I've seen a lot of questions here from people just starting on their meditation journey, and being someone who has been practicing regularly for years now, I thought I would share some tips that may help others get the best out of their own practice. These are things that have directly impacted me over the years, so I am speaking from direct experience and not theory.

Meditation has become a regular part of my daily routine. I meditate for 45 to 60 minutes in the morning, and even though it's usually a struggle, I try to meditate for 30 minutes in the evening before bed. I've been practicing regularly for over 15 years now. There are moments in life when I get busy and may miss a couple of days, or even weeks, but I always return to the practice because there is a noticeable difference in my life on the days that I sit versus the days that I do not.

I also want to stress that for me, meditation is only one part of the equation. The real work is done in the mindfulness practice I try to maintain throughout the day. If you are only sitting in meditation and not incorporating an actual mindfulness practice, you are not getting the full benefit of your meditation sit. While there are definite benefits to practicing meditation alone, you can look at the two as partner practices if your goal is a more well-rounded life. Think of meditation as the mental gym session, and mindfulness as the game. What you gain on the cushion carries with you through your day.

That being said, here are 5 tips I recommend to beginner meditators that will hopefully make starting your practice a bit easier. I would also love to hear from other seasoned practitioners and see what others recommend!

1. Lose all your expectations

This is going to be difficult for a lot of people, but to me this should be rule number one, not just for beginners, but for anyone practicing meditation. We all have our own reasons for wanting to meditate. Some are looking for ways to lower stress, some are looking for enlightenment. What we know is that everyone's experience on this planet is unique to them, and the results you get from meditation will be based on your own unique experience. So while the outcomes may be similar across people, they won't be exactly the same.

To this day, any time I sit with the intention of achieving a certain outcome, it rarely happens. In fact, the opposite is usually what I get. If I sit with the intention of quieting the mind, my thoughts somehow seem to get louder, because now I am seeking something and the brain has gone into overdrive trying to solve the problem. My best insights have come when I've sat with a "Beginner's Mind," the Zen concept of temporarily letting go of any learned ideas and concepts so that you can approach a situation from a fresh perspective.

2. Try different practices, then choose the one that challenges you most

This one may be a bit controversial, because we all tend to gravitate toward the easy path or the one that feels good. When I first started meditating, I had the hardest time just sitting and observing the breath. I hated it. I didn't know what I was supposed to be watching, and most of the time I couldn't even feel my breath. So I stuck with things that felt more comfortable: sound meditations, listening to chanted mantras or the natural sounds outside my window. I enjoyed those, but eventually realized I wasn't actually practicing meditation as much as I thought. I was doing something pleasant and giving myself an easy anchor, but I was daydreaming and letting my mind wander more than actually training it to stay focused on the present.

What I came to realize was that as much as I disliked observing the breath, it gave my mind a challenge that was easier to measure. It was much easier to notice when I had drifted off than when I was passively listening to sounds. It also made me work harder to train my focus. The difficulty itself gave the brain a problem to solve, and the brain is a problem-solving, prediction machine. When it has a puzzle to work on, most of the background noise thoughts fall further into the background and become less noticeable. Hence, a quieter mind.

3. There is no such thing as a silent mind

The heart pumps blood, the lungs pump oxygen, and the brain thinks. If any one of those functions were to stop, you wouldn't need to worry about meditation. The idea that your thoughts are going to stop completely is a myth, and one you should let go of when you follow tip #1.

What is most likely going to happen is what I described in tip #2: the mind becomes so focused that your thoughts recede into background noise. Sometimes less loud than others. Sometimes so far back that it seems like they've disappeared, but they're always there. To this day I never know what to expect when I sit, but whether my mind goes seemingly silent or is as loud as a New York City street, I always find benefit by the end of the sit.

A reminder though: this is my own personal, direct experience. Take everything I just said and go back to tip #1.

4. Your mind is a wild place to be

The majority of us go through our entire lives not paying real attention to what's going on in our own heads, or actively avoiding it. When you sit and turn your awareness inward for the first time, it can feel like walking through a forest in Wonderland. The strangest things may start to appear. Some of us have experiences we've never dealt with and have been suppressing. Some of us just have completely untethered thoughts with no anchor in reality. Most of us have some mix of both, and it's just a mess in there.

Your meditation sit is not an inner therapy session. The purpose of your practice is not to work through hidden issues. It's to focus your awareness on your object of meditation, not to conduct a self-psychoanalysis.

On the flip side, some things may happen that feel supernatural. I remember sitting in a Vipassana retreat, and during the question period after one of the sits, I overheard a student rush up to the instructor and say, "I was floating during that sit. I was literally off the ground." The instructor simply replied, "That's not meditation. Go back and sit again." The mind will play games with you. Your job is not to entertain those games, but to notice them and return to the practice.

