Meditation for beginners - 7 Meditation tips

Meditation - you know you should actually do it. For more calm, love and perspective. But you can't. Until now - so get started with our meditation for beginner roadmap!

“Meditation can help us embrace our worries,
our fear, our anger; and that is very healing.
We let our own natural capacity of healing do the work.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

Okay - But this is not going to work...

Meditation - especially for beginners - is a confusing experience. You hear tons of great stories about it, so you decide to try it. But when you sit down to meditate, everything happens - except what you expect.

Your head just doesn't go empty. Thoughts keep coming.
You get itchy everywhere, or your leg starts to get numb.
You think things like "this is not working, I better quit, I have more to do today".
You love to quit, and sometimes you do.
You feel that you are not doing something right, that you cannot do it.
You may even believe that meditation is not for you.
You do not experience enlightenment, no spiritual visions. No intense sense of calm or bubbling sense of love.

The pros and cons of meditating

The advantages are clear:

Meditation reduces stress, anxiety and haste.
You get the feeling that you have more time.
You feel more loving, calm and happier.
Setbacks feel less heavy.
You realize that you are not your thoughts, but that you have thoughts.
Life proceeds with less effort, less resistance.
You feel freer, more carefree and happier.
It becomes easier to live in the moment.

The disadvantages are also clear:

It takes time and a little discipline.
Sometimes it feels like you're doing it wrong, which can make you doubt yourself.
You will feel so calm that you will have nothing to whine about when you drink coffee with a friend.

And the latter is actually quite cheeky...

Now its time to show you the 7 Meditation tips if you are a beginner

So let's get started!

1. Meditate without expectations

Meditation is not a magical activity. Don't expect spiritual enlightenment, great insights, or overwhelming calm. Certainly not if you are just starting out.

It can happen that your meditation becomes a special experience - and sometimes it will. But most of the time, it is simply a moment for yourself. You are quiet and calm. You then carry that calm with you into your day.

At the end of a meditation I often have the thought: "okay, that was useless." But if I don't meditate for a while, I quickly conclude that my daily meditation was anything but useless.

2. Just sit down

In which position can you meditate best? In every position. You can meditate sitting, lying and even standing or walking. What you like best.

I usually meditate sitting on a yoga block, with my legs back or cross-legged. I keep my back straight and put my hands on my legs.

It can be nice for beginners to meditate in a chair. In a straight chair, or in a comfortable armchair. You can also lie flat on a mat. What feels best for you.

There is no right or wrong. There is only meditation and no meditation. And if you don't do it then you are shorting yourself. So just do what suits you.

3. Set a timer or use an app

Yes. Meditating without a timer is always a lot of fun. Sometimes it feels like I have only been sitting for five minutes, but I have turned out to be fifteen minutes further. Or am I sure that I have been meditating for ten minutes and have only been busy for four minutes.

During your meditation you will notice how relative time can be. Therefore, always set a timer before you start, so that you can meditate without any worries. I usually just put a timer on my iPhone.

Set your smartphone to "do not disturb".
Set a timer, or select a guided meditation in an app or on YouTube.
Stay put until your timer runs out. Resist the urge to interrupt your meditation in the meantime.

Notice how the sabotaging thoughts emerge. "I better stop, this is boring", "this makes no sense", "I can now check whether I have mail".

Observe these thoughts and let them pass you by quietly. You can do nothing for ten minutes. If you did not worry about that project before your meditation, you can also let it go during your meditation.

4. Build your meditation habit

Meditation works best if you make it a daily habit.

I prefer to meditate in the morning or afternoon. When I meditate in the evening I often notice that I sleep less well. That sounds strange, but I always get a lot of energy and a sense of life after a meditation. Then I don't want to sleep.

Find out which time of the day suits you. Both in your daily schedule and in your emotional world. Experiment a little. Maybe you enjoy meditating in the evening.

If you have found a good window of time for meditation, do your best to stick to it daily. For example, sit down for at least 3 minutes every day after work. Set the bar low for yourself so you don't delay your meditation.

