What is meditation?
Meditation is a kind of progressive training of the brain. It's neither being in a trance with our eyes closed nor a mystical ritual. Just as our body needs physical practice to stay healthy, our brain needs to clear away distracting thoughts as well to relax for a while.
Meditative practice can enhance our awareness of the body, emotions, and thoughts by consciously regulating and maintaining our attention. This, in turn helps us to relax, relieve stress, and calm the body and mind.
What are the benefits of practicing meditation?
Neuroscience research shows that practitioners experience a decline in cortisol, which is a steroid hormone related to stress generation. The density of amygdala ecto cinerea, which is related to the sense of anxiety and stress, decreases. In contrast, the density of prefrontal lobe cortex increases. This is related to the thinking and decision-making functions. To sum up, meditation practice can improve brain vitality.
Practicing meditation has many benefits and these include:
Is meditation practice suitable for me?
We are trapped for so long in our busy routines, hectic work schedule, stressful lessons, and maintaining relationships. We are so overwhelmed with loads of information and we can’t even remember the last time we allowed our brain to rest.
If you want a practice of letting go of all the issues to rest your mind, meditation is exactly what you are looking for. It has no particular restrictions. As long as you can breathe, then you can meditate.
As a beneficial brain training, we recommend everyone learn and practice meditation. You can read the following tutorial to learn the basic knowledge about meditation. We also provide an audio exercise, "Basic" which you can follow to experience some core meditation practice.
Word of Caution: Studies found that people with a history of mental disorder may have uncontrollable risks during meditation practice. Therefore, we recommend these meditation practitioners to consult professionals beforehand to prevent potential health risks.
How do I start my first meditation?
If it's the first time for you to practice meditation, we recommend you to:
Everything is simple in getting started. Meditation practice won't consume a lot of your time or energy. Stay relaxed and focus. Follow the guidance provided by Tide and enjoy your journey of meditation.
What time of the day is preferable for practicing meditation?
Actually, there is no "perfect time" for practicing meditation. You can start practicing at any time of the day.
However, for beginners, we recommend picking a relatively fixed time to practice, such as after getting up in the morning or before going to bed.
As you keep making progress, you can try to use the small breaks of the day such as lunch breaks, waiting time or commuting time. Gradually, meditation practice will become a part of your life.
What is the appropriate length of time for meditation?
There is no "appropriate length" for practicing meditation as well.
As long as you start practicing, even if your mind wanders and forces you to stop halfway, it is still good for your mental well-being for it is part of the process.
As a beginning level practitioner, don't push yourself too hard to reach a specific goal. Setting a fixed time length would be more suitable for advanced practitioners.
As you keep practicing, you may extend the length gradually. It depends on your progress.
Where should I start a meditation practice?
There are no particular requirements regarding the location for meditation.
Whether it's at home, outdoors, while commuting or a small corner in the office, you can start meditation anywhere that makes you feel relaxed and comfortable.
If you are a beginner, we recommend you pick a quiet place to keep you from being disturbed and distracted, such as your bedroom. If possible, don't often change your location.
As you keep making progress, you can also meditate in some refreshing outdoor spaces, like a garden, on the grass or in the woods, if you prefer to enjoy your meditation with warm sunshine and fresh air.
How should I position my body when practicing meditation?
Aside from carefully balancing your head and neck in the middle, there are no other special requirements regarding body posture.
Here are some popular and recommended postures most practitioners use: the quarter lotus sitting, back-straight sitting and face-up lying. Depending on the circumstances, you are free to choose from these postures.
Regardless of the posture you choose, it is imperative to allow yourself to feel comfortable and relaxed.
My mind keeps wandering and drifting off, what can I do?
It’s quite normal that your mind wanders and drifts away. There's no need to be discouraged or to feel alarmed.
As soon as you notice your mind wandering, all you need to do is to gently bring your attention back to your breathing. Feel the air flow, cooling down your nostrils as you breathe in and the humid air warm the tip of the nose as you breathe out.
