dancingdakini:

nesira said: Hi, how would you advise someone who has trouble focusing how to meditate? I would love to learn all the benefits and tips on meditating because I don’t know how to

Everyone who first starts out trying to meditate has one of two problems: mental mental excitement, or mental sinking. Mental sinking is what causes drowsiness or even falling asleep while trying to meditate. Mental excitement is what causes our minds to become easily distracted, either by external sounds or random thoughts racing through our minds.

First, find a comfortable seated position with a straight back and give yourself a minute to relax the body. In my meditation classes I first guide everyone in relaxing and loosening their muscles section by section, starting at the top of the head and working your way down all the way to the bottoms of the feet. Then bring your attention to the feeling of the breath as you inhale and exhale normally through your nose. Try to focus on what that feels like for as long as you can. It may not be for very long at first. That’s OK, this is normal. We live in a very fast-paced ADHD sort of culture in the West and we’re not used to slowing down our thoughts. It takes lots of practice. Every time you notice yourself having a random thought that is not focused on the breath, just make note of it without any judgment of either the thought itself or of yourself, and bring your attention back to the feeling of the breath. You may need to do this what feels like 100 times or every few seconds at first, but with practice you will improve.

Every meditation session will be different; some will go better than others. So don’t go into any meditation session with a set of expectations or results. Just practice and enjoy it.

(via tarotblades-deactivated20120802)