50 Must-Have Meditation Tips

• stress reduction
• lower blood pressure
• better focus
• better ability to handle high-pressure situations
• immunity system boost
• reduction in negative emotions
• better relationships
• developed intuition
• better nervous system function
• better chances of avoiding heart disease

• Listen to chants or kirtans. {Deva Premal and Krishna Das are my favs!}
• Let the noise around you be like natural music rather than a distraction.
• Don’t close your eyes.
• Keep a soft gaze on a candle flame.
• Count your breaths to keep your left brain busy {count 1 on an inhale, 2 on an exhale, and so on up to 10 then start again}.
• Stretch first so your body is loose, just like before any exercise you do.
• Have a purpose for your meditation. {just being quite is a purpose!}
• Make it a ritual.
• Try different meditation techniques from different traditions + cultures.
• Commit to start with 10 days of meditation without skipping a day.
• Use guided meditations.
• Meditate when everyone else in the house is asleep or out.
• Meditate before you get out bed in the morning.
• Meditate at the same time every day.
• Use mala beads.
• Sit quietly and just mentally list what you’re grateful for that day. {hey, that’s mediation!}
• Stop meditating when it feels like it’s time regardless of what the clock says.
• You only need a few minutes a day {5-10 is perfect}, not hours.
• If you have a scratch, scratch it!  It’s more distracting to try to ignore it.
• Start where you are with just 2-3 minutes a day – that’s better than no minutes a day!
• Do activities that let your mind wonder like looking out the windows at clouds floating.
• Write down all your thoughts, frustrations, and to-do’s on a piece of paper so you can get it out of your head before sitting down to meditate.
• Mediation has no true beginning or end so don’t worry about the destination and focus on the journey.
• Adjust your posture when you start – if you can’t comfortably take a deep breath, shift.
• The mind is always changing so your meditation practice will always change – some days will be harder than others.
• The mind is meant to think so give yourself a few minutes every time to just let the mind do what it wants.
• Practice with consistency is the only way it will get easier.
• It’s OK to just sit there – just sitting there and being focused on that alone creates an intentioned focus.
• Keep a journal handy to write down your Ah-Ha’s and your Ah Crap’s – then work to fix the Ah Crap moments.
• Keep track of your excuses and then stop making them!
• Do a mediation challenge with a friend – hold each other accountable.
• Be realistic and honest with yourself about why you’re doing meditation – what are you looking for?
• Don’t judge your meditation – no meditation is good or bad – you get what you need each time.
• Turn off and drop out – shut down computers, phones, and anything that can distract you and pull you out of your meditation and back to the daily grind.
• Don’t start off with your eyes closed – after getting settled and doing some breathing let your eyes close naturally.
• Make use of the “me time” that you already have – meditate in the shower, on our lunch break, or while you’re walking the dog.
• Your mind will wonder and you will start to think – acknowledge when this happens and then turn your attention back to your breath, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
• Begin being more present and in the moment in your every daily life {you know, not trying to be a multitasking master} – this will help your meditation practice.
• Make sure you’re sitting somewhere that you are completely safe.
• You don’t need a special mediation room – you can meditate anywhere you’re comfortable.
• Meditation is like running – you have to start small and build muscle to go long distances.
• Meditation will never give you a permanent sense of bliss and well-being – instead it gives you a too to help you create a space of peace and calm in your mind when you need it most.
• Create a schedule for building and growing your meditation practice and then stick to it.
• If you’re meditating in the morning do it before your morning coffee.
• Don’t do your meditation after eating, especially big meals – try to meditate on an empty stomach.
• Let gravity do it’s thing and really feel the sensation of sitting in your body.
• Stretch when you’re doing to awaken your body but don’t jump up and move around too quickly.
• Don’t use a timer and don’t rush – just do things in the time that comes naturally.
• Cover your eyes with something if you feel the light or outside world distracting.
• If your emotions are high and get in the way turn your attention to your body – where do you really feel these emotions gathering in your body?  Acknowledge that, feel it, then let it go and focus back on your breath.

By Jess Carlson;