upon the rates of school discipline and behavior. Meditation is a very powerful tool.

This is all great information and provides plenty of motivation for wanting to engage in daily mindfulness. But what if you’ve tried several approaches to the age-old practice, and you’re feeling like you just can’t meditate in a meaningful way? Let’s explore six tips to help you get yourself dialed in with a solid practice in no time.

1. Guided Meditations

A great place to start is with guided meditations. These can be done in-person with a small group. Another way is to find an online guided meditation. There are so many options available on streaming services, so take a little time to find one that resonates with you. Give yourself permission for it to take several sessions before it comes naturally.

2. Mantras

“Mantra” is a Sanskrit word that means tool. This is often a word or phrase that can be repeated many times during the meditation session. Another tool is fixing gaze upon a single point, or a flame. It helps your brain to focus and to bring your thoughts back to your intention. If you are new to meditation or if you are struggling with classical mantra meditation, you may find meditation apps to be extremely helpful.

3. Reset the Central Nervous System

If a person is holding an excessive amount of sympathetic tone in the nervous system, the body is operating in a hyper-vigilant state. This can make the practice of meditation much more difficult. While it is certainly true that the very practice of regular meditation will help to bring balance to the nervous system, breaking that cycle can be very difficult.

If you wonder whether this describes you, consider scheduling an appointment with me to get this checked. There are many great modalities to assist with the shift in the nervous system, and network spinal care is certainly chief among them.

4. Using a Timer

Choose a good time of day when you are adequately alert. Create a quiet setting that allows you to be alone and uninterrupted. Consider setting a timer, perhaps 30 minutes, so that your brain can let go of wondering about the time element. This is another tool to help you reduce excessive thoughts.

 5. External vs Internal

The concept of internal and external energy is an involved topic that is challenging to explain in a short article. During meditation, we are striving to connect to our inner world initially. If a person naturally moves energy internally first, meditation tends to come naturally. But if a person is external, it can be a challenge to enter the inner world. I find this to be a common problem with externals.

For an external energy person, they need to connect to energy outside of themselves first, before attempting to go inside. Here is a simple technique to try: stand in a starfish position, with arms extended and legs apart. With palms facing outward, feel the energy of the cosmos and the outer world building. (For an external person, it will feel like energy is building as you do this. For an internal person, the starfish position will feel like energy is decreasing)  drop into your meditation pose and begin the normal mediation process. See if this helps.

6. Come Back to the Breath

Regardless of how long you’ve been meditating, you will find yourself being interrupted by thoughts, physical sensations, and other sounds in the environment. This is to be expected and is a normal part of meditation. When this happens, simply acknowledge the disruption and refocus your mind back to your meditation practice.

If “Monkey Mind” takes hold and your thoughts are all over the place, come back to your breath. Just focus upon the breath you are taking in the moment. Pay attention to how it feels, where it is moving, and to any sensations in the body that may arise. Just bring your attention back to the breath to sink into the experience more deeply. Focus only upon Now.

Remember, meditation is not a destination. It is a daily practice and like any daily practice, some days will be better than others. That’s just life. Learn to flow with it and notice how effortless your experiences become.