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Author:
Mike Garrett

Meditation is an art that takes a certain degree of consistency, but almost anyone can find time to meditate, no matter how busy your days may be. Meditation takes little to no preparation time if you follow a few rules, so in less than a half hour, you can meditate and continue on with your normal daily schedule. Remember, meditation is all about being relaxed.

First, find a convenient and appropriate place and time for meditation. Many people choose to participate in a class or meditate with a more experienced person (commonly known as a guru). However, if this is not possible, you can still meditate and achieve great results. The place you select for meditation should be away from wherever you typically do your work—i.e., don’t meditate at your desk if you can help it. Also avoid any areas that are noisy or otherwise distracting. Not all outside distractions can be cut from your life, but try to keep them to a minimum.

Most people agree that the best time of day to meditate is in the morning, before you begin the rest of your daily routine. At this point in your day, the hustle and bustle of life has yet to begin, and therefore you can more easily concentrate. However, other people choose to meditate in the middle of the day—this relieves some stress already building and helps you continue through the rest of the day. Others prefer the evening or directly before bedtime in order to release stress and sleep better. Whatever time you choose, try to be consistent every day.

It is important to be comfortable when you meditate, but not sleepy. Therefore, avoid meditating after large meals. It is also, on the other hand, detrimental to try to meditate when you are hungry. This can be very distracting, which is counterproductive to the goals of meditation. Meditating on an empty stomach is difficult and frustrating as well, especially for beginners. The most important thing is to know your own body—for example, if you usually have to use the restroom after drinking and eating, this is not a good time to begin meditating.

Being comfortable also means ensuring that your space has proper lighting and heating. Harsh florescent lights can make you strain your eyes, even when closed. The best meditation spaces allow sunlight, controlled by blinds, into the area. Be sure that you won’t be too warm or too cold, which can be as distracting as being hungry. Your body temperature may drop slightly as you meditate such as happens when you are sleeping, so be sure to account for this. Many people like to keep slippers close at hand to put on during meditation if needed.

Dress comfortably—you need no special outfit. If you decide to meditate mid-day, you may want to remove uncomfortable articles of clothing, such as pantyhose or ties, but it is unnecessary to completely change your outfit if you do not have time. As long as you are comfortable, meditation will be effective, because overall, that is what meditation as all about—being comfortable. By practicing meditation, you can be comfortable with yourself, your life, and the world around you every day.

About the Author :

Mike Garrett has an interest in Speed Meditation. For further information on Speed Meditation please visit http://www.speedmeditation.com/meditation.html or http://www.speedmeditation.com/blog/2006/10/03/5-tips-for-successful-meditation/ .


Article Source: www.iSnare.com

| Article Keywords: Meditation

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Meditation... Scientific research on Transcendental Meditation (TM) Scientific research has shown that the most beneficial meditation technique is Transcendental Meditation (TM). The striking reduction of stress and anxiety caused by TM are 3 times greater than the effect caused by most meditation and relaxation techniques. Transcendental Meditation has been taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi since 1958. The first articles about the beneficial effects of TM were published around 1970 on important magazines and scientific journals such as - Science (167, 1970), - American Journal of Physiology (221, 1971) and - Scientific American (226, 1972). The basic research was conducted by two medical doctors from Harvard University, Herbert Benson and Robert Wallace . This research was made on dozens of American people who used to practice this technique regularly. These people were of any race, sex, age, job, and with different personal political or religious belief. Later, a lot of research was made about this technique by several doctors and scientists, who wrote several articles on important scientific journals such as - International Journal of Neuroscience , - Psychosomatic Medicine , - Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology , - Journal of Clinical Psychiatry , - Journal of Clinical Psychology , and many more. Dr. Benson never practiced this technique himself (Dr. Wallace did). Dr. Benson created his own relaxation technique, that is described in his book The relaxation response (HarperCollins, 1975, 2000), a best-seller that sold 5 millions of copies since 1975. Dr. Benson claims that his technique achieves the same results as Maharishi's TM. However, the actual results achieved by TM are 3 times greater than those achieved by the relaxation response technique, as shown by further research (...