Welcome to the Positive Pulse blog! Check in with us each month for tips on healthy living, right on our website. A short snippet will be featured in the NJSAP monthly newsletter as well, which you can sign up for here.
April is Stress Awareness Month. It’s a good time to take a breather, relax, and remove yourself from the stress of your everyday life. Set aside some time to practice meditation and you may find your days becoming more peaceful.
Beginner Tips for Meditation:
- Sit for just two minutes. Start with just two minutes a day for a week. If all goes well, by increasing just a little at a time, you’ll be meditating for 10 minutes a day in the 2nd month, which is amazing! But start small first.
- Do it first thing each morning. Set a reminder for every morning when you get up, and put a note somewhere where you’ll see it.
- Count your breaths. 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 at one.
- Come back when you wander. Your mind will wander. This is an almost absolute certainty. There’s no problem with that. When you notice your mind wandering, smile, and simply gently return to your breath.
- Don’t worry. You’re not doing it wrong. There’s no perfect way to do it, just be happy you’re doing it.
- Don’t worry about clearing the mind. If you have thoughts, that’s normal. We all do. Just try to practice focusing your attention, and practice some more when your mind wanders.
- Become friends with yourself. As you get to know yourself, do it with a friendly attitude instead of one of criticism. You’re getting to know a friend. Smile and give yourself love.
- Do 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, all the way to the top of your head.
- You can do it anywhere. If you’re traveling or something comes up in the morning, you can do meditation in your office. In the park. During your commute. As you walk somewhere. Sitting meditation is the best place to start, but in truth, you’re practicing for this kind of mindfulness in your entire life.
Follow guided meditation. If it helps, you can try following guided meditations to start with. You can find some here from UCLA Health in multiple languages.
RESOURCES: