How to start meditating simply? Everything you need to know to meditate properly and avoid mistakes.

Meditation is sometimes associated with religion or nebulous esoteric practices, yet it is a formidable tool for personal development that is accessible to everyone.

Here I will give you concrete ideas so that you can try meditation as quickly as possible and with the understanding necessary to feel comfortable with this new tool.

Enjoy your reading, my Mouvers!

What is the definition of meditation?

Most of the time when we start our first meditation session, it will be difficult to manage to keep a focus on our breathing for more than 10 seconds.

Very quickly the chaos of thoughts will intervene.

This can get very frustrating…

Yet the origin of the term meditation, Bhavana , used by Buddha himself, means training and habituation .

With this new prism, you will understand that your moment of meditation is an integral part of a process , it is a real training, like a sports session in short, where you will sometimes encounter some difficulties , but for your brain.

You will be able to progress little by little.

But progress in what exactly?

Progress in staying in the present moment.

Improve your ability to use interoception .

Improve your ability to concentrate .

In short, I like to say that meditation is training yourself to be non-distracted .

It is knowing how to undertake this mental gymnastics of going back and forth between the here and now , and abstraction , thoughts dedicated to the past or the future.

Also, in meditative practice you must know how to have a benevolent posture.

It's so easy to fall into judgments of others and ourselves.

But such behavior is undoubtedly detrimental to your well-being, and that of the people around you.

So, by practicing paying kind attention to what is inside you, or what surrounds you, depending on the type of meditation, you will be able to calm a capricious mind and cultivate your kindness.

I know that saying it this way may sound quite vague and mystical...

So I invite you to try my Movements, to find out what meditation can create in you.

Anyway, I'll stop there...

As you will have understood, it is difficult to give a fixed definition of meditation, because it is very subjective and can change from one human being to another, from one practice to another, from one country to another.

Even if the essence remains the same.

Finally, if this practice has been preserved through the ages and in many cultures, it is because they present many benefits .

It's a bit like natural selection explained by Darwin !

Based on this premise, here are some of the most commonly observed benefits:

Stress reduction : By cultivating daily relaxation of your nervous system and regulating stress-related responses, meditation can reduce the level of cortisol, a stress hormone.

This practice will help improve your ability to focus on the important tasks of your day.

Your book project, mandatory administrative tasks, or simply cooking!

Meditation teaches techniques to better manage emotions, thus promoting emotional stability and resilience .

Or antifragility , if you're team Taleb .

Many people experience reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms through meditation, and studies support this.

But it can also help calm the mind, thus promoting better quality sleep .

Finally, and this is often an unexpected effect, meditation will help you develop compassion , towards yourself and towards your neighbor.

What type of meditation should you choose?

After trying to define meditation, I would like to give you some pointers so that you can best choose the practice that suits you.

But first I'd like to warn you, there are a multitude of forms of meditation .

From mindfulness meditation to transcendental meditation, including Zen meditation, guided meditations, Tonglen meditation and even elemental meditation...

Choose according to the form, what the practice can bring you, if you are looking for relaxation , to help you fall asleep...

There's enough to make you hesitate for hours!

What I suggest to you in this article, but once again you are free to choose, is to start with a simple and very accessible form .

First take action , then take the time to learn about all forms of meditation.

Instead of being overwhelmed by thousands of pieces of information!

But finally, I will give you the main forms of meditation, but also and above all, the most accessible.

First let me tell you about Mindfulness Meditation , I'm sure you've heard this name somewhere before, in recent years it has experienced a meteoric rise.

And for good reason!

Experts call it the ideal gateway.

Mindfulness meditation, also known as Vipassana meditation , involves paying conscious attention to the present moment, without judgment or distraction .

I will show you in the section just below how to practice it and what posture to adopt, both mental and physical.

Next let me tell you about guided meditations .

As the name suggests, a guided meditation is a meditation where you follow instructions via video or audio.

A very well-known method is the body scan.

But there are plenty of others and I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for!

I myself have also created a free session accessible to even the most beginner-friendly.

Otherwise you can find protocols on the Petit bambou app.

The last type of meditation I would like to bring to your attention is Mantra Meditation .

It may not mean anything to you, but what if I say Buddhist temple, monk and prayer?

You've probably already heard the famous one.

Ooooom…

Well, that's what a mantra is, at least a mantra in certain Asian traditions.

It is a simple method that uses repeated words or phrases to calm the mind .

You can create your own mantra, choosing the keyword that suits you or use the most well-known ones that are available on the internet with all their meanings, it's exciting!

It could be peace or harmony for example.

How do I do my first meditation session?

The best advice I can give you is to start with something simple.

Humans often tend, because they are motivated, to want to throw themselves body and soul into a new practice or lifestyle habit that they have just discovered, even more so if it presents numerous advantages...

However, it is a very good way to get discouraged and to go too intensely into a new action.

You won't do a weighted ring pull-up session when you've never trained with this tool?

If this is the case, you risk positioning yourself incorrectly, forcing yourself too hard, and thus causing an injury.

It's a shame because exercising intelligently is one of the major factors in health.

For my part, I would even say that movement is the very essence of our species!

But I digress...

Well, it's the same thing for meditation.

Start with something simple.

As seen just above, it is a practice, a training, a real know-how!

You will therefore need to acquire regularity with this practice, implement it in your daily life to reap all the benefits.

Great sages and neuroscientists like to point out that it is better to have a short meditation session every day , rather than a long session once a week.

Even if, in absolute terms, it will always be fairer to do just one meditation session in your week rather than none...

Let's get down to business.

Here is the simple protocol to put in place, to do your first mindfulness meditation session:

Find a quiet place.

Put yourself in a comfortable position .

Close your eyes to enter interoception mode.

Then, simply observe what is happening within you without judgment.

Relax your muscles.

Then gently feel your breathing , without forcing it, simply letting it go naturally.

There you are, becoming deliciously attached to the present moment ...

Here you will have to cultivate your patience , it is often not easy to remain attentive to the moment T, to the temporality in which you find yourself, and it is exactly this faculty that you will have to develop through meditation training.

Finally, if you keep putting off this moment, when you will spend time with yourself.

It might be interesting to challenge yourself in some way by going to a meditation class!

By forcing yourself to attend a class, you will be able to open your mind to new horizons by meeting an instructor who practices this regularly.

Here is all my advice which I hope will inspire you to embark on this new adventure, to meet a deeper you...

Thank you for your attention, my Mouver!

And if you want to bounce back or simply share your experience concerning your meditation practice, I look forward to hearing from you in the comments section 😉

Nomad Slim
Founder of MOUVERS