How To Meditate At Home: Our Expert Guide
So you’ve decided you want to start a meditation practice.
You’ve heard about all of the benefits, looked into what meditation actually is, and maybe you’ve started delving into how to go about meditating for the first time.
Firstly, congratulations! Meditation is such a valuable mechanism to support holistic wellness.
Now that you’re schooled on the basics, you may be wondering how you can meditate at home. When many of us think about meditation, images of a serene mountaintop temple or peaceful gardens may come to mind. Still, meditation can and should be a practice you can bring into your house at any time.
Let’s discuss how.
Create the Space
Perhaps the most important step you can take when working toward meditating at home is to cultivate the right environment for it.
Have you ever heard of the idea that you shouldn’t work in bed—that your bed should be reserved solely for sleep and relaxation? We’re talking about the exact same concept as it applies to meditation. Find a corner in your home—be it your favorite reading chair, a bench in your garden, even a bean bag chair in your garage—and make it the meditation space that you come back to each time.
It’s vital that this space is comfortable, so if you meditate on the floor, a cushion, yoga mat, or pillow might come in handy. If you need more back support, and there’s no shame in that, having a chair you always use for meditation is perfect.
You might also consider decorating your meditation spot. A beautiful plant, a stack of books, or maybe some aromatherapy can go a long way when creating a space that’s meant to cue focus and relaxation.
Make the Time
It’s easy to let life get in the way of meditation.
Specifically when we’re stressed or overwhelmed we tend to put other obligations first. Ironically enough, pushing off meditation because of scheduling stresses could be remedied by making time to relax using meditation.
That’s why we have to not passively take the time but actively make the time to meditate because it won’t just happen on its own.
We recommend getting on a schedule, and it doesn’t have to be extreme by any means. Three minutes a day, three days a week is a great place to start. Try to stick to it the best you can, but don’t stress out if you have to push a meditation off for a day here and there.
There is undoubtedly a little bit of discipline and willpower required to stay on track, so it might be helpful to stack meditation with another habit rather than doing it at the same time every day. For example, you can meditate after drinking your morning coffee or brushing your teeth before bed.
Choose Your Meditations
The scariest approach to meditation is convincing yourself that you need to sit on the hard floor with zero guidance and use mind power to focus for extended periods. While that may be an admirable goal, unrealistic expectations set us up for failure.
That’s why we recommend guided meditations, especially at the beginning of this journey. If you don’t know where to start, we have a wide variety of guided meditations for you to explore on iChuze Fitness.
There are countless ways to meditate, so choosing the ones that work for you is important. After all, it’s your practice, so doing meditations that resonate with you is key to sticking with it.
Change Your Perspective
Our last tip for meditating at home is learning to shift your mindset about meditation.
If you, like many do, think about meditation as some ancient, abstract, disciplinary act, it won’t be so easy to incorporate it into your routine at home. Once you recognize that it can be casual and intriguing, easing into the practice becomes less of a task and more of an exciting challenge.
Just remember, meditation is not a chore but a tool—one that can make our lives a whole lot easier in the long run. When we approach meditation as such, we can glean the most benefits from it.
Now, all there is to do is carve out the space and time you need to meditate in your home and never let any expectations about meditation stress you out. The practice is there to support you so long as you let it; we’re so glad you’ve taken the time to learn all about meditation and are so excited about the journey you’ve chosen to embark on.