So, you’ve decided to start a meditation practice. Great! You can look forward to better focus and sports performance, reduced anxiety, lower blood pressure and inflammation in the body, improved sleep and confidence levels, or maybe you’ve got another reason for starting. Just fancy a bit of calm and clarity perhaps.
But where to start?
Don’t be put off by Lady Gaga’s sensory deprivation tank, or actor Jared Leto’s 2020 jaunt to the desert where he emerged two weeks later not knowing about the pandemic. Silence and sand dunes sound lovely, but they are far from a prerequisite for presence. If you’re looking around your house now at a sea of Lego on the carpet, towels drying over doors, and a choice looking cat litter tray, don’t worry. Your space is ideal, and this is why.
You don’t need peace and quiet to meditate!
In fact, if you’re attempting mindful meditation for the first time (by far the most common kind of meditation that’s accessible across the board), a bit of noise can be helpful. Russell Brand- say what you will- has meditated backstage at rock concerts and comedy shows, proving that silence is not needed. When was the last time any of experienced real silence anyway?
No special equipment needed
Take that Himalayan salt lamp shaped like a Buddha’s head out of your online basket right now. Don’t be tempted to fall for the suggestion that you need any additions to this new practice, aside from your intention. There’s a whole industry trying to persuade you that enlightenment is just around the corner so long as you have a meditation chair with built-in speakers, lumbar heating and three levels of massage zones. I promise you; a sofa cushion will do the trick nicely.
The truth of the matter
As the most distractible humans to ever walk the planet, perhaps we can’t be blamed for getting side tracked. But this is the reality of the situation: all you need is a desire to start. It matters not one jot if you are literally plonking yourself down amongst the chaos and having a go. Your biggest challenge is likely to be getting your new habit formed in the first place, not how you sit. And if you’re thinking that you haven’t sat cross-legged since the school nativity play, that doesn’t matter either. Sit on a chair, the sofa, or the side of the bed. Or maybe lying down is where you’d like to be. This is your practice, do it your way.
A bit of guidance
Some basic instructions can be handy, for sure. But don’t get sucked down an online rabbit-hole of endless instructional videos. The best guidance will be incredibly simple. The trickier part will be maintaining your focus, but that’s all part of mindful meditation: the constant refocussing when your mind wanders off. And we all know that there are a million places your monkey-mind can take you in quarter of a heartbeat.
Stick with it
If you’ve started, you’ll know that sometimes this meditation game is far from easy. Forget those images of serene looking figures levitating with their fingers in special formations and a smug grin on their face. This is about training your brain, and the process is real. The journey can be a long one (a whole lifetime!) but it has tremendous rewards. The neuroscientists can now fully explain how meditation boosts our resilience, can enhance our experience of the everyday, and give us the focus and determination we need to excel at anything we choose, whether that is sport related or not. But we need to stick with it, even when frustration or any other emotion arises!
Forming a new habit
It takes time and patience, and according to Phillippa Lally, habit expert, 66-100 days to form a new habit. You are more likely to stick with something if it’s easy to get to the start line, so work out what that is for you and take the plunge. Habit stacking is a good hack: add your meditation on to something you already do. I began by doing it immediately after I had brushed my teeth in the morning until meditating became my new normal.
Ready to go?
You may have heard the saying that the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, and the second-best time is now. It’s like that. Just you, in your space, with your intention. No frills or spills. Your time is now. Are you ready?
By Kate Hughes
Kate Hughes is a meditation teacher and mindset coach, and the founder of Kate Hughes Meditation. Having spent 25 years practising Criminal Law, Kate has broadened her career path after a stress related illness in 2015. Kate is passionate about teaching others the skills that they need to deal with the pressures of everyday life, without ever reaching burnout, whilst building a successful and happy life. Check out the free resources section on her website or find out about working with her 1-1.
In her down time Kate enjoys open water swimming, plant-based eating, and writing fiction.
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