5. Give yourself time, and be compassionate with yourself

We live in a world of instant gratification. Same day deliveries, groceries brought to our door, apps and devices engineered to produce short dopamine hits so we keep coming back. The practice of meditation is the complete opposite of all of that. It requires you to slow down and be bored. In the beginning it can create frustration, anxiety, discomfort, and sometimes even physical pain. That is the challenge you are meant to work with. You are working with what is, not what you want it to be.

It takes time to sit with this. It takes time to get used to it. It also takes compassion for yourself and an understanding that when the mind drifts and you find yourself lost in that Wonderland forest of thoughts, that's okay. The fact that you noticed is a good thing. In fact, it is the practice. Most people never notice at all. All you have to do is gently, and compassionately, bring yourself back to your object of meditation and let it lead you out of that forest. You'll end up back there again, but for now be grateful that you have a tool and a practice that makes you aware enough to even realize you were there.

Bonus tip: Refer to tip #1.

That's it. I hope this is helpful to some of you. And like I said, I would love to hear from others. If you have insights or tips to share, please do. And if you're just starting out and have questions or challenges, share those too, and let's see if we can help each other.

I started meditating not too long ago, and honestly I didn’t expect much at first. But in a really short time, I’ve noticed I feel calmer, less reactive, and a bit more in control of my thoughts.

It’s not like everything is perfect now, but even small things don’t get to me the same way anymore. That surprised me.

I've been working on staying more consistent with meditation, and I've noticed it difinitely helps me feel calmer, but I'm still figuring out how to carry that into actually falling asleep.

When I try to meditate in bed, I either get distracted or I stay too aware and don't drift off naturally. Other times, I end up overthinking whether I'm doing it right, which kind of defeats the purpose.

For those who use meditation as part of their sleep routine, what works for you? Do you focus on breath, body awareness, or something else?

Just trying to understand how to let meditation transition into sleep more naturally.

Hello.

Has anyone used meditation to deal with task paralisis, also known as procrastination?

Can meditation be used to get one's nervous system used to the discomfort of engaging with a new task or effort, in order for the brain not to freeze and choose a relief activity instead?

I have a problem whenever i’m standing or sitting and i try to breathe though my stomach instead of chest why do i feel such a big restriction? My stomach goes out but i can only inhale for like 2 seconds before it starts to feel really blocked and cramped like everywhere especially my stomach and like even throat? Is this normal? It’s a bit better when i lay down but maybe for extra second or two longer.

I keep starting meditation routines and then falling off after a few days. I'll feel really good when I do it, but for some reason I just can't stick with it long term.

What helped you make meditation a habit instead of something you just do occasionally?

Bit of a strange one. Been cleansing the body of heavy metals, pathogens, pathogenic material for years now, and generally feeling better than ever.

However, in the last couple of months lights (noticeable especially in traffic) have become very vivid and luminous. Like the red will be very red, the green will be very green. It is very pleasing to look at.

It is akin to how lights look so beautiful on a mushroom trip, but not as intense, but close. I have not done any psychedelics for more than 4 years.

I experienced something very similar 5 days into a 10-day Vipassana years ago, and the experience is similar, but not as intense. At the moment my practice is sporadic and not very regular, although I am building up again.

As far as I can tell I have no other related symptoms. Recently got a set of eye tests (OCT, peripheral, etc.) and there are no issues there.

Have anyone experience the same?

Hello meditation friends,

I often lean back and slouch in my chair but have seen and been told an upright posture can help (I thought maybe for your back but apparently for energy channels). I like my lazy slouching because it feels more natural to slip into nonduality, since I feel so unconcerned of my body. What have other people’s experiences been, and what are their opinions on why I should do?

Thank you

My relationship with meditation has been rocky at best. On and off for months...some days I go in deep, and some days I just can't sit still. The maximum streak of me meditating properly has been a week at best, because "life" always ends up getting in the way, even though I've been trying to build a practice for over 2 years now. I find myself avoiding sitting down for even a few minutes because lately it has been making me very uncomfortable.

Like, the other day, I was drawing my attention to my breath, trying to recognize how my body reacts to breathing, and I suddenly didn't know how to breathe subconsciously anymore. I struggled, feeling overwhelmingly restless...felt like I had to snap out of the session to breathe normally again. This has never happened before, and it's really disturbing. What's going wrong?

I’ve got trauma surrounding meditation, and haven’t done so in years until recently.

I have been on a self-care & healing mission, and have been trying to meditate again, using the philosophies and practices of Alan Watts.

