Close your eyes; inhale and take a deep exhale. Wonderful; now watch your endless thoughts, important and unimportant, pass before your eyes without letting them control you. Focus only on your deep breathing and stay absolutely still. Difficult, right? Naturally, your mind will become distracted and your thoughts will stray. Trying to meditate is a practice that incorporates mindfulness and awareness of a particular focal point, such as the breath, to transition into a calm state of mind.
Tips To Meditate As A Beginnger
Although it might be challenging at first, meditation becomes easier and easier with practice and there are a few ways that can make the beginning of your practice easier. Let’s get right into it!
1. Reserve A Quiet Space For Your Practice
As a beginner practicing meditation, distractions can definitely get in the way. Your goal should be to settle down somewhere with the least amount of external interference. Find a space in your house with the least amount of distractions and if you live with other people, let them know when you will be practicing to avoid other sudden interruptions. I suggest decorating your meditation area with candles, a meditation cushion, perhaps a yoga mat and whatever else you may need to feel comfortable and relaxed. It might be helpful to avoid your bedroom, office or anywhere that may trigger sleepiness or stress. Try to find a brand new space, even if it’s just a different part of a room, to set up your meditation haven.
2. Listen To Guided Audios
Sitting in complete silence at first can be… unsettling. We are always surrounded by auditory and visual stimulations which can make it difficult to accept the simplicity of silence. Think about how much you multitask; do you play games on your phone or text while watching a TV show? Do you doodle on a notepad while talking on the phone? Do you browse through your emails while listening to your favorite podcast? Our minds are conditioned to receive multiple stimulations at once which makes it very challenging to focus on just one thing at a time, thus, leading to challenges when trying to slow down and meditate. To alleviate your struggles, try exploring the wonderful world of guided audios which can be found on Spotify, YouTube and many other places online for free. Many guided meditation audios consist of a calming voice walking you through the process of slowing down your thoughts, witnessing your thoughts passing by passively, focusing entirely on your breath as well as feeling reassured. Music and nature sounds are also often used in these audios to further induce feelings of relaxation. If you have difficulty immersing yourself in silence, guided audios might be for you.
3. Use Aromatherapy
Using aromatherapy during meditation can also help to induce relaxation, stimulate the senses and create a soothing space for your practice. There are several ways that you can incorporate calming scents into your meditation practice; essential oil diffusers, direct essential oil application, scented candles and incense. Essential oil diffusers are wonderful because you can combine multiple scents at once if desired such as calming lavender oil and lemongrass. Another thing I love about diffusers is that they can be timed to consistently release a fragrant mist for as long as you wish. For an even more intense scent, you can also apply essential oils directly to your skin for more potent inhalation. Essential oils can be applied on the palms on your hands and any areas that you would apply perfume such as your wrists and your neck. Scented candles are also lovely during meditation not only due to the pleasantly aromatic nature but also due to the candle-lit, soothing ambience that they create. Incense is also more than just an accessory to meditation; incense often triggers a sense of serenity and connection with oneself. Incense has been used for hundreds of years, especially in Buddhism, and although spiritual leaders have known the benefits of it for years, science is finally catching up and actively supporting those claims. Incense can promote anti-depressive behavior, relieve stress, increase focus, boost the immune system and increase creativity.
4. Practice, Practice, Practice
Practicing is key. At the end of the day, meditation is called a practice for a reason. Consistency and patience will give you the best results so stay focused and be patient with yourself through this process. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, begin by practicing for 10 minutes daily and work your way up to 15 minutes, 20 minutes, etc. If you begin attempting an hour of meditation in the very beginning, you may become frustrated and give up so it’s important to start with baby steps . Another useful tip is scheduling your meditation sessions at specific times of day to train your body to let go and relax during those times. For instance, meditate consistently in the mornings when you wake up or in the evenings depending on your schedule and when you feel like you need to recharge because essentially, you’re recharging your batteries by meditating.
Try To Meditate On Your Own
Now that you have the tools to begin your meditation practice, you ultimately have the freedom to decide what kind of practice you are going to build regarding consistency, times of day, duration, presence or absence of props and scents, the use of aromatherapy, etc. It’s important to remember that this is for you. Through your practice, you are able to finally escape the chaos of your routine, your responsibilities and other factors causing your stress. This is your time to grant yourself permission to set time aside to recollect your thoughts, focus on your breath, feel rejuvenated and reconnect with your spirituality. Once meditation becomes second nature, and I promise you it will, you will be able to transition into a calming, meditative state whenever you feel overwhelmed or stressed, for instance, before an exam or an important meeting. Try to be understanding of your progress in your meditation practice, as fast or slow as it may be, and enjoy every moment of it.
