Prepping for Meditation

I know some of the folks who are trying this meditation challenge are new to meditating so I thought I would present some basic guidelines to help people.

First, you do not have to meditate for an hour a day. When I first started meditating I limited myself to 5 minutes a day. I wanted to meditate but I was also scared of it. I figured if I limited myself to 5 minutes per day it wouldn't seem so overwhelming. It worked too! I tricked myself into not being scared.

Second, whatever schedule works for you is ok. You might choose 5 minutes a day, you might choose 1 hour a day. You might choose mornings as your favorite meditation time, you might choose evenings. It doesn't really matter what you do, as long as you take some time each day to sit with yourself and settle in to the quiet.

If you are brand new to meditating you might want to start with 5-10 minutes per day for the first week, 10-15 minutes per day for the 2nd week, 15-20 for the third week and 20-30 for the last week. Or, choose a different schedule that works for you.

For more ideas, here's a link to a Yoga Journal article describing a few simple meditation practices: Meditation 101.

Friday, June 1st is our start date. Let's get ready to sit.