AP – The first time Marcelle Hutchins sat down to meditate, she took part in a guided session to relax her shoulders and close her eyes. She lasted two minutes.
“I had a deadline and I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can sit still for this long,'” said Hutchins, who used to work as a radio journalist.
At the urging of her father, a longtime yoga practitioner, she tried again and completed the 10-minute video on her third try. “I remember feeling a sense of joy and relaxation,” she said.
“I used to be the person that said, ‘I can’t meditate.'”
Hutchins has since become a certified meditation teacher, setting an example for busy, restless people to try it once and then try again: Research shows that a daily meditation practice has a multitude of benefits, including reduced anxiety, improved overall health, and increased social connections.
The key is getting over the initial barrier, and experts say overcoming some common misconceptions can make it more achievable: For example, many people only try meditation once because they feel they’re doing it wrong or that they can’t turn off their brain.
That doesn’t matter, said Tara Brach, who has a doctorate in psychology and has trained more than 7,000 people as meditation teachers.
“It’s not about stopping thoughts. Just like your body produces enzymes, your mind produces thoughts,” she says. “It’s about being able to go beyond your thoughts and witness them.”
Bratsch emphasized that there is no right way to meditate.
Start simple
The key is to relax and focus on something in the present moment: feel your breath passing through your nostrils, listen to a guided recording, mentally scan your body from head to toe, repeat love phrases to yourself, or try any of the countless other techniques.
You can sit on the floor, in a chair, or on a cushion. If you can’t sit comfortably, lie down. You don’t have to close your eyes, but it’s a good idea to try.
There’s no set length of time you should start with, but set an achievable goal: “You can customize it to suit you,” says Brach, author of several books.
“Don’t feel like quitting, start with the maximum you can comfortably do,” she said.
That might mean starting with just a few minutes, said John Mitchell, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University, who uses meditation to treat people with ADHD. The goal should be to make meditation a habit, focusing on the quality of your practice rather than the quantity.
“So the question is, what do you do to create success so you can get momentum and get started right away without feeling like you’re failing?” he said.
When you can’t sit still
It’s inevitable that you’ll get distracted – we all do it. Notice the thought or urge to move, acknowledge it, and bring your attention back to where you were.
Instead of beating yourself up, Bratsch suggests getting a little curious about the nature of your restlessness: Ask yourself, “What would it really feel like to jump?”
Then take a long, deep breath and sit for another minute. If you still feel like moving, move, but Brach recommends moving intentionally: stand up, stretch briefly, take a deep breath, and sit down again. You’ll be amazed at how your sense of restlessness changes over time, she says. “It evolves.”
If your restlessness begins to build to an uncomfortable level, Mitchell suggests trying a slow, meditative walk: stay alert, calm, and focus on the sounds, sights, and smells around you, or the feeling of the wind or sun on your face.
“There are no restrictions,” he said. “You don’t have to sit still and not move the whole time.”
Let’s try again tomorrow and the day after.
If you make it through the first session, regardless of length, you’ll almost certainly feel calmer.
But like exercise, research shows that to get the most benefit, it needs to be practiced consistently.
That can seem daunting for those struggling to get started, but Brach suggested trying out a few techniques to find what works for you.
“Finding the style of meditation that works for your body, mind, and personality takes a bit of experimentation,” she says.
Luckily, there are tons of free meditation resources available online. “If you’re reading this, you don’t have to buy anything,” she said. — Albert Stam
