I am so excited to finally share with you my experience with meditation. Now, don’t forget this is supposed to be fun. So please don’t stress out if it feels like a big challenge in the beginning. I have to admit that I also struggled once I started meditating on a regular basis. But after the 30 Days were over, I realized that now this habit is a huge part of my life and therefore I can’t live without meditating at least once a day. If you have never meditated before in your life you probably worry about those 5 things:

1. Where do I meditate?
2. For how long do I meditate? 
3. How do I sit down while meditating?
4. How do I meditate?
5. Do I need special equipment for meditation?

You really don’t have to worry about those 5 things because I tell you the best way of getting started with meditation. I want you to make meditation a habit in your day to day life. Therefore I will show you a variety of meditation techniques that helped me to become more relaxed, more centered, and more balanced in my life. For me personally meditation was the key to become the divine person I now am. So let’s get started on the challenge:

1. Where do I meditate? It really does not matter where exactly you meditate. You can meditate anywhere in your home, including the bathroom (which was my favorite room to be when I got challenged to find a quiet place for meditation). You can also meditate outside in nature if you want to. Just find a comfortable place like in your backyard, at the beach, or maybe in a public park. The most important thing is that you don’t get disturbed at all. If you have kids or other family members around just make sure they are not at home or are all asleep. When things really started to get hectic I just locked myself in the bathroom, and told my family members, that I needed some privacy for a little while. 
2. For how long do I meditate? In the beginning I challenged myself to meditate for at least 3 minutes a day. This does not sound like a very long time, but trust me as a beginner it can feel like hours. You will not believe how long 3 minutes can be, once it is all quiet around you and you are just by yourself with your own breath and your very own thoughts. After two weeks I challenged myself to meditate for 6 minutes a day, and the last ten days I already tried to meditate for 10 minutes a day. Please, don’t get mad at yourself if you can’t make it to 10 minutes. This is really a very long time when it comes to meditation. But once you get used to this habit 10 minutes will be over in no time.
3. How do I sit down while meditating? You can sit down any way you like. If you want to, you can sit on a chair, or on a pillow or blanket on the floor. If you prefer to lie down, this is also fine. But please make sure you don’t fall to sleep. Most people prefer the lotus position while meditating, but sitting comfortable on your knees is also fine. Just make sure you feel comfortable and you don’t have any pain in your body while sitting down.
4. How do I meditate? I suggest that you set an alarm clock in order to stick to the time for your meditation session. Once you set the alarm close your eyes and relax. You have to take a deep breath in, hold it in for about 3 seconds, and then exhale slowly. If thoughts start to drift in and out that is OK. Especially the first meditation session should be simple and easy on you. Just allow you to be, and experience this sensation for yourself. If your body starts to twitch a little bit, or if you feel a little itch, that is alright. Just be with your breath and be in the now. To focus on your breath can be also a saver, once you start to drift off with your own thoughts too much. If this happens, just try to comeback in the now and focus on your breath again. Keep telling yourself in the mind: “Breath in, hold your breath for 3 seconds, and exhale slowly.” I personally feel more comfortable breathing in thru my nose and breathing out thru my mouth. But you have to try for yourself what feels best for you personally. Just simply feel what you are feeling. I suggest you relax your shoulders and put your hands on your knees. Your mind is probably dancing around: see those stories, see those thoughts and after come back to your breath. So with each exhale just let your thoughts go and try to come back in the now. But there is no reason to force you to let go of something in particular. Please don’t put any kind of pressure on you. Just trap and hold your mind in a particular place. Feeling your breath travel in and out is the best part of meditation. Knowing that you have the capacity and ability to meditate is amazing. It is easy and simple as that. Towards the end of the meditation session I suggest that you bring the palms of your hands together and rub them, because especially in the beginning your hands will feel very heavy. Rubbing your hands will put heat in them. Then you put the palms of your hands on your eyes and keep breathing slowly in and out. Once the alarm clock is turning on you slowly open your eyes. That is all you have to do.
5. Do I need special equipment for meditation? I definitely recommend listening to calm and relaxing music while meditating. You can easily find tons of meditation music on YouTube. Just make sure the music is only instrumental. That way you can better focus on your breath. If you are concerned that you are getting distracted by your own thoughts too much, I suggest that you try out so called guided meditations. There are also tons of guided meditations on YouTube. But especially in the beginning I recommend that you only set an alarm clock and just be with yourself for at least 3 minutes. If you prefer you can sit on a chair or lie down on a bed. I personally prefer sitting in the lotus position on a special Zen blanket. But you can use any blanket, a yoga mat or even a special meditation pillow. Choose whatever equipment you feel most comfortable with. To make your meditation session very special I suggest that you turn on a candle or some incense. As always I hope that meditation will help you to bring more Zen into your life.

Love & Light, Sandy