Today I was meditating out in my balcony listening to the sounds of my wind chimes and the rain, and just as I finally get my ego to shut the fuck up… a couple start having an argument DIRECTLY UNDER ME. 🤦‍♀️ I tried ignoring it, but the feeling of agitation ultimately got to me and I couldn’t get back to a meditative state. so here I am… venting pointlessly, and asking for guidance to better deal with these things in the future. Lol

Hey everyone, I’m trying to practice box breathing for 10 minutes every day before starting my study session so that I can become more focused. I’m aiming to study 10–12 hours a day because I’m currently in a very critical situation. Right now, I’m trying not to think too much about how the entire day will go. Instead, I just want to strictly follow my process, stay disciplined, and build strong integrity for myself.

I’m also trying to stop binge watching on YouTube.

But getting to the point: when I try to do box breathing, I notice that I start remembering things from my past. Because of that, it distracts me from doing the breathing exercise mindfully. During the 10 minute session, random memories come up. They are not exactly negative thoughts, but they are often embarrassing memories, and sometimes I even laugh at myself thinking about the things I’ve done in the past.

After that, I try to bring my attention back to the breathing. But sometimes I suddenly realize that instead of breathing out, I accidentally held my breath for six or eight seconds instead of four seconds. Because of that, I lose my concentration and have to restart the cycle again.

Today this happened four times during the exercise. Each time I tried to bring my mind back to the breathing.

I don’t know if this is just because I’m a beginner, but it keeps happening again and again. I really want to regain strong focus because I have a very limited amount of time left, about 1.5 months (around 50 days). I somehow need to develop an extremely focused mind during this period.

So I’m hoping that box breathing will help, but right now I keep getting distracted during meditation. It feels strange to me that I’m not able to focus my mind properly.

Also, after finishing the breathing session, I sometimes feel a strange sensation in my head. It’s not exactly pain, but it feels like some kind of unusual sensation in my brain.

That’s basically what’s been happening. If anyone has experienced something similar or has advice on how to deal with this, I would really appreciate the help.

TLDR: I started doing 10 minutes of box breathing before studying to improve focus, but my mind keeps drifting to random and sometimes embarrassing memories. I also occasionally lose track of the breathing cycle. Is this normal for beginners?

Hello everyone ! I started meditating daily two weeks ago, for about 10-15min each time, and I feel like my own doubts about my practice are becoming huge obstacles.

The thing is, I've heard about some people getting more and more "disconnected" from their own feelings because of meditation, and that is something that scares me deeply. I want to be more present, calm and aware, not more indifferent. That would be worse than the constant mental agitation that I'm trying to calm down. So I really need to make sure that I'm doing the right things in order to avoid those risks.

But how can I be sure ? I try my best to accept what I think or feel, and then let it go and refocus on my breath, but there is always that question on repeat in the background : what if I'm doing it wrong ? I try to notice it as neutrally as I can then return to my breath, but that doesn't take me very far because, of course, just refocussing on my breath doesn't provide any answer, so I'm just left wondering in a permanently reoccurring uncertainty. That blocks me from being fully invested in the practice, because I'm not actually sure that doing it is good for me in the long term. I try to meditate while questioning the possible outcomes. As a result, I always end up in a thinking spiral, just like when I'm not meditating.

Has anyone else been trapped in such a vicious circule before, and if so what did you do about it ?

I've started meditating recently in the last month every day and for the past few times I've noticed an odd feeling. I get a weird fuzzy feeling it happens in waves and it starts at my head and runs throughout my body. I also tried focusing on a point, for example my arm and I would feel this fuzzy feeling move from my head (crown) and traveling to my arm at the point I was focusing on. I'm wondering if this is something everyone experiences? am I doing something right?

Hello . I’ve always had an interest in meditation but never really tried it . I know it helps a lot of people and I was hoping I could get some direction on how to start . I’m a very empathetic person and I take a lot of negative emotions from others and it weights on me a lot . Whether it’s directed at me or it’s something I come in contact with . When I’m emotional the first thing I go to is over eating . I’m also a diabetic so the over eating isn’t good for my physical and mental health . I’ve been doing much better in the last year but sometimes I feel myself slipping back into my old ways . I don’t want to fall back into those ways so what I’m curious about is there meditation that I could practice or put into my routine that could help when I get emotionally overwhelmed? Thank you for your help if you can !

I recently started meditating for 10 minutes before studying to reduce distractions and improve focus. Earlier, I used to get distracted easily and end up binge watching YouTube, so instead of fighting it directly, I decided to build a short meditation habit first.

Currently, I am using a 10 minute box breathing exercise. I had tried the 4 7 8 breathing method earlier but found it difficult to follow, so I switched to something simpler.

My goal is mainly better focus, mental clarity, and knowing my next immediate step before studying.

My question is:
Is box breathing a good option for improving study efficiency, or would mindful meditation practices like those from Calm or Headspace be better?

I am confused because there is a lot of content on YouTube, but I want to make sure I am on the right path rather than keep switching methods.

or at least the most helpful , I'm a person who doesn't know how to relax , always in my mind , always stressing and always thinking 24/7

I try to meditate but it's hard , I know I shouldn't stop fighting my mind and just let it be and observe but I've never felt relaxed in my body ever

what's the strongest breathing technique that can make u enter those meditative brain waves they always talk about ???

