Some comments on meditation practice in the article about the Warrior Archetype made me realize that it was time to tackle this essential topic for our personal growth journey. In this article, I have tried to summarize the experience I have gained over the last 5 years on meditation, especially: what meditation is, why you should start a meditation practice, and some very practical tips on how to begin meditating.
I admit to having many prejudices about meditation before I started practicing it consistently. I considered meditation one of those passing trends, New Age stuff with no practical value. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Meditation is undoubtedly a millennia-old practice associated with religions like Buddhism or Hinduism, but the truth is that meditative practices can be found in the most diverse areas, from Western religions (prayer is meditation) to art, and even in the latest applications for stress relief. Meditation has its history, but it doesn’t need a label. From this perspective, I appreciate Wikipedia’s definition:
“Meditation is, in general, the practice of focusing the mind on one or more objects, images, thoughts (or sometimes on no object at all) for religious, spiritual, philosophical, or simply for improving one’s psychophysical conditions.”
Now that we have dispelled some of the most persistent prejudices about meditation, you are probably wondering, “Why on earth should I waste time on meditation? I have a very busy life; I’m not here to play dolls!”
Meditating with a goal in mind is inherently wrong. If we project our minds into the near future, filling them with expectations, we are NOT meditating. Meditation should help us bring our minds and attention to the present moment and place, helping us achieve what I call Quiedora.
That said, it is undeniable that meditation has multiple short, medium, and long-term benefits, as demonstrated by numerous scientific studies. Here are the three main benefits you can derive from a consistent meditation practice:
Improved Concentration: Many consider time the most precious resource; in truth, time is the most democratic resource there is; we all have 86,400 seconds a day. True scarcity today is concentration. The human mind tends to be easily distracted. Given a specific activity, our attention dwindles after 15-20 minutes, disappearing entirely after about 40-45 minutes. This phenomenon is called the “vigilance decrement,” and it’s why a study session should never last more than 45 minutes. A study conducted by K.A. MacLean at the University of California found that meditation practice can counteract the “vigilance decrement.” Meditation habituates our minds to maintain concentration for extended periods. These principles are the foundation of concentration techniques, such as the Mandarin Technique.
Strengthened Immune System: Meditation can reduce cortisol levels, the stress hormone, in our bodies, resulting in beneficial effects on our immune system. However, numerous studies have shown that meditation has an even broader impact. Very interesting is the significant increase in antibodies in participants of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. In short, meditating can have concrete effects on your health.
Improved Memory: Meditation can literally alter our brains. A joint study conducted by researchers from Yale and Harvard showed that meditation is associated with increased gray matter in areas of our brains connected to learning and memory. Meditating makes you smarter. Not by chance, I have included in the “Study Less, Study Better” guide some breathing techniques, based on meditation principles, capable of strengthening your mind and returning it to an optimal state for studying.
I hope I haven’t bored you with references to various scientific studies, but it’s crucial that you convince yourself of the practicality and effectiveness of this practice, sweeping away any prejudices. Now, however, it’s time to take action and discover how to meditate in practice.
There are dozens of different forms of meditation and just as many meditative traditions. In this post, I have decided to present the meditative practice that I personally consider the simplest and most effective, as well as free from any labels: mindfulness meditation. Here are some practical tips for your first meditation session:
Meditation Posture: Sit comfortably, but remember to keep your back straight. You can sit on any chair or, if you prefer, on the floor, assuming the classic lotus position. Initially, I recommend using the half-lotus position, where one foot is resting on the opposite thigh while the other is under the opposite thigh. Personally, I have noticed benefits using a meditation cushion.
Find the Right Posture: Your posture profoundly influences the quality of your meditation practice. To find the right balance, rock gently back and forth, left and right, until you find your point of equilibrium. Your abdomen should be slightly protruding, your head should be lifted, chin tucked in, and your nose should be in line with your stomach. During meditation, keep your mouth closed with your tongue against the palate. Initially, this position may seem very artificial, but with practice, it becomes extremely natural.
Gather Your Hands in Zazen Position: During meditation, your hands should be gathered and resting on your feet, left hand over the right, with thumbs forming a horizontal line and pinkies touching your abdomen.
Half-Closed Eyes: Your eyes should neither be fully open (to avoid distractions) nor closed (to avoid falling asleep). Keep them slightly half-closed and directed toward a point on the floor about a meter away.
Focus on Your Breath: Now that you’ve found the correct posture, concentrate your attention on your breath. Do not force it, just observe it. Feel the air entering your lungs and then slowly leaving. Soon you will realize how maintaining concentration on something as simple and natural as breathing is not easy at all. Your mind will start to wander, perhaps reminding you of your daily tasks. Don’t worry; it’s natural. Without forcing, bring your attention back to your breath, merely observing your thoughts from the outside.
Use a Mantra: To increase your concentration on your breath, you can use a mantra—a short phrase repeated over and over. Synchronize the mantra with your breath. Among the most used mantras in meditation is the classic “Ham-Sa.” This is a natural mantra as it reproduces the sound of our breath, where “ham” is mentally repeated during inhalation and “sa” during exhalation. Another widely used mantra is “So-Hum” (pronounced: “So-Am”), which in Sanskrit means “I am this,” where “this” is the entire universe. In this case, too, the mantra should be synchronized with your breath: “So” is mentally pronounced during inhalation, and “Hum” during exhalation. If you’re an engineer, you can use numbers as a mantra! Jokes aside, another technique to maintain concentration on your breath is to count up to 10 (where odd numbers are inhalations and even numbers are exhalations) and then start over.
Find Your Ideal Duration: Let’s be clear; nobody here is a Zen monk who can devote entire days to meditation. Still, it is essential to allocate sufficient time to this practice. Ideally, there would be two meditation sessions (one in the morning and one in the evening) of 15-20 minutes each. But it’s essential for everyone to find their ideal duration. To do this, there’s a little trick: during meditation, you will be tempted to stop and get up. Instead of giving in to the first impulse, observe it three times, returning your attention to your breath each time. The third time, go ahead and conclude your meditation, slowly returning to your commitments.
That’s it! Were you expecting something mystical, profound, or secret? I’m sorry to disappoint you, but meditation is as natural as it gets. Moreover, what we’ve seen here is “formal” meditation. In reality, you can enter a meditative state in any situation and context, redirecting your attention to your breath and observing thoughts and external events in a detached manner. Besides the mentioned benefits, you will discover over time how meditation holds other precious treasures for you.
I hope this article has piqued your curiosity enough to start your meditation practice this very week. Try it, and then leave me a comment. Have a great day.