With an open mind and tolerant attitude, you can stay calm, maintain your awareness and welcome even the most subtle changes during the practice.
What am I supposed to do when I get distracted while meditating?
Although you try to practice meditation in a quiet place to avoid interruption, it is inevitable to be disturbed once in a while.
At that moment, your attention may be diverted. It doesn't matter and you don't have to be upset about it. You can continue with your meditation practice. All you need to do is to refocus your attention back to your breathing and see if you feel any different sensations in your body.
How do I deal with uncomfortable emotions when practicing meditation?
If you happen to encounter any emotions that makes you uncomfortable, try not to repress or control them. Play a role as an audience and observe them with curiosity.
Treat your emotions with a calm heart, seeing what they look like and feeling the changes these emotions bring to your body. Allow them to linger for a while.
How do I deal with the ache or pain that may arise in some parts of my body during meditation?
Meditation practice can enhance the awareness of your body by making it easier to perceive feelings which are seldom noticed before, like an indistinct pain at the shoulders. Don't worry too much for it happens quite often.
If you feel some kind of pain, try to focus on the place where it arises, feel it with each inhalation and exhalation and slowly relax.
You may find that when you keep focusing on the painful area, the pain will gradually ease. This is an effective method and the next time you're in the same situation, you can use this method to relieve the pain.
However, if the pain doesn't ease, or even gets worse, we recommend you to consult a professional for further assistance.
I can't help but fall asleep when practicing meditation. What should I do?
It's pretty common for the practitioners to fall asleep as they are practicing meditation.
In addition to improving your perception, meditation can also help your body relax deeply, so it is easy to fall asleep.
So, if you accidentally fall asleep when practicing meditation, don't worry about missing the rest of the practice. Just take advantage of this opportunity to let your tired body rest itself naturally.
There are some pauses during a guided meditation, what should I do? Should I stop or keep practicing?
Generally speaking, a guided meditation section usually contains several pauses, between 10 seconds to one minute. If the guidance stops, keep practicing the last exercise instructed to you.
If you find your mind wandering during this period, gently bring your attention back to your breathing. Keep an eye on your inhalations and exhalations. Notice the thoughts that may spark in your mind and observe your feelings and emotions.
Can I move a bit when practicing meditation?
Meditation practice doesn’t require you to "stay still". Instead of body posture, meditation practice requires you to be conscious and maintain focus.
For example, after sitting for a while, your legs may start to get numb. Then you can try to observe this feeling of numbing and it may gradually disappear. If it's too much to bear, you can make a slight movement and you should be fully aware of what you are doing now and how you are doing it.
I can't get relaxed during meditation. What should I do?
If you feel your body is too stiff to relax, try this simple exercise.
Clench your fists hard and hold for 10 seconds, then quickly release the tension.
Repeat this exercise and feel if you can notice the sense of looseness, peace, and comfort when you let go of your hand. That is how to relax.
Similarly, when practicing meditation, we suggest you settle down in a relatively comfortable state without attempting to control any movement, position or feeling. That's how we start relaxing.
It seems I can’t capture any sensations that arise in my body. Why?
The ability to perceive bodily sensations varies in every individual. Some are born to be more sensitive, with a better awareness of their internal status. Others are with weaker senses, and may find it difficult to capture the sensations.
Remember, there's no need to feel disappointed if you can't be fully aware of the body sensations easily.
We all know that regular visits to the gym strengthen our muscles. Likewise, to keep practicing meditation is to improve our ability to perceive the body. After practicing meditation for some time, perhaps one day you may wake up, and find that you are sensitive enough to capture the subtle changes in your body.
How can I know that I am practicing meditation the right way?
Practicing meditation helps us better understand the physical and psychological feelings so we may find inner-peace. So, if you are capable of keeping an eye on your breathing, seeing your thoughts come and go, and staying with your emotions in a calm manner, you are practicing meditation in the right way.