This post is all about meditation tips for beginners.

Want to start meditating, but don’t know where to start?

Or maybe you have even tried it, but didn’t go exactly well, and need some tips on how to meditate?

Starting something new can be challenging and feel discouraging, so to help you master meditation and take advantage of all its incredible benefits, here are 11 essential meditation tips for beginners!

Meditation is a simple method to get clarity in our thoughts. It helps us find inner peace and satisfaction. It activates our minds and helps us develop our cognitive abilities. The best part about meditation is that it is very easy to practice. All you need is a quiet place and a few minutes daily.

However when starting out meditation it doesn’t seem as easy as it actually is, so let’s start with these 11 essential meditation tips for beginners.

Common Misconceptions about meditation

Before we start with these meditation tips, I want to talk about some of the most common misconceptions when it comes to meditation so as to better understand this incredible technique.

1. Concentration

Most people believe that meditation means concentration.

But, however thin the line is between these two, that’s not the truth.

Meditation is NOT concentration.

Concentration is when you put your undivided focus on an object and stay that way for quite some time.

2. It’s all about being still and quiet

It is true that in the beginning your main focus and goal will be to stay in the present moment.

But as you grow more comfortable with this practice, you can start using meditation to develop qualities like compassion, generosity, forgiveness, etc.

As well as try different types of meditation, like for example deconstructive meditation which specifically develops contemplative insight into the working and nature of our minds.

3. We know all there is to know about the benefits

Even though there are many studies focused on the benefits that meditation has, benefits like becoming aware of the tendencies of your mind, tapping in the present moment, relaxing your mind, etc., we still don’t know all there is to know about these benefits.

Some people experience different changes not only emotionally, but physically as well. And these changes and benefits are different for every person.

4. Meditation will put you at ease from day one

I am not going to lie to you or promise you that you´ll feel this way or that way from day one, because as we have just said it is different for everyone.

But something that I can assure you will happen is that once you get comfortable with this practice, you start taping in the present moment, relaxing your mind, and most importantly becoming an observer of your thoughts, you´ll discover and become aware of many toxic and negative thought patterns and emotions, like greed and aversion.

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So having talked about these common misconceptions, let’s jump straight into these meditation tips for beginners!

Take it step by step. Start with two minutes a day.

One of the biggest reasons why people don’t even try meditation it’s because they don’t have time for it or find it complicated.

So start with 2 minutes, sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Well, that is exactly what we want. These tips are meant to help you start and keep going with your meditation practices.

And one of the most important things you need to be doing when starting a new habit is to make it as easy as possible.

Besides, who doesn’t have 2 minutes a day they can spare?

So start with 2 minutes a day for the first week and see how that goes. Once you start feeling comfortable, increase by another two minutes, and so on.

Before you know it you’ll have increased your practice to 10/ 15 minutes.

Do it first thing in the morning

Let’s be honest, when we say “oh yeah, I’ll just do it later in the day”, the chances of us doing that thing are very (very) low.

So, when starting to meditate I want you to block space for it first thing in the morning.

Once you get the hang of it and start implementing the habit you can play around at different times of the day.

But when starting out make sure to start setting yourself up for success by doing it first thing in the morning.

Don’t get caught up in the how

Another reason why most people don’t take advantage of this incredible practice is because they focus too much on the how.

“How do I meditate, where and how do I sit, what do I focus on, should I put music on, what if I tried a different position…”

We get so caught up in the how and the possibilities, the uncertainty and not just when starting meditation, but with basically anything in life.

It’s called paralysis by analysis. And it happens when we analyze and overthink something so much that we become paralyzed.

My advice to you is to not get caught up on the how, the where, or the what, these types of things are not that important when getting started.

So as Nike says, “just do it“.

Check-in with how you are feeling

The fourth meditation tip for beginners is to check in with how you are feeling.

As you first settle into your meditation, get in touch with your body and emotions.

How does your body feel? What is the quality of your mind? Busy? Tired? Anxious? How does sitting here make you feel?

See whatever you’re bringing to this meditation session as completely OK, without judgment or expectations.

Come back whenever your mind starts wondering

One of the things you´ll experience the most when meditating, especially at the is that your mind will start wandering and you´ll start to lose tour focus.

This is completely normal and OK. The important thing to do here is, instead of judging yourself and feeling frustrated, smile count to five, and regain your focus.

This is what practices are for, and you won’t be good at it for a little while, so take it easy and don’t forget to enjoy the process.

Use counting to keep you focused

The real purpose of meditation is to engage with the present moment, become more aware of your thoughts and emotion, and relax your body and your mind.

And we do this by keeping our minds clear and focused on the now.

So at the beginning in order to help you keep your focus, you could try counting your breath.

Try counting “one” as you take in the first breath, then “two” as you breathe out. Repeat this to the count of 10, then start again.

Beware of your thoughts

One of the many benefits and main uses of meditation is to become aware of your thoughts so as to identify the negative ones that poison your mind and change them for more positive and empowering ones.

Now doing this may feel a little difficult in the beginning, so you can leave this practice for once you start feeling more comfortable with meditation.

However, if during your practice you feel an intrusive thought or your mind starts to wander, listen to those thoughts from a different perspective without judgment or letting them affect you and ask yourself what nature they have (are they positive, empowering thoughts, or negative and limiting ones).

Once you are in a more advanced position you could even ask yourself what triggered those thoughts, how they affect your life, and where they come from (is it a belief that comes from your childhood, a mindset you internalized from your parents, partner, friends…).

Let yourself be bad at something new

It is unrealistic to think that you´ll be good at something you´ve never tried before.

Not only because this is rarely the truth, but because by thinking this way you are creating expectations and letting your fears control you.

But the truth is we all make mistakes and take wrong turns, especially when trying something completely new.

There is no perfect way or exact formula to do things.

So allow yourself to be bad at something new, eliminate those expectations and don’t worry about doing things wrong, with time and practice you’ll start getting better and better.

Try body scanning

Another powerful meditation technique you can try while meditating to help you keep your focus is doing a body scan.

Start at the soles of your feet — how do those feel? Slowly move to your toes, the tops of your feet, your ankles, and all the way to the top of your head.

Notice the light, sounds, energy…

Take advantage of every little free moment

We often believe that meditation is a practice that we need to do in a certain place or at a certain moment, like working out

But the truth is that meditation can be practiced at any moment of the day, in any place, and in whatever way you want.

Even in traffic or in the park!

You can meditate while you are walking somewhere or while drinking your coffee.

Learn to use these moments to stay focused in the present moment and be in touch with your thoughts.

Follow guided meditations

The last and final meditation tip for beginners is to follow guided meditations.

A great way to start meditating, especially if you know you are someone who finds it difficult to concentrate and keep your focus is to follow guided meditations.

There are thousands of guided meditations on YouTube and even Spotify, some more general others focus on specific things, like eliminating stress or sleeping better, etc.

Unlike regular meditation, a guided meditation is when you have someone’s voice and some background music guiding you through what to visualize and think about during your meditation.

Here are a couple of recommendations you can start with:

• Guided Meditation- Blissful Deep Relaxation
• Guided Meditation for Anxiety and Stress
• Guided Meditation for Detachment From Over-Thinking
• Letting Go Guided Meditation

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Thank you so much for investing your time in this article. I hope the techniques, tips, and exercises in this article will help you start your meditation journey in the most enjoyable way.

Always remember that you are worthy of even your deepest and wildest desires!

Before we say goodbye, I have one more question for you: How was your first experience while meditating? I’d love to read you in the comment!

Want to learn more about meditation and its different types?! Here’s meditation 101: the complete guide for beginners.