Meditation is an ancient practice that has been used for centuries to help people find inner peace and balance. It involves focusing on a particular object, such as breathing, a mantra, a visualization, or physical sensations within the body, and returning to that object whenever the mind begins to wander. With regular practice, meditation can help you stay focused and maintain inner peace. If you're looking to start a daily meditation practice, Headspace offers a 10-day beginner's course on the basics of meditation, available free of charge.
This is an ideal way to build a solid foundation for your practice. From there, you can explore the entire content library that includes hundreds of thematic meditations on mindfulness, from stress and compassion to sleep and focus. When looking for a meditation teacher, it's important to find someone who exemplifies qualities of kindness, compassion, love, balance, and equanimity. To begin your practice, start by focusing on your breath.
Breathe slowly and deeply, counting your breaths or otherwise focusing on your breaths. The goal is to focus solely on breathing and ignore other thoughts that enter the mind. Once you become comfortable with this technique, you can move onto body scanning. Start at the top of your head and slowly direct your attention to the surface of your skin, inch by inch.
See if you can feel your scalp, ears, eyelids, and nose. Continue this way, moving across your face, above your ears, up your neck and shoulders, and up to your toes. Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health. You can also use it to relax and cope with stress by refocusing your attention on something calming.
With regular practice, you can learn to stay focused and maintain inner peace.
