Meditation doesn't make the uncertainty of life go away, but it can change the way you react in uncertain situations. A study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that meditation might have a lasting effect on the amygdala, the part of the brain that processes emotion. When presented with images meant to evoke various responses, fMRI scans revealed that subjects who had been practicing mindful-attention meditation, which involves focusing on your breath, were better able to control their emotions — even when they weren't in a meditative state.
During stressful times like these, coping tools like this can be particularly useful. "The need to find an internal compass with which to navigate our rapidly changing world has never been greater," says Kelly Morris, a meditation teacher based in Santa Fe, New Mexico and founder of The Infinity Call, a subscription service that posts a new guided meditation every day. "Meditation can provide that compass."
You don't have to take a two-year vow of silence to reap meditation's benefits, though. The participants in the aforementioned study had actually never meditated before, and were evaluated after just two months of daily sessions. There's no right or wrong way to meditate, but these guidelines can help get you started.
The Easiest Ways to Start Beginner Meditation
There's an expression floating around the internet, an old Zen adage, some say: "You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes every day, unless you're too busy. Then you should sit for an hour." Wouldn't that be nice? But fortunately, even if your Google calendar resembles a game of Tetris, there's still a way to practice.
"Meditation can be as simple as focusing on taking one breath at a time," says Alli Simon, a meditation and certified yoga teacher in Los Angeles. "Stop. Feel the earth underneath your feet. Bring one hand to the belly and take a deep breath." That seemingly simple act can help you keep your cool throughout the day, even when your WiFi cuts out mid-Zoom. To remember to take that one breath, associate it with a daily ritual — like waiting for your morning coffee to brew — or set an alarm on your phone. After you've gotten used to making time for just one moment each day, "try extending the session by a few minutes," says Simon.
To help keep your breath steady, picture a balloon inflating and deflating with each inhale and exhale. A tool on the Calm app called the "Breathe Bubble" gives you a visual to follow; the bubble's speed is adjustable. "It supports people to [help them] easily breathe in, hold, and breathe out at a pace that feels comfortable," says Tamara Levitt, head of mindfulness at Calm.
Finding a Meditation Technique That Works for You
If you're quiet and focused on your breath, congratulations: You're already practicing silent — or unguided — meditation. If that's working for you, keep it up. But many beginners appreciate having their hand held (metaphorically) through guided meditation, in which a teacher leads you through the session. There are hundreds of techniques to choose from, so it's important to find a guide and practice that resonate with you. Some common types of meditation include visualization (in which you focus on a mental image, like a stream of sunlight hitting your body), mantra (setting an intention by way of repeating a word, like "abundance," or a phrase), and body scan (becoming aware of each part of your body as you perform a "self- scan" from head to toe).
Many practitioners combine elements of different techniques, especially when designing meditations in pursuit of a particular goal, like better sleep or sharper focus. An easy way to parse out what works for you is by downloading an app. Here, a few of our favorites.
The Best Meditation Apps
The interface is easy to navigate, and the library of courses is vast. (But as you might guess, the three-part Basics course — which teaches foundational techniques — is a good place for newbies to start.) For those who struggle to sit still during meditation, Headspace ($13/month) also offers a "Move Mode" that incorporates gentle movement and yoga poses.
The Insight Timer app is free, but we'd gladly pony up for access to its 100,000+ guided meditations — many of which are led by mindfulness experts such as Koya Webb and Alex Elle. While there aren't step-by-step courses on the free version of the app, users can earmark their favorite meditations by creating a "playlist" or browsing those curated by other users.
Whether you're a One Direction stan or a basketball fan, the Calm app ($15/month) has something for you. Harry Styles and LeBron James are just two of the many celebrities who have lent their voices to the app's sleep-time stories and courses on mental fitness. Calm also offers simple exercises (like the aforementioned "bubble") to turn to when you're feeling anxious.
The Best Time to Meditate
You really shouldn't check social media before meditating for the same reason you should avoid it before bed. "Checking your email, scanning the news, or glancing at your to-do list forces the mind into a beta brain wave state [a term used in neuroscience]," says Morris. "That is useful for judgment and problem-solving tasks, but also characterized by [states of mind such as] anxiety and hyperactivity, which are not conducive to meditation." First thing in the morning — before you've been bombarded with the news of the day — is an ideal time to practice, says Morris.
How to Stick to a Meditation Routine
Some research suggests that "committing to a style of meditation and practicing it consistently allows us to best experience the cumulative effects," says Ellie Burrows Gluck, CEO and co-founder of MNDFL, a meditation studio in New York City that also streams live classes. Studies have shown that these beneficial effects include reduced blood pressure, eased anxiety, and help with insomnia.
If you're able, Burrows Gluck also recommends sticking to the same time of day, length of practice (once you've worked up to what feels comfortable), and environment. One study from UCLA compared people who meditated consistently for at least four years (with an average of 20 years of practice) with subjects who had not, and found that the brain's gray matter — the type of tissue associated with cognitive ability — was better preserved in those who meditated.
Different Types of Meditation
So, what exactly are your options when it comes to meditation style? You've got hundreds to choose from — though perhaps you don't have to. Many people incorporate elements of several different styles into a single meditation to create their own unique practice. That said, the following are among the most popular types.
In mindfulness meditation, it's all about your breath. "When you become aware that the mind has wandered, gently remind yourself to come back to the breath," says Burrows Gluck. Yep — that's it. Really.
Whereas mindful meditation challenges you to bring you full attention to your breath, "vedic meditation uses a mantra — which translates to 'mind vehicle' — or resonate sound to bring the body into a state of deep relaxation," says Burrows Gluck. Your mantra could take the form of a phrase ("I am enough") or simply a word ("abundance") and can help incite even more positive feelings.
Also referred to as insight meditation, in Vipassana, "we tend to focus on anything that is happening in the present moment," says Levitt. "So we often turn our attention towards an anchor like the breath, or sound, or sensation in the body. We simply note what arises as we sit from moment to moment, all the while cultivating awareness and non-reactivity."
You've probably heard of TM, though it exists in something of a silo in the meditation world: It can be taught only by certified Transcendental Meditation instructors in a one-on-one setting. The technique is personalized based on your needs, but involves sitting in silence twice a day for 20 minutes to promote a higher state of consciousness.
Embrace Meditation Imperfection
"There is something pretty unnerving about the idea of doing nothing," says Simon. "[But] that's why we practice: not to try to make something happen, but to notice what becomes available when we stop." If you find your mind wandering — because it will — be kind to yourself, then gently return your focus to your breath.
According to Simon, "The fact that you are noticing that your mind is wandering is the practice." And remember, there's no finite measure of successful meditation. However, says Levitt, "if you start meditation with a certain level of frustration or impatience and that diminishes, that is progress. If you start feeling self-critical, and that softens, that is progress. If you begin noticing you are able to pause and take a breath before reacting to people or events that cause you anxiety or anger, that, too, is progress."
Read more about mindfulness:
- 11 of the Best Mindfulness Apps to Help You Keep Calm Under Stress
- 7 Calming Meditation Techniques for Beginners
- How Your Favorite Meditation Apps Chose Their Most Popular Voices
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