Delve into self acceptance and self love through the surrender of Child pose. As you hold this pose for up to a minute or longer, repeat the following mantra to yourself; “I am enough.”
Get in touch with your inner Goddess or God with Goddess Pose. This power pose helps to elicits a feeling of strength and confidence. As you hold this pose using your breath, repeat the following mantra’ “I am strong and worthy”.
Discover strength and inner peace with Warrior 2. As you hold this pose, repeat the following mantra to yourself; “I am worthy of all the love and joy in the world”.
Pigeon pose is a deep hip opener that creates a deep sense of surrender in the body. It also helps calm the mind and soothe the soul. As you hold this pose for up to a minute or longer on each side, say to yourself with every exhale, “I accept myself fully as I am”.
Savasana is the ultimate relaxation pose in yoga. Use this time to cultivate self care and love for yourself; staying here for up to 20 minutes or longer. You could enhance your Savasana practice by dimming the lights, lighting candles, and playing soft ambient music. You can even use aromatherapy to further induce inner peace; Rose, Jasmine, Bergamot, and Sandalwood are great essential oils to use for self love care.
If you are looking for a holistic and natural approach to bettering the quality of your sleep, yoga postures and 
A great set of complementary poses that will release your spine and incorporate your breath. Start on your hands and knees. Inhale into Cow pose by bringing the crown of your head and tailbone up toward the ceiling, hollowing out your lower back. For cat pose, exhale as you tilt the crown of the head and tailbone down to the ground, arching your spine into a C-curve and pulling the shoulder blades apart. Flow between these two poses as long as you’d like, moving with the pattern of your inhales and exhales and feeling like you’re putting space between every vertebrae and loosening up your spine. To slow down and control your breath, try to match the length of each inhale and exhale with the length of each pose, with a momentary pause between cycles.
Transitioning onto your back, position yourself so your tailbone (lowest part of your back) is leaning against the base of a wall, or another flat, tall surface. The headboard of your bed might even work!
Transitioning away from the wall, bring both knees into your chest and rock side to side or take big circles with your knees. When you’re ready, bring your arms out into a ‘T’ with your hands in line with your shoulders and let your knees fall over to one side. You can keep both knees bent, straighten the top leg, or choose to straighten both legs. If you’re not feeling as much of the twist as you’d like, try to adjust your hips further over to the middle of your space so that your back is in one straight line —this may intensify the stretch in the lower back. If you’d like a neck stretch as well, turn your head to the side opposite your knees. After a few breaths, switch sides.
When you’re ready to get in bed for the night, the right breathing exercises could be beneficial to relax your body, mind, and even help you doze off.
Pranayama or breathwork is another great way to promote better z’s. Here are three simple breathwork practices you can try to help you sleep before bed.
There’s a ton of research and articles on the internet for you to find on Yoga and its 
Yoga teaches us how to focus our attention through its 
By intentionally 
Downward Facing Dog, is an inversion pose, where we allow blood to flow to our head elevating our mood. Inversions also energetically brings ourselves into a different perspective; as we are looking at the world from an upside down perspective. This analogy can relate to stressful situations in our lives. By taking time to see a situation from a new perspective, we can start to focus on the more positive things about that situation. For example, during the holidays, we can re-frame our perspective to a more positive one, by focusing on spending time with loved ones, giving to others, beautiful family traditions, and peace.
The hips are an area where we tend to store alot of tension in our bodies. Allow yourself to melt into this pose by releasing into this stretch and holding for up to a minute.
One of the most important poses in yoga, Savasana is a great way to just let go and release. Use props such as a blanket, eye pillow, or aromatherapy, to enhance your Savasana experience. Stay here for as long as you need – you could do Savasana for just 5 minutes or even up to 30 minutes if you feel you really need the release and quiet. It’s your practice so always feel free to tweak however you prefer.
With Standing Forward Bend, its important to note that in some instances of back injury this can hurt the back further. You should have flexibility in the hamstrings while attempting this pose – if there isn’t a good stretch coming from the hamstrings, or if the hamstrings are tight – you could 
This backbend is a great pose to strengthen the back and also stimulate the natural curves of the spine, which we sometimes lose from sitting for too long. When we sit a lot, the lower back tends to move into a more flattened shape, which can cause pain and discomfort over time. Sphinx pose promotes the natural curvature of the lower back which aids in overall spine health.
