Practicing the meditation technique regularly would be very beneficial to take care of your mind, work on reducing stress and anxiety, help you fall asleep more easily, or show kindness towards others. Discover the wise advice of our specialist, to learn how to meditate and take care of yourself daily.
Mindfulness meditation is a practice with multiple benefits, which is suitable for everyone. If this practice, which is the subject of many prejudices, can seem difficult to those who have concentration problems, who have a high level of stress, or who simply have difficulty settling down and who have a restless mind, it is nevertheless accessible to all, and highly recommended! Especially since there are several forms of meditation, far from the lotus position and strange noises. So, shall we get started?
How to practice mindfulness meditation?
Mindfulness meditation could be defined as “deliberately focusing one’s attention on the present moment”, for example by concentrating on one’s breathing or physical sensations. A posture that allows one to position oneself as an observer and no longer as an actor, of one’s mental functioning: what is happening in my mind? What are the sensations that I can observe, in my body, in my mind? What are these thoughts that are passing through this present moment?
We all can be in the present moment, we all can discover this space of freedom that allows us to get out of autopilot: driving home from work and not even remembering the turns we took, for example… But it’s valid all the time: cooking in the evening, doing our work or even saying hello! We’re not really in the present moment…”, explains Benjamin Blasco, co-founder of the meditation app Petit BamBou.
Do not confuse meditation with relaxation (sleep)
In meditation, the goal is not to relax or fall asleep, but to observe what happens… For example, we will observe that we are stressed this morning, after which it is up to us to remedy it. Even if meditating greatly helps to chase away stress, by returning to the present moment, this is not the primary objective. We could compare this practice to “gymnastics, a brain-stretching”: we will train it, to be able to function like this later, and enjoy the benefits in our daily lives. There is a dimension of involvement in meditation, which there is not in relaxation.
What do we think about when we meditate?
Another common misconception about meditation is that we think that meditating consists of no longer thinking about anything, of emptying our heads. On the contrary, in meditation, we are free to think about whatever we want, we let our thoughts (sometimes many!) pass, we observe them, without feeding them, and little by little, these thoughts will move away. And maybe they will even come back, and in this case, in the same way, we let them “pass like a cloud”.
What is the purpose of mindfulness meditation?
More than 8 out of 10 people have already tried to reduce their stress by practicing a calming activity, such as meditation (for 43% of them), according to a study conducted by Petit Bambou and YouGov.
This practice, accessible to all, allows you to gain serenity, but also to be more attentive, to improve concentration, because you are less scattered, more in the present moment, and less in anticipation, and interpretation.
It also allows us to better connect with others, and to be more compassionate, kind, and altruistic: mindfulness meditation allows us to accept ourselves and others, without judgment, without aggression.
Good to know this practice is for everyone, at all ages. In case of severe psychological disorders, always seek the advice of a doctor.
Find a suitable place to learn to meditate
While it is possible to meditate anywhere (on public transport, in the middle of a corridor, in a crowded room, etc.), and in many different ways (while eating lunch, stretching, walking, etc.), to begin with, it is recommended to be in a rather calm and silent place. Not necessarily where the silence is absolute, but a place where you will not be too disturbed.
During your session, distractions can potentially appear, and that’s okay, it can even be interesting because these are all things that you will be able to observe.
Paying attention to the sounds that we can hear around us, for example, allows us to be in the moment: you hear a radiator starting up, for example, rather than getting into a story ( “Hey, it’s the neighbor who’s starting it up, is she here today.
Adopt a comfortable posture to practice mindfulness meditation
To learn to meditate, it is advisable to start sitting: you can either sit at the front of a chair, without leaning against the back or sit cross-legged on a cushion (if you are comfortable, if the posture is comfortable for you, because it may require a little practice).
Keep your back fairly straight, but not tense (not on the backrest if you are on a chair)
Place your feet flat on the floor, to feel well anchored, if you are on a chair
Place your hands flat on your thighs
Your shoulders are a little forward
Relax your body, but stand up straight, on your vertebrae (to be alert, and not fall asleep during the session…)
Close your eyes, or leave them half open if you prefer.
