Dr. Ashton points to a growing body of research that suggests there are several health benefits of a regular meditation practice. These include improving overall sleep quality, combating depression, helping with appetite control and weight loss, and making the brain bigger, smarter, and more agile. Many dedicated practitioners also see meditation as a way to support well-being and healing. To reap this bounty of physical and mental benefits, it’s important to experiment with different meditation styles and cut yourself a little slack until your practice becomes second nature. These dos and don’ts from meditation experts will help get you going — the rest is up to you!
- Do Start Small When it comes to the length of your daily sessions, “there is no right amount of time,” says Justin Laube, MD, assistant clinical professor and primary care physician at UCLA Center for East-West Medicine in Los Angeles. He likens meditation to weight training. “You wouldn’t bench press 150 pounds to start. You’d begin with lighter weights and work up to more,” he says. Dr. Laube recommends aiming to sit quietly for 10 to 15 minutes at a stretch. One study published in May 2017 in the journal Consciousness and Cognition found that just 10 minutes of mindful meditation can help prevent your mind from wandering — a hallmark of anxiety. Then, after you get used to doing it as a regular practice, Laube suggests increasing session length in 5- or 10-minute increments. “The experience can be very different between 10 minutes and 45,” he says.
2. Do Be a Creature of Habit
Just as you brush your teeth twice a day, aim to meditate every day at the same time. Not sure when? Experts agree that first thing in the morning is optimal for several reasons. “If you put it off until later, you may blow it off entirely,” says Suze Yalof Schwartz, author of Unplug: A Simple Guide to Meditation for Busy Skeptics and CEO and founder of Los Angeles-based Unplug Meditation, which offers online and in-studio classes as well as a guided meditation app. In addition, she says, you can set intentions and be proactive rather than waking up, racing off, and being reactive all day. And don’t despair if you find that meditating before bed works better in your life. There are benefits to that, too: A study published in April 2015 JAMA Internal Medicine found that mindfulness meditation improved sleep quality in older adults with sleep disturbances. Whatever time of day you choose, picking a time and sticking with it will help you establish an ongoing practice.
3. Don’t Beat Yourself Up if You Miss a Day — or Even a Week
Sometimes life gets in the way of your best intentions. Perhaps you accidentally sleep through your alarm, your child is ill, or you have to attend an early morning meeting. Whatever the reason for skipping a day (or more) of your practice, don’t let it derail you. Instead, Laube suggests recalling your intention for meditating (aka your “why”) and simply start again. It can also help to notice how you feel on days you don’t meditate versus those when you do. Ashton observed that she missed feeling less positive and mentally sharp. Use these feelings as incentive to get back to meditating so you, like her, can feel “more positive, productive, and focused,” as well as able to cope with whatever life throws your way.
4. Do Experiment With Different Types of Meditation
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to meditation styles. “The key is just to do what works for you,” says Yalof Schwartz. Fortunately, there are many different styles you can test out. Some of Yalof Schwartz’s tried-and-trues include:
Breath-focused meditationGuided imagery meditation, for which you go to an imaginary place to experience different sensations and emotionsMantra meditation, where you repeat a certain sound, word, or phrase
5. Do Create a Meditation Space
Finding an area where you won’t be disturbed is key, particularly if you live with a partner, children, roommates, or pets. A room with a door is a good bet, as is a basement or attic space that doesn’t get much foot traffic. A shaded outdoor patch works, too. “Knowing you have a go-to spot on the first day will make the practice less intimidating and easier to adopt,” advises Ashton. Having some essential tools is also key to maintaining a practice. Laube’s meditation area has a bench, a cushion (zafu), and a blanket, which he loves to wrap around himself in the morning. Such tools can make the experience more comfortable so you’re less prone to distraction and more likely to go deeper into your practice.
6. Do Be Patient With Yourself
We live in such a results-oriented society that it’s easy to get frustrated or discouraged if you don’t feel you’ve mastered meditation after a session or two. But Clifford Saron, PhD, a research scientist who runs the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California in Davis, advises meditators to understand that “you are not here to stop thoughts and achieve anything in particular at all. Rather, [meditation] is time to cultivate a felt commitment to observe, with curiosity, inquiry, and a non-aversive stance, the full scope of your experience as it unfolds.” And the benefits can be long-lasting. In fact, a study published in March 2018 in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement that Dr. Saron coauthored concluded that a consistent meditation practice can improve attention skills up to seven years later. Like any skill, meditation requires continued practice.
7. Don’t Be a Technophobe
We’re lucky to live in a time when apps and podcasts to help you achieve any number of goals are just a download away. If you’re looking for one to help jump-start your meditation practice, Ashton suggests trying out apps like Headspace, which offers spoken-word exercises designed to be used for around 10 minutes at a stretch, Buddhify, which has over 80 meditations to do at various times throughout the day, Calm, which provides relaxing sounds in the background, or Insight Timer, which features 4,000 meditations from more than 1,000 teachers. In addition, The Mindfulness App offers tips (such as “Be aware of the contact your body is making with the ground”) to help you stay mindful throughout the day. There are also meditation podcasts aplenty, including The OneMind Podcast, which puts newbies at ease to explore different ways to apply mindfulness and meditation to their day, and The Mindful Minute Podcast, which takes the intimidation out of meditating by providing concise, straightforward guided meditations. Having a meditation partner can also keep you motivated. Research published in February 2017 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry suggested that practicing “dyadic meditation” — where two people meditate together — may help you feel closer to others and be more open with them.
