TRANSFORMATIVE TIPS FOR NEW MEDITATORS

Let’s get real, you’ve been wanting to learn how to meditate for a while because you’ve heard about its benefits, but you don’t know where to start or you don’t think you’ll be able to quiet your mind for more than 10 seconds, mostly mulling over your to-do list.

There are so many different meditation practices, it can be overwhelming. With a million books, gurus and sometimes unnecessarily expensive workshops out there, it’s no wonder one can actually get anxious over meditation… which is definitely not the goal.

As someone who has tested and tried every kind of practice from transcendental meditation to gnomes and fairy meditations, here are three meditation support techniques to help you craft a practice you love.

1. BREATHING

Over the years, learning various breathing tools have truly changed my practice. I find that by incorporating deep, almost hyperventilation-type methods are absolute game changers when it comes to putting your body and mind into a deeply meditative state. There are wonderful techniques out there you can try, including various pranayama (yogic breathing exercises), some of which can be found here.

If you want to go in deep, try the Wim Hof (“The Iceman”) method that consists of taking in big, full breaths into the diaphragm and then easily letting them go, repeating 30-40 times and then finishing each cycle with emptying your breath for as long as possible and then holding it for another 15 seconds or so. Doing the cycle 3 times, taking anywhere from 12-15 minutes, can completely immerse your body and mind into a woozy, oxygenated zone, plunging you naturally into deep focus.

If you don’t have much time for your practice, even doing this once will help you get into a meditative state much, much quicker. This practice can have transformative effects on your body, helping to fight illness and other stressors. Big fan.

Wim Hof has an app you can download for free, his website, and here is a link to Wim Hof’s YouTube channel to learn more.

2. SOUND

From the dead silence of the forest to overcoming sounds of a Saturday night in New York City, the only thing I haven’t tried meditating to is Kenny G.

What I’ve found works best are monotonous drumming, singing bowls and 110 hz frequencies, which can put you into trance very quickly—especially when coupled with the breathing techniques above. There is something about the monotony that makes it much easier to get into that meditative zone, keeping your focal point on a repetitive loop, instead of wandering in different sound directions. If you live in a city where you can attend sound baths, including crystal/singing bowls and/or gongs, do it—they can be amazing!

Here are some links to YouTube videos that I’ve collected. You may want to use earphones to amplify the effects. See what works for you!

• 110 hz Frequencies
• Shamanic Drumming
• Koshi Chimes
• Crystal Bowls
• Om Chanting
• Rainforest Native American Flute
• Tom Kenyon Aethos
• Om Water

3. THOUGHTS

Thinking… The hardest part—especially if you’re a particularly cerebral human being. “How do I think about nothing?” “That means I’m thinking about not thinking…?” “Makes no sense.”

This thought process is universal, don’t worry—you’re not alone. This is the biggest challenge people face when starting to meditate. After much exploration in this area, here are a few that work well for regaining your focus and elevating your vibration naturally:

• Love Meditation

Love is the highest vibration feeling that exists in the Universe and bathing yourself in it does wonders for your mind, body and soul. It’s healing, regenerative, nourishing and extremely uplifting. The feelings of stress, anger and fear completely dissipate when you’re in love-vibe-bliss. So, start by thinking of something that you love to death, whether it’s your partner, your pet, your family, or even your new car or that cash-money—it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you get those fuzzy love molecules bubbling in your heart. Sit with it. Keep it generating and expand it to yourself, to other people or to things you love. The goal for this meditation is simply to hold the feeling of love inside your heart, expand it inside your body and outwards to the world for as long as you can. It’s transformative.

• Mantra

Repeating a mantra can be very powerful if you’re trying to get your mind to that zero-point meditative state as it’s naturally hypnotic. The real key is to keep your mind from wandering off to your latest crush or your grocery list. When you find yourself going off mantra, just… come back. Don’t judge yourself or get upset that you’re having a hard time focusing, just… come back! Repeat and repeat and repeat, and eventually with practice, you’ll get there quicker and easier. The breathing techniques above will aid in this process significantly, plunging you deeper right from the get-go.

Here are a few traditional high vibe mantras you can try and see what resonates with you. Click to read about them individually:

• Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
• Satnam (SA-TA-NA-MA)
• Om Mani Padme Hum
• Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

• Healing Meditation

​If you are looking to help heal an illness, I’m a big fan of Dr. Joe Dispenza‘s meditations. Dispenza is an incredible researcher and pioneer in the “mind over matter” category. In a nutshell, his philosophy treads on the idea that illness stems from cells slowing down their vibration, which in turn becomes chaos. He promotes raising the vibration of the cells in order to heal by going into meditation, blessing each chakra energy center and simply re-informing it to reorganize itself. Backed with loads of scientific evidence as well as unbelievable spontaneous healings, his work is a true meeting of the minds between science and spirituality. Visit his website for more information on him and his books, and to download his meditations. I recommend starting with the “Blessing the Energy Centers” meditations.

• Infinity Meditation

This is an unconventional meditation I fell in love with while learning an energy healing technique that I find really works when trying to put yourself into a trance-like state. Simply imagine in your mind’s eye an infinity symbol made of white or golden light. Put any kind of positive energy into its flow—love, happiness, things you want to manifest—you want to make sure the infinity symbol itself feels alive and not stagnant or boring. Then imagine a point drawing the infinity or even a train taking a ride along it, traveling onto itself in a never ending loop of bright, wonderful energy.

You can start slow so you get the hang of it and then speed it up as fast as you can. Watch it happening in the forefront of your mind and then as you get comfortable with it, move it to the back of your mind as a passive activity. When you couple this with the breathing technique, you will shoot to the stars!

Most of all, don’t beat yourself up if it takes you a while to get a hang of your meditation practice. And it’s called a “practice” for a reason… it doesn’t happen overnight. But, be patient with yourself because the rewards can be life-changing. Start with a few minutes a day and try to work up to as often and long as you can. The more you do it, the better you’ll get, and the better you’ll feel.

I hope these techniques help you in any way, and please feel free to reply and let us know what worked for you or if you have any others to share!

Namaste lovers,
Erica for SACRED