I have been practicing meditation for over 10 years. Although there have been periods of inconsistency due to various life situations, I have been meditating seriously for the past year and have experienced its full benefits. This habit has been invaluable in helping me cope with severe depression and anxiety in my past. Currently, I am free from all types of mental health issues. Meditation now helps me manage the extreme stress from my work and day-to-day emotional events.
While meditation is not a cure-all for mental health issues, it significantly helps me manage my emotions in a healthier way.
Below are my 7 simple steps to meditation. Try it for just one day and see the changes for yourself.
1) Good Position:
Sit in a comfortable position. You don’t need to sit like a monk. I usually sit in a chair in front of my work table because it feels comfortable. I don’t sit completely straight, as that becomes uncomfortable after a while. Instead, I lean back in the chair while remaining comfortable.
Try to do this in a room with no external disturbances. If you don’t have such a room, find another quiet place. Silence is important to avoid distractions.
2) Breathing:
Start with some deep breaths. Slowly inhale until the air reaches your belly, filling you up completely. Then, slowly exhale. There’s no need to hold your breath unless you want to.
Don’t worry about counting your breaths. Just continue until you feel it’s enough. I usually do this for 1-3 minutes.
3) Body Relaxing:
Slowly relax your body parts. Start with your feet, then move to your legs, thighs, buttocks, belly, chest, shoulders, hands, palms, neck, and head. You don’t need to follow this exact order—just do what feels right. The goal is to relax each part of your body. Focus on each part and imagine it relaxing. Don’t force it; just do your best and then move on (even if they are not relaxed). Pay special attention to your head, including your forehead, nose, eyes, cheeks, jaw, and chin. This usually takes 2-5 minutes.
There’s no fixed order for breathing and body relaxing. You can do either first or even both simultaneously, although that requires practice. so for now, just do them in any order. I generally do breathing first & then body relaxing. But when I am in hurry, I do them simultaneously.
4) Clearing the Mind:
Now it’s time to clear your mind. Spend no more than 2-3 minutes on this, as fully clearing your mind is impossible. The goal is to calm your mind. Simply observe your thoughts and let them go. You can tell yourself that you’re letting them go (means you are telling your thoughts that you are not much interested in it, so decided to not engage in it). Thoughts will repeat, but continue the letting-go process. Then new thoughts will come for sure & again let it go.
Do it for 2-3 minutes max & not more. Do not focus on how good you are doing. Don’t worry about doing this perfectly. It’s fine if your mind isn’t completely clear.
5) Option 1- Prayer:
If you believe in a higher power, follow this step after clearing your mind. Think of your favorite god, goddess, or any supernatural power. Imagine them in front of you, tell them your problems or desires, ask them for help, and imagine them solving your issues. If you are in lots of mental/emotional pain, then ask them to remove it. You’ll feel some relief afterward.
Here no need to believe that god is listening to you or will fulfill your desires or solve your problem. Simply pray & after it you will feel some relief inside you. As per my own experience, I always get 10-30% better after prayer. This usually takes 2-3 minutes but can be longer if you wish.
6) Option 2 – Visualization:
If you’re not into prayer, try this step instead. Imagine a positive future where your problems are resolved, and you achieve your desires. For mental health, visualize your depression or anxiety fading away and you becoming happy. For some personal specific problems, you can imagine they are being solved, you are getting good outcomes & feeling happy again. The key is to end each visualization with you feeling happy. Also here, no need to force believe that it will happen, rather simply do visualize that you are being happy, that’s matter. This takes 3-5 minutes.
Don’t treat this as Law of Attraction or manifestation nonsense; those things do not exists in reality. But if you are a strong believer in LOA, then I do not want to break your heart, thus you may continue doing them. But if you are not much into LOA, then simply treat this visualization as part of your meditation.
7) Wake Up:
Congratulations! You’ve completed a meditation session. Gradually wake up if you feel in a trance-like state, or simply open your eyes and return to normal. Sit for 1-2 minutes before going about your day. If you get any good ideas or thoughts related to your life/desire/problems, then log them in a notepad. Later analyse your note & you might get some points (75% those thoughts are good advice as per my own experience).
Personal Experience Notes:
1) I meditate twice a day, each session lasting 5-10 minutes, sometimes up to 15-20 minutes.
2) I meditate in the morning after my first coffee, which boosts my mind. No matter how many times my MOM told me to stop drinking it, I love coffee too much to give it up. In the evening, I meditate after my coffee break, usually for 5-10 minutes due to my busy schedule.
3) At night before sleeping, I do another short 5 min meditation as it helps me in my sleep.
What to Expect from Meditation:
1) If you are depressed or anxious, meditation can provide 30-40% relief. It’s not a cure-all, but it makes following other techniques easier.
2) If you’re stressed from work, meditation can reduce your stress by up to 70%.
3) If you’re already fine, meditation can help prevent future depression, anxiety, and stress by up to 80%, like a vaccine shield. It also generates good ideas that can help you achieve your life goals.
I’ve shared my meditation secrets. Before you doubt whether it will work, try it yourself. It only takes a few minutes. If it works for you, you’ll know how it feels. If it doesn’t, that’s fine too; you can explore other techniques for managing your emotions.