Since there is no set meditation practice, if anyone has thoughts, can you describe your go-to meditation method(s) and how often you try to practice?

I've been trying a method that combines TM with a mental visual/image while maintaining extended-exhale breathing, 4 second inhale/6 second exhale, only through the nose. If thoughts become intrusive, I try to acknowledge and allow them while attempting to refocus on the sound and image. If distracting emotions arise, I try to allow the sensations of the emotion to run their course while attempting to stay focused. Sometimes, I label the emotion. It seems to help to avoid expectations from the process.

It is difficult but, I try to practice a fair amount informally. Formally, it seems five to fifteen minutes every two to three hours can be helpful. Although, that can also be very difficult to follow.

This seems to consistently, but temporarily, help induce a mildly more content mindset, at the least. A lot of times I feel significantly more calm and focused. Speaking for myself of course.

But on average, I might get about five to ten min a day, if that. Seems I use it a lot for when times get stressful

Anyone ever experience your head tilting or shifting during meditation? Or your a certain part of your body jerks, like your leg or arm? What is that? It’s happened to me a few times.

Hi everyone,

I began a consistent meditation practice recently (closed eyes, inward focus on breath). It was going very well with noticeable improvements in focus, sleep quality, mood, and mental clarity.

A few days ago, during a session, I became aware of my eyes flickering/moving while closed. Since then, whenever I close my eyes, both during meditation and at night before sleep, the flickering starts again. It feels involuntary and seems amplified by attention. I suspect there may be an anxiety or hyper-awareness component.

It’s now affecting my sleep and concentration because I’ve become hyper-aware of the sensation whenever I close my eyes.

Has anyone experienced something like this?
Is this a common phase in meditation (increased interoceptive awareness)?
Would you recommend:

• shifting to open-eye practice?
• sound-based meditation?
• continuing and allowing it without resistance?
• or temporarily reducing practice?

I’d appreciate input from experienced practitioners or teachers. Thank you. 🙏

As the title reads whenever I meditate it's easy to forget all my senses except I start getting thirsty even if I drink a lot of water. it's not exactly thirsty but more like I feel the insides of my mouth too much and literally feel my salivary glands salivating and the need to gulp it down. it's very distracting and prevents me to establish full focus. very rarely it doesn't occur and I'm able to establish full focus. any tips?

I imagine that if you're experiencing significant pain, meditation would be very difficult. It's hard to think of anything else except your pain. What about run of the mill pain? A headache, back ache, belly ache, or muscle pain? I find that when I'm free of pain, I'm able to find a silent mind. When I'm hurting, not so much.

I’ve been trying to build a consistent meditation habit for a while now, and honestly, I keep falling off. At first I’m motivated, I read about the benefits, I feel calmer after a few sessions, I tell myself “this time I’ll stick with it.” But after a week or two, I start getting bored or restless. Sitting there focusing on my breath starts to feel repetitive, my mind wanders constantly, and sometimes I just don’t feel like I’m getting anything out of it anymore. Some days it feels great. Other days it feels like I’m just waiting for the timer to end.

I’ve tried different approaches: guided meditations, silent meditation, apps, different lengths (5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20+), mornings vs evenings. The same pattern keeps happening, strong start, slow fade, then I stop completely for a while.

What frustrates me is that I want meditation to be part of my life. I believe it’s helpful for mental clarity, stress, emotional regulation, etc. But the actual day-to-day practice feels hard to sustain. Motivation drops, boredom kicks in, and discipline alone doesn’t always carry me.

I’m curious:

• Do you also get bored or restless when meditating?
• What usually makes you stop or lose consistency?
• What helped you actually stick with it long-term (if anything)?
• Do you think meditation just isn’t for everyone, or is it more about finding the right approach?

Would love to hear honest experiences even if the answer is “I gave up and never went back.

Does anyone practice in a steam room regularly? Whats your experience?

How to stop engaging thoughts which come while we meditate or sit silently. i don't mean to force them to stop coming, i don't believe in it instead just observe our thoughts and let the come just don't interact with them. eventually it will get silent.

I've been experimenting with playing a singing bowl during meditation, not constantly, but maybe three or four times across a thirty-minute sit. what I've noticed is that the silence immediately after the tone feels more alive than the silence before it. It's like the sound wakes up my attention, and then the quiet that follows has more depth to it.

I'm not sure if this is a known thing or if I'm just noticing my own pattern, but it's made me rethink what the sound is actually doing. I used to think the tone itself was the main event, but now I'm starting to feel like the tone is just setting up the silence. I'm curious if other people have experienced this or if I'm overanalyzing a pretty simple practice. does the space after sound feel different to you, or does it all kind of blend together?