How to Start (And Stick to) a Meditation Practice
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The time was 4.40 am and I could hear the faint sound of drizzling rainfall.
My head was caressed between the palms of my hands. My eyes, wide open. The only other trace of life in the room came from the candle flickering its light and casting shadows against the walls.
The sound of the rain grew heavy as my mind hovered over his echoing words:
You are all different now. The person who came here five days ago is not the same person sitting here today. In five days, you can change more than in your entire lifetime. You will be a different person going back out.
A shiver struck down my spine and shook me out of bed.
You are all different now.
The wax formed a pool and the flame faded out.
I reached for my slippers and grabbed hold of the flashlight. In five minutes I would hear the call of the gong.
You will be a different person going back out.
I took a deep breath and stepped out into the darkness.
Those are the words to describe the final morning of my first ever meditation experience.
It was a little over two years ago, in Sri Lanka, at an isolated meditation temple located on a lush green mountain a few hours north of Kandy. And while it was a little extreme to go from meditation novice and jump straight into a five-day silent retreat, it still is one of the most challenging but beautiful experiences I’ve ever had.
It introduced me to the true power of meditation and the positive impact it can have on your life.
Over the past six months, I’ve transformed meditation into a morning habit, and it has since drastically improved my mood, focus, and overall outlook on life.
Now, you don’t need to fly to Sri Lanka to learn how to meditate, you can start right here, right now, from exactly where you are. And all you really need is five minutes per day.
Five minutes.
That’s it?
Yes, that’s it.
Let me show you how.
Meditation: The What and The Why
There are a lot of different definitions for meditation, but I find this one from Healthline to be perfectly succinct:
“Meditation is a habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts.”
Meditation is not about emptying the mind from thoughts, it’s about disengaging with your thoughts so you can find a moment of stillness. Meditation is not about judgement of oneself, it’s the conscious suspension of all judgment to make way for higher self-awareness of our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.
Meditation is a practice that allows you to become mindful.
And mindfulness is the human capacity to be fully present in the present moment, aware of where we are, what we’re doing, how we’re feeling, and what we’re thinking.
The purpose of meditation, then, is not to eliminate all thoughts. The purpose of meditation is to become more aware of the present moment and learn how to observe your thoughts and how to create distance between you and your thoughts.
“Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It’s a way of entering into the quiet that’s already there.”—Deepak Chopra
And there several emotional and mental health benefits of meditation. Here are 11 (I’ll simply list them for you but if you’re interested in the science and evident research, you’ll find the detailed explanations here).
Reduces stress
Controls anxiety
Promotes emotional health
Enhances self-awareness
Lengthens attention span
May reduce age-related memory loss
Can generate kindness
May help fight addictions
Improves sleep
Helps control pain
Can decrease blood pressure
Over the past six months, I’ve been meditating daily and this is why I do it:
It helps me stay calm. Meditation practice helps me maintain a sense of calm in my life. A daily practice reminds me to stay focused on what I control: My breath, my attention to what thoughts I choose to engage with, and my outlook on life. And this translates to a way of living. So now, whenever I feel overwhelmed, I step back and ask myself: “What’s within my control?” I slow down, I reconnect with my breath, and I feel a little more centered again.
It helps me focus better. Every single time I meditate my thoughts wander. It’s normal. Again, the idea is not to be thought-free, the idea is to be aware that your mind is wandering and to consciously bring back your attention to your breath. This practice has trained me to gain control over my attention and develop a higher concentration and focus. In a way it’s like I’m building a mental muscle: I’ve increased the strength and endurance of my ability to focus on a single task for a long period of time, distraction-free (like writing this article).
It helps me practice empathy and stay positive. I’ve become more compassionate with myself and others. And the reason goes back to mindfulness: I become more aware of my emotions and sensations—I become more human.
How to Start (And Stick to) a Meditation Practice
Just like everything else in life, meditation practice is a habit you need to build. And the best way to go about doing so is to create a routine for it.
Here are four tips on how to start and stick to it:
Choose a time for your daily meditation. I like to start my day with my meditation practice. It helps me set the tone for the day: positive, calm, and intentional.
Find a comfortable place and make it your sanctuary. I like to meditate on my bed. I cross my legs, sit up straight, and support my back with some cushions.
Start with guided meditations. Don’t try to meditate on your own, you’ll have no idea what you’ll be doing. Download an app and try a few sessions with guided meditations. Try different teachers. See how you connect with them.
Start small and stay consistent. As per any habit formation strategy, start small: 5-minute sessions per day. A month later, move up to 8-minute sessions. And then 10-minute, 12-minute, etc… The goal is to gradually increase the time and stay consistent.
I meditate every morning for 15-minutes after I wake up and freshen up and I do a mix of guided and non-guided practices. Sometimes I repeat these 4 mantras to myself. Other times, I listen to my favorite mediations using the app below.
A while back, I used the Headspace app, but these days I prefer Insight timer. There’s a free and paid version to it. I have the free version and it’s perfect. It tracks the number of sessions and the time you’ve accumulated and creates milestones for you to achieve which keeps it exciting. For instance, I’ve meditated a total of 2,800 minutes on the app and reached 9 milestones.
Your 5-Day Challenge
“Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear.”—Haruki Murakami
If you’ve never meditated before, or if you have and you struggle to stick to it, then I ask you this:
Can you meditate for the next five days, five minutes per day?
That’s it.
Just five minutes for five days.
Do it first thing every morning—before work kicks in.
See how you feel after.
What are the thoughts that keep coming back to you? How are you feeling? Are you calmer or more agitated? It’s these questions that help you become more self-aware.
And meditation is the means through which you can cultivate a more present and positive outlook on life. It helps you become more mindful, compassionate, and appreciative of yourself and your surroundings, which is the essence of slow living.
Five days can make a difference.
Because, going back to the words of our monk, I can tell you this:
In five days, you can change more than in your entire lifetime.