Imagine you have a wire above your head, pulling you up.
Start with short meditation sessions
The goal of this practice, which has multiple benefits for the body and mind, is to integrate it into your daily life, by establishing a certain regularity.
No question of putting pressure on yourself, to feel the first benefits of mindfulness meditation, and to tame this practice, start very briefly, it is not necessary to meditate for 5 hours! To begin, you can opt for 5 to 10-minute sessions on an application, and extend the meditation time gradually if you wish.
Become familiar with your breath, to be in the present moment
One of the bases of meditation is the observation of the breath. To begin, you can simply take a few minutes during the day to observe your breath, your inspirations, your expirations, how the column of air passes through you…
To help you, you can count your breath. Just by following your breathing, you will be able to realize that we can observe more calmly what is happening in your mind: I saw this thought pass, I come back to the breath, another thought passes, I come back to my breath again… Do not hesitate to do it 100 times if necessary. The idea is to be in the present moment, whether your mind is very agitated or not, it is possible, by simply following the breath!
Morning or evening? Experiment and find the time that suits you best to meditate
Regularity is the key to feeling all the virtues of mindfulness meditation. After discovering and enjoying this practice, the idea is to integrate it into your daily life, but without putting pressure on yourself, it must come naturally, little by little, starting with sessions 2 to 3 times a week, and why not every day if you want or feel the need.
For this practice to take its place naturally in your daily life, it is important to find the right moment, the right situation, which does us good.
The question of timing is important: would it be better for you in the early morning, when you wake up? for example). In the morning, the mind is more settled, there are fewer things to observe.
Would this time for you be better integrated into your lunch break, because this time is quieter?
Or are you more of those who prefer to meditate in the evening? Be careful, the risk is falling asleep, which is not the goal… So if meditating makes you sleepy, plan a session a little earlier in the evening, because you must avoid fighting against sleep by practicing. This will be good preparation for the falling asleep phase!
To find the time that works best for you, experiment, try mindfulness meditation at different times of the day, and see what works best for you.
Above all, do not be judgmental
“Ah, that’s good, I succeeded in this meditation session, I didn’t have any concentration problems…”, “Oh my, I completely failed this meditation session, my mind was elsewhere, I’m not happy with myself”: we all tend to be judgmental, for the slightest thing we do, and meditation is no exception! However, as Benjamin Blasco reminds us, “There is no successful meditation or failed meditation”.
Did you have trouble concentrating today? That’s just how it is, the mind was very agitated. You can observe it, you recognize it, and you tell yourself that that’s just how you were at that moment.
How do you know if you have done a good meditation?
In the practice of mindfulness meditation, there is nothing to achieve, nothing to attain, so there is no reason to judge yourself, to be in performance, or a tug of war with your mind, you simply have to “let yourself be”.
There is no result to achieve, meditating is simply an art of living, to feel good, it should not become a tension, an obligation.
Choose session durations that suit you, and observe your resistance that comes, boredom, and tensions in the back (the idea is not to have pain, stretch, and come back). Adapt your session time to your current state, your needs, and your desires.
Gradually integrate this practice into your daily life
Mindfulness meditation is “a training to be” and can become an art of living. The idea is to be able to apply it in everyday life (while eating, doing the dishes, walking down the street, etc.), after having learned the basics through formal meditation sessions.
Do you have a knot in your stomach because of the stress that builds up before a meeting, an exam, an appointment, or a public speaking engagement? Meditation can help you come back to the present moment in just a few minutes, thanks to conscious breathing that allows you to be there, and not in assumptions, projections, etc. I can’t meditate… What should I do?
If you have difficulty when you first start mindfulness meditation, that’s completely normal. Some days, when you are more tired, more stressed, more anxious, your mind more agitated, you will have to take your thoughts by the hand several times to chase them away, sometimes a hundred times before you can be there, here, and now. But once
