STEP 1 - RELAX
For practicing meditation you first need to find a comfortable position. Sit down on a chair, on your couch or even in bed. Do not lie down. Sit up straight. Elongate your spine.
What you're going to do next is to take deep breaths. Inhale until your lungs are filled with air and exhale calmly. Try to exhale a bit longer than you inhale. This will calm down your nervous system and get you to relax. You might want to try to inhale through your belly instead of your chest for this.
It might take a while, but there will be a point that after a deep breath you will suddenly feel good. You will feel your body calming down. You'll feel comfortable, at ease, relaxed. Peaceful. It is in that state that you want to be. In the meditational
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The goal of meditation is to put yourself in the present moment, to shut down your mind and to reinforce the connection you have with your own body. The first step to presence is to be aware of the aliveness of your body. You literally need to feel your body and there are two easy ways to help you with that:
1. Ask yourself some questions. Questions that will help you focus your attention on specific parts of your body. Some examples are: "Am I breathing?" or "Is my heart beating?"
2. Scan your body. Start focusing your energy on your hands for example. Once you are feeling them, you can go to your forearms, than your shoulders and so on.
Step-by-step you'll start to become more aware of your whole body and become present.
You can restart with the breathing exercise once in a while. Enjoy the process of doing that. Feel the air filling your lungs. Notice the way your belly is moving. Be aware of all that and enjoy. If your mind wonders off and you start thinking again, it's okay. Just bring your attention back to your breathing and go
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Each time you feel you're losing focus, change. Go from body to environment. From environment to emotions. It will help you to stay present.
Every time, you can allow yourself to go deeper into arousal (or consciousness) by feeling the aliveness in your hands for example or by asking a new question like "which muscles aren't relaxed yet?" You could find out that your hands are cramped or that your jaw is tensed. Even that your neck is a bit stiff a little bit or something. Make those muscles loose. They don't need to be tensed. You're completely fine. You are comfortable, relaxed and you are truly enjoying the process of all this. So any needless muscle contractions need to be localized and relaxed.
As you go deeper into arousal, you'll be more and more present to the moment. You can start focusing on your heart again once in a while. You'll find out that your heartbeat is slow and stable. Your blood pressure is normal. You are completely relaxed. You definitely killed your stress. So, how does it feel?
OPEN YOUR EYES AND