Before meditation
Relax your body and breath, to calm down and center yourself;
Our mind, body and breath are interconnected. So relaxing the body and calming the breath will naturally calm the mind as well.
Gladden the mind with gratitude or other positive feelings;
Our brain is deeply wired to avoid pain, and seek pleasure. So if you can generate feelings of safety and contentment, right before your meditation, you are sending a message to your brain that all is well, and it need not be restless.
When our mind is joyful and content, it is naturally more quiet, introverted, and together.
Have strong intention
Taking a few moments to just focus your intention before practice can do wonders for your meditation.
You can do this by saying to yourself, with intention and presence, something like this:
“For the next few minutes I will only focus on my meditation. There is nothing else for me to do and nothing else for me to think about during this time. Mind, please don’t disturb me. I will start concentrating now.”
During meditation
Don’t feel bad about getting distracted
During your meditation, it is important never to criticize yourself, or feel bad about getting distracted with thoughts.
Learn to be gentle with yourself during your practice. Be patient and kind with yourself.
Find delight in the moments of concentration
Enjoy how quiet, stable and unified the mind gets.
Mind’s most fundamental habit is to seek pleasure and well‐ being and shun pain and suffering. By teaching the mind to appreciate the joy of concentration, it starts working more towards increasing that, by facilitating more focus.
The more you learn to open up and enjoy your meditation, the less reasons there are for the mind to get restless thinking of other things.
This practice is especially useful when your concentration is wavering. Once concentration gets solid and stable, however, there is no need to disturb the mind with these thoughts and intentions—just stay there.
After meditation
Move out of meditation gently
When the bell rings, get out of your meditation gently, not hurriedly. Keep the mind in the same state, gently move your fingers and neck, and then open your eyes. This transition helps you bring more of the “meditation feeling” into your daily life.
Take notes in your journal
It is beneficial to take some notes about how your practice went. This helps you solidify the meditation habit. It also develops a greater understanding of the workings of the mind, and the mechanics of meditation.
A simple entry could answer these three questions:
How long did I sit? How do I feel now?
How was my mind during meditation?
For the third question, you can note things like how many times you got distracted, what types of thoughts or feelings were you experiencing, and for how long you could keep focused.
Periodically evaluate your practice
Review your practice and how it is working for you; is it stable, getting deeper, or becoming more of a chore? Be willing to try other things in your practice.
This might include mediating more, or broadening your practice to meditate more often in your daily life, like when doing chores, or waiting in line.
It could also be worth trying to add a element to your practice, like gratitude meditation, or loving kindness.
Be willing to try different approaches and practice to see how they feel and how they work for you You are the only perso who knows what it feels like to you Trust this, and be willing to act bsed on this.
VIDEO: 4 TIPS TO DEEPEN YOUR MEDITATION PRACTICE