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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners

10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation

What is Meditation?

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Meditation

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Head-to-Body

So much of our stress comes from being caught in our thoughts and ideas. In this meditation, we'll drop from our head to our body, the one place that is always present.

Let's start by finding

a comfortable posture.

This could be sitting,

lying down or standing.

If it feels okay to do so, you

can allow your eyes to close.

And we'll take one deep breath

together to settle in breathing.

In through the nose.

And out through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to soften.

Letting the shoulders be at ease.

And allowing the belly

and the hands to relax.

You can let your breath settle

back into its natural rhythm.

And with each exhale, just feel

yourself sinking a little more

deeply into your body, allowing

your body to be heavy, grounded.

And allowing yourself to feel

your body, specifically the

movement in the belly right now.

So if you want to place one hand on your

belly to feel that more vividly, you may.

And just see if you can follow that soft

rhythm as the belly inflates on an inhale.

And deflates on an exhale.

Each time, the mind wanders, gently

bringing it back to the breath.

I'll give you a couple of

minutes in silence to practice.

In this meditation we're

exploring stepping out of our

heads and into our bodies.

So we started to do this

with just feeling the breath.

And notice how it's feeling the

breath, not thinking about it, not

imagining it, but really feeling it.

We can do this with any part of the body.

Maybe notice if you can feel where your

seat meets the chair or cushion, or floor.

Or if you're standing, where the

feet are pressed against the floor.

And it might be a subtle sensation,

you might hardly notice it.

Let's see if you can direct

your attention there and feel

that quality of grounded-ness,

of being anchored to something.

As you notice the thoughts arise,

we're practicing observing those

and then coming back into the body.

And notice if there is any other

strong sensation in the body.

In the face and the back, the legs.

You can guide your attention there

and practice feeling what it's like

to have a body, non-judgmentally, not

trying to make it better or different.

Just simply experiencing

what is sensation like.

Let's now zoom out so that we're aware

of our entire body resting in space.

So maybe noticing the air on our skin.

Or feeling the outline of our body.

Let's take one more deep breath together.

In through the nose.

Out through the mouth.

And when you're ready, you

can allow your eyes to open.

So good job.

This meditation might seem basic, but

learning to connect to the body is a

huge asset in day-to-day life, especially

when we're caught in our thoughts.

As you go about your day

practice, reconnecting to it.

The feet on the floor, feeling

your shoulders, feeling

the breath in your belly.

Thank you for your practice and take care.

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