It all starts in your head. In this difficult time, we are living in a stressful world and it is important to be able to manage your anxiety, emotions, and thoughts. Having a morning ritual like meditation is very important.
Why to do it?
- To clear and quiet your mind.
- To release your anxiety.
- To strengthen your immune system.
- To increases your optimism.
- For purification and to be able to connect who you truly are.
Meditation is about clearing your mind. Just imagine that you receive bad news in the evening, and it makes you nervous and when you get up in the morning, you do your meditation. Then you’ll think about the news differently — because you have a different mindset. It helps you to see things differently.
How to do it?
Get in a comfortable position, here are some different positions from which you can choose. Having a pillow behind your back is helpful but you can also sit on a chair. Close your eyes, and listen to your breathing and thoughts. It’s like clearing your mind.
When to do it?
Start your day with meditation (15-20 minutes). Morning is the best time. Also, do it during the evening. Twice a day most optimal. Start and end your day with meditation. The metaphor is to start with the sunrise and end with the sunset. This will help you to clear your mind. Some practitioners feel the best times for meditation are sunrise, noon and sunset. It is like a diet for your mind, you don’t see the results immediately. You will need time – maybe weeks or months or years — for that.
Where to do it?
It is important to choose a place that is comfortable for you to meditate at home. Find a place where you can reset.
Don’t force it.
Purification means release of tension, conflict, distraction, sorrow, and anxiety. During meditation, you might get distracted by your thoughts. You may feel anxiety at the beginning. But if it happens, just accept it, don’t try to push it away; rather, just let it go. You can’t force anything. It should happen with ease. Work on your inner light must come from within.
Personally, I started my meditation practice a long time ago, but a couple of years ago I also took a three-day Vedic meditation (Transcendent Meditation, TA) course with a master. He gave me a mantra (which has no meaning) and I repeat that mantra to quiet my mind — so it’s different from mindfulness meditation. Transcendental Meditation comes from the Vedic tradition and was introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Mindfulness comes from the Buddhist tradition and was popularized in the West by Jon Kabat-Zinn. TA meditation is effortless and doesn’t involve contemplation or concentration. One uses a mantra as a vehicle to let the mind settle down naturally (the mind goes into a state of “pure awareness” without an object of thought). Mindfulness involves training one’s mind to be in the present moment. It involves passive attention to one’s breathing and thoughts. Here is a great article that is talking about the difference between these two kinds of meditations.
The difference between the Transcendental Meditation and Mindfulness Meditation
If you are a newbie you can also start using an application for example, Headspace or Calm, and there are some other great apps as well that provide you guided meditation, for example, at: The best meditation apps
Here are also two short videos to check out:
Beside your meditation routine, don’t forget to exercise and also connect with others, it helps you to cope with stress and with your mental health during this stressful time.
Best in the time of the coronavirus,
Meditate and enjoy,
Contact me if you have any questions,
Dora
I enjoyed reading through the information on your website especially about meditation. It is always difficult to properly explain meditation to someone. I also went through TM and have a mantra. However, I usually practice mindfulness meditation. It has been more beneficial at a faster rate for me. I was a professional athlete and wish I knew then what I know now about meditation. Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Nanci, thank you for your comment. I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed reading the content on my website. Yes, meditation is a great tool for everyone. What sport did you do? Let me know if you have any questions or if there is any topic that you would like to hear about.