Lucky Me! My parents introduced the process of Meditation when I was doing my 7th grade. I’m super-grateful to them for bringing Meditation into my life so early that it helped me handle life in a much simpler way.
I am not here to preach to you the benefits of meditation. I am not any guru to do that in fact. I had so many doubts when I started. So, here I am going to present you those questions with the answers that I found thru my gurus, from my friends, thru some books, and some from the internet as well.
This will serve as a handbook for beginners and intermediates who have the same doubts as me.
1. What is Meditation?
Meditation originates from the Latin word “meditari” meaning “to think, envision, ponder”.
But there are two ways people look at this.
• Personal development such as clear mind, overcoming anxiety, reducing stress, healing disease, etc.
• Spirituality related such as soul searching, inner peace, awakening, self-awareness, consciousness, etc.
You can take whatever seems appealing to you.
“If the mind falls asleep, awaken it. Then if it starts wandering, make it quiet. If you reach the state where there is neither sleep nor movement of mind, stay still in that, the natural (real) state.”
– Ramana Maharshi
2. What are its benefits?
The benefits are endless. Just to name a few,
• You will have clarity on what you do.
• You will feel more relaxed and less stressed.
• You will stay focused and pay clear attention to your goals.
• You will get answers to those unanswered questions in your mind.
Disclaimer: You may not see these benefits overnight; it needs consistent practice. But, I can assure you that you can feel your mental space getting decluttered every single time you do mediate.
3. What are the types of meditation and which one should I start with?
There are so many types of meditation – Mindfulness, heartfulness, Body scan, Breathe awareness, Sahaja yoga, Raja yoga, Mantra Meditation, and many more.
You can learn most of these forms from the internet or that centers. Dedicate some time to finding out what is working for you. The best style is the one that works for you and gives you the best results. You can fix it and apply it in your day to day life.
4. What is the right posture to meditate?
There is no right posture. You can be in the posture, which is more comfortable for you, in which you can be left unmoved for a while. But the most recommended posture is to sit cross-legged with your spine straight.
5. What is the best time to Meditate? Morning or Night?
As posture, there is no right time to Meditate as well. However, doing it in the morning will be more beneficial and easier as you would have just got up, your mind would be a clean slate, and it will have an impact on the rest of your day. Also, as we humans are powerful procrastinators, if we leave it for the night it may or may not happen.
Saying that, if you don’t have time in the morning you can start practicing at night. It is better than not doing it. Once you have it as your daily activity, I would recommend you do both in the mornings and the nights.
And, If you have time I would recommend you to have a session in the morning and night.
6. How long should I meditate?
As a beginner, you can start even with 5 mins. After one or two weeks, you can increase it to 10 mins. Consistency is more important than length.
You can also incorporate Mini sessions (5 to 10 deep breathes) in the middle of your work. This will make a big difference.
7. Where should I meditate? Should I use the same place to meditate every day?
All you need a place with no or less distraction. It is not necessary to be in the same place every day for meditation. However, meditating in the same place at the same time every single day would help you develop discipline as well as it would be easier for you to find stillness.
Have a favorite spot for your daily practice. But, do not limit yourself with that. Experiment with different places to get different experiences.
8. What is a guided meditation? How is it different from meditating on my own?
In the olden days, people’s lives were simple with no distractions. Hence, they were able to find a commitment to meditation. But, for us, life is hectic and needless to say about the distractions. That’s why guided meditation is helpful and comes in handy in almost all meditation techniques.
Guided meditations are beneficial for beginners who are yet to get motivated and gain more will power. But once you feel committed, it is highly recommended to meditate on your own.
The same applies to the practice of using music as well.
9. Can I use affirmations during my meditation session?
Meditation and affirmations are 2 different practices. So, it is better to keep them separate. However, following affirmations, next to the meditation session would greatly help as your mind will be clear to accept those statements.
10. Does meditation help in curing disease/ alcoholism/ cancer?
Researches are going on this topic and I am not sure how far it helps in curing any of these.
However, Meditation will surely raise your power and stability in thoughts to face these and thus helps in curing as well.
FOR KIDS
11. Can Kids meditate?
Yes. They can do meditation better than adults as they have fewer things in life to handle and hence are not introduced to stress yet.
Also, if you can instill this habit of meditation in their early stages, it would help them in their long run.
12. Why do kids need to meditate?
Kids nowadays have a lot of things to engage them all the time. Tv, video games, play stations, and whatnot. Along with that, they do have schools, competitive exams, extracurricular and co-curricular activities. They are too small to handle all these.
They need some time each day to unplug themselves to unwind and focus. Meditation offers them this pause and helps them to play more efficiently.
13. How can I instill the habit of meditation in my kids?
Did you ever notice your kids play? They prefer to use the same words that you use, do the same roles that you play every day, pray as you pray, and it goes on. They do what they see. We, parents, are all they can learn from.
So, you don’t have to teach them. They will learn from you on their own. You just start doing what you want from your kids. Once they start showing interest, you can guide them.
Not only for meditation, Anything for that matter. If you want your children to inculcate good manners or habits, all you need to do is do the same in front of them or along with them. If you want your child to pick up the habit of reading books, start reading in front of them. Easy, Isn’t it?
14. How does meditation help pregnant ladies?
We can say pregnancy is a boon, a piece of luck, a bundle of joy, and whatever. But only the girl who bears the baby knows what she is going through. It involves both physical and emotional imbalance in her body and mind. Trust me, I have been there. UUfff.
Meditation will offer you the strength and stability to handle these. It calms your mind and thus helps your baby to feel safe, comfortable, and protected. And thus improves your and your baby’s health physically, mentally, and emotionally.
15. Everyday meditation is not possible with my daily busy schedule. What can I do?
Inculcating a new habit takes a lot of effort. But once it became one of the activities in your daily routine like taking a shower, you can somehow make time for it.
If you cannot spend 15 mins a day, do it for 10 mins. If not 10 mins, start with 5 mins. Check if you cannot contribute or you don’t want to?
Once, you became consistent with 5 mins every day for at least 21 days, I am sure you are already experiencing a great change in your behavior, mood, and response. Once you experienced that, you will start giving more time to it.
So, do not waste your time by thinking about how. Just start and rest will follow.
“To understand the immeasurable, the mind must be extraordinarily quiet, still.”
– Jiddu Krishnamurti
So, What are you waiting for? Let’s meditate and make lives better.
If you still have some queries, I’m just a DM away.
Let me know in the comments if you have ever tried Meditation.
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