{"id":20595,"date":"2023-06-19T09:32:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T16:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicalfitnessnetwork.org\/public\/?p=20595"},"modified":"2023-06-15T13:22:51","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T20:22:51","slug":"beginners-guide-meditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/beginners-guide-meditation\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beginner&#8217;s Guide to Meditation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Finding time to relax is a struggle for many. We underestimate our need to unwind and decompress, and our busy lives sometimes make it impossible. But, 5-10 minutes a day can really go a long way toward forming new habits for healthier well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is meditation?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Meditation is defined as a practice of concentrated focus upon a sound, object, visualization, breath, or movement. It&#8217;s an ancient Chinese tradition that was initially applied for religious purposes. But, there are so many benefits to meditation that it has become a much more common practice across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Meditation can help with:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stress management<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pain relief<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Anxiety and depression<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Insomnia<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improving focus<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reducing blood pressure<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Breaking addiction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Meditation also is a way for people to relax and be mindful and in tune with yourself and your surroundings. It uses slow and controlled breathing, in which you direct air into your abdomen instead of your chest (chest breathing can trigger the stress response).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Where do you begin?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Choose a time of day that works best for you, and practice meditation each day at that same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Begin with an open mind\u2014free of judgment of yourself and your thoughts. As your thoughts stray (as they do in those new to meditation), just bring your focus back to your breath. You\u2019ll find that your focus gets better with a regular meditation practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I like to tell beginners to start with a class setting to prevent the distractions that can pop up at home and helps you focus on the instructor\u2019s voice. When you\u2019re ready to take it to the next level, you&#8217;ll be able to meditate anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/meditate-lake-dock.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20598\" width=\"675\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/meditate-lake-dock.jpg 900w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/meditate-lake-dock-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/meditate-lake-dock-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/meditate-lake-dock-570x380.jpg 570w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/meditate-lake-dock-380x254.jpg 380w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/meditate-lake-dock-285x190.jpg 285w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Finding a practice you enjoy<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to find a type of meditation you like. You may have to try different ways to meditate to see what works best for you. If you choose to meditate outside of your home, find an instructor who is patient and willing to work with you. As you become more seasoned in your practice, you can experiment with other forms of meditation. It\u2019s a very personal experience, so no two people will have the same exact response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>General meditation guidelines to follow<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Find a quiet space where you won\u2019t be distracted\u2014no phones or laptops.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Set a timer to ensure you aren\u2019t worried about how long you\u2019re meditating. Start with 5 minutes, then build to 10, then to 15 minutes or even longer. Frequency is important to become proficient and maximize the effect. It can become a daily practice or even several times daily.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make sure you\u2019re in a comfortable position: cross-legged, sitting in a chair, or even walking.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Try adding aromatherapy or essential oils, such as lavender, bergamot or ylang ylang, to help you relax and calm down.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consider adding calming\/relaxing music to your routine to maximize the effect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The idea is to focus to the point where you no longer notice the things around you. It may help to recall relaxing images, but it\u2019s important to avoid mental chatter and\/or be distracted by your thoughts and worries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, check out these great resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/liveanddare.com\/types-of-meditation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Types of meditation \u2013 An overview of 23 meditation techniques<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=X7iBnp8T6nY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Guided meditation for deep relaxation<\/a> with The Honest Guys (YouTube)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Free and paid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meditainment.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">guided meditations for specific goals<\/a> (calm, stress relief, confidence, etc)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Robyn Kade is the Founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/relax.teachable.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Stress Management Institute for Health and Fitness Professionals<\/a>, where she offers Mind\/Body Medicine Specialist education for fit pros.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Finding time to relax is a struggle for many. We underestimate our need to unwind and decompress, and our busy lives sometimes make it impossible. But, 5-10 minutes a day can really go a long way toward forming new habits for healthier well-being.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":20598,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[198,193,173,270],"class_list":["post-20595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-mfn","tag-fitness-professionals","tag-healthy-aging","tag-meditation","tag-mental-health"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20595"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33294,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20595\/revisions\/33294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}