What is the status of meditation practice? Is it in the creative stage, waiting to be implemented at the right time? Maybe you know this is good for you, but haven't clicked to do it as a daily job?

Maybe you sometimes do this, but either you are frustrated or lose interest? Perhaps you like meditation and want some insights on how to go deeper or more effective?

In this article, we'll explore the four steps to setting up a successful meditation session.

1. Build a meditation space

Whether it's a vacancy, a closet or part of a bedroom, define a space dedicated to meditation. You can mark this space with carpets, meditation stools, chairs or mats.

By performing meditation consistently in the same space, it represents a “meditation” for you, thus becoming a space that supports your meditation state. After a while, sitting in this space will make you relax.

Another way to enhance the atmosphere of the meditation space is to create an “altar” that represents the most important thing in your practice and life.

If there is an altar idea that inspires you, it can take any form that makes you happy and motivated. It can include photos, symbols, candles, flowers, bowls, statues, quotes, and more. The basic idea is to put important items there – let you have the right way of thinking for meditation and remind you why you need time to practice.

If you use meditation to support religious beliefs, place images or items that represent your beliefs on your altar. Personally, I have several different spiritual traditions in my space to represent the universal spirituality behind all beliefs and traditions. I also have family photos and quotes that remind me of my higher intentions. The most important quality of your altar is that it represents the most important thing for you.

Once you have meditated for a while in the sacred space and used it to enhance your inner skills, you can meditate on the road and do it anytime, anywhere – no matter what happens around you. This is the time when your meditation becomes truly powerful. However, even so, when you meditate in the sacred space, you may appreciate and cherish those times.

2. Create a ritual around your practice

Set a fixed meditation time and create a consistent routine that lets you get into the exercise.

One way to support regular practice is to make meditation a part of the established program you have already completed. For most people, the best way is to integrate meditation into the daily life of the morning. This encourages you to start your day from a relaxed, realistic, and intentional perspective – it ensures that you meditate before other events of the day hinder.

Once you have decided on the time for meditation, plan your day accordingly. If you are meditating on the first thing, make sure you go to bed early so that you can get up early and comfortably so that you can practice without rushing. Set the alarm to wake you up in sufficient time.

Once you get up, there is a routine that lets you get into your practice. For example, I first massage my eyes and back while lying in bed. Then, when I sat up, I massaged the soles of the feet with some tennis balls under my feet. I used the toilet, then splashed water on my face and massaged the scalp. Then, before I stood in the meditation posture, I did some stretching exercises. All of this awakens and relaxes me and prepares me for the preparation course.

After standing meditation, I made a sitting meditation, then I shook my whole body and prayed for my family and the entire planet at my altar.

I have a routine that includes how I wake up to make my exercises seamless and reliable. Over the years, with the needs, insights and new learning guided me, I have adapted and developed my daily work. However, the basic idea of ​​having a sequence of rituals has awakened what I expected and easily and naturally entered my practice.

3. Adjust your posture

If you search for photos of people who are meditating, nine out of ten you will find them sitting cross-legged. Unfortunately, this makes many people think this is the way of meditation. I sincerely oppose it.

In fact, unless you grow up in a culture that usually sits, I encourage you to sit on a chair, bench or bed, put your soles flat on the floor and parallel with each other, your hips level or slightly Higher than the knee.

Place your feet flat on the floor and parallel to each other, placing you in a “grounded” position while biomechanically aligning your feet, knees and hips. This position is easy for your joints.

Meditation has many acceptable hand positions – each with its own purpose. A basic starting position is to place the palm down on the lap. This position is easy, and it also supports upright posture and alert attention. The more subtle point is to "soften" your hands, lower your shoulders to release tension, and have a tiny space under your arm to encourage your body to be open, expansive, and spacious.

Next, imagine a rope attached to your head that pulls your spine to an upright position. Slightly tighten your chin to lengthen your back neck and smile on your lips to encourage calm, acceptance, and positive attitude.

Gently close your eyes and support your focus inward. Unless you use a technique that focuses on head energy, your eyes will be slightly down. After practicing for a while, you may notice that your eyes are only slightly open naturally, and the focus on the external environment is soft.

Finally, sit on the front edge of the seat. Sit far enough, so you will feel some weight on your feet, which will encourage your body to feel grounded. Sitting posture without back support will also align and strengthen your spine, which will have an impact.

As you adjust and strengthen your spine, you are more likely to be consistent with your higher intentions and feel stronger when following them, rather than being distracted and shaken by less important desires. You have cultivated a strong "backbone".

Now, many people email me that this pose is too difficult to maintain.

The reason is that the spine is tense, weak and unaligned. Meditation exercises are actually an effective way to overcome these problems. First, it reveals these problems, and then it cures them.

In your meditation, you will be aware of the tension, weakness and misalignment of the spine. And, yes, it was not so good at first. However, if you can accept it and observe it without judgment, without fighting it, over time, you will notice the release of tension, spine adjustment, and you become stronger.

A well-known meditation teacher, Dr. Meares, said that some discomfort at the beginning of meditation is actually a good thing because it teaches you to observe discomfort without reacting, judging or escaping. When you sit uncomfortably calmly, it will solve and become better over time. This is a powerful lesson that can take you into any uncomfortable environment in your life. To appear calmly, relax and observe things without judgment, and then pay attention to the resolutions that appear.

All of this means supporting upright without back support, you can get closer to this. Start sitting for a minute or two and calmly observe any discomfort until it is too distracting, then sit down and support your remaining exercises. Gradually increase the time you sit in an unsupported upright position. After practicing for a while, this will actually become a comfortable, relaxing, and powerful way for you to sit down.

One thing to note is that some people can't sit like this because of serious physical damage. If this is the case, you can use the back support and even lie down and meditate. If you do this, simply stretch your spine by imagining the spine, tighten your chin slightly, take a subtle smile, soften your hands, gently close your eyes and try to keep your spine as straight as possible.

4. Adopt three principles – a good start, a good middle, a good end

In their book "Meditation: An In-Depth Guide," Ian Gawler and Paul Bedson shared the principles of these three meditation exercises.

“Good at the beginning” means remembering your intentions and motivation for practice when you start a meditation class. You may want to “relax, stay calm, relax stress, do well, heal. But the suggestion here is that the more we can expand our motivation, the more our motivations, the more meaningful our meditation becomes, the more we value It, the more likely we are to do this, the more benefits it brings." [Page 69, Meditation: An in-depth guide]

Consider how your meditation practice has a positive impact on your day, your interaction with others, and even the collective consciousness of "all of us together." What if your practice contributes not only to your life, but also to the lives of others and all life on Earth?

In the Buddhist tradition, the goal of meditation practice is enlightenment, so we can use our enlightenment to bring enlightenment to all creatures. In the Christian meditation tradition, meditation leads us to deeper communication with God so that we can bring divine love and light into the world. In the mind and body of meditation, we enter a state of relaxation, expansion, and concentration so that we can heal wounds, develop our inner skills, be more effective in everything we do, and be more caring and considerate.

What prompted you to meditate?

"Good in the middle" is related to your attitude…

How to build a successful meditation was originally published on Spring