If you meditate sporadically, you hardly experience the benefits of meditation in your daily life.
Put a daily reminder on your phone at the time that works for you. For example, every day after work. That way you won't forget to sit down.
Meditating briefly is better than not meditating. Really. If you don't have time to sit for 10 minutes, take 5, 3, or even 1 minute for it.
Meditate every day. Especially for beginners, this is a great way to reap the benefits of this good habit.

The more you meditate, the more you benefit and the easier it becomes. Once a day is a good starting point. If you don't want to do it for a long time, do it short. But do it.

Before you know it you have built up the meditation habit, and you are getting used to that wonderful calm feeling. Then you no longer want to be without it, and from there it will be almost automatic. Just like brushing your teeth

5. Focus your attention on your breathing

"Okay - and what should I do if I'm meditating?" Good question. You can do several things. Let me tell you what I do first.

I usually meditate in the attic. If it is messy I clean it up first. And when it is cold I pack a cloth. Then I sit in my meditation pose and close my eyes:

I then breathe calmly from my stomach through my nose. Just a natural rhythm, nothing special.
With every inhalation I try to straighten my back. As if my crown is gently pulled up with a string. Not forced.
With every exhalation I try to relax my body further. Step by step I scan my body for tension and release the tension.
When I relax, I focus on my breathing. Sometimes that is easy. Sometimes I am a bit more distracted.
When I get distracted I say in my head "in ... out ..." and I follow my breathing. This keeps me in the moment.
Sometimes I get swept up in all kinds of thought streams. As soon as I realize that, I calmly bring my attention back to my breathing.

This idea of relaxing deeper on the exhale also helps me fall asleep quickly. With every exhalation I lower my body "deeper" into the mattress - after which it is suddenly morning.

Good. Maybe this form of meditation also suits you. But what if this doesn't work for you? Then there are other forms of meditation.

Count meditation. You count every exhalation gently in your head. You can continue counting until you have lost count, after which you start again at one. You can also count to ten continuously.
Zen meditation. Keep your eyes open, look down at an angle, focus on a fixed point and soften your focus. Meanwhile, breathe gently through your stomach. You can do this meditation anywhere, even on the train!
Body scan meditation. Scan your body from head to toe quietly, and let tension flow out where you encounter. This often works best when you meditate lying down.
Mindfulness meditation. Focus your attention on the world around you. Sit back and listen to the sounds. Feel the chair under your buttocks. Observe the smells around you. As soon as you notice thoughts, return your attention to your senses.
Guided meditation. Use an app, audio recording or YouTube video and simply follow the instructions. There are endless guided meditations of all kinds.

Experiment and find out what suits you best. There are many ways to meditate, even for beginners.

Tip: Do you want to meditate silently in a loud environment? Then use earplugs or headphones with active noise canceling. That often works even if you don't have music on.

6. Don't try to clear your head

Dirty story: just as the bladder continuously receives urine, your brain continuously receives thoughts. That is very natural, there is nothing to do with it.

Many people think that during a meditation you should clear your head. But that is impossible. What you do is shift your attention to the moment. As a result, you sometimes experience moments of silence. But that silence is quickly disturbed by new thoughts.

The trick is not to clear your head. The trick is to observe your thoughts. See them pass by like clouds in the sky. They come and go. And meanwhile you can observe them quietly.

When you meditate you realize that you are not your thoughts. And that helps you put your problems into perspective and feel better in your own skin.

If you meditate more often you will notice that your head becomes less full. But you will never be completely free of thoughts. Just like your bladder won't stay empty forever.

7. Meditate longer and more often

Do you enjoy meditating daily? Then challenge yourself to do it a little longer. Do you usually meditate for ten minutes now? Then try meditating for 15 minutes.

Do you only meditate in the morning? Try to sit down for a few minutes in the evening.

Find out what works for you and slowly stretch your comfort zone. At some point you will find a good balance between what is practical and what feels nice.

For most people, that amounts to 1-2 meditations a day of 5-20 minutes at a time.

Just meditate!

Meditation is easy and pleasant - even for beginners. As long as you realize you don't have to do it perfectly. Just sit down - don't make it hard on yourself.

Meditation makes your life a lot more fun - if you do it. Then it doesn't really matter how you do it. So just start - and experience how great it is to feel calm, loving and unhurried every day.