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Guide On How To Start A Meditation Practice At
Home

Gone are the days when most activities have to be done away from home. With the
presence of the internet, it’s now very easy to attain a degree or short course through
online schools. With the use of video chatting, you can now easily connect with your
loved ones that are far away. When it comes to health and fitness, there are plenty of
online resources that you can follow to fulfill your goals without leaving your home. This
also applies to meditation, there are various guided resources online so that you can
attain enlightenment at the comfort of your own home.

Reasons for starting a meditation practice at home

You’re probably wondering why should a person start meditation practice at home in-
stead of going to a class or school. So consider this, a person living in the city, with just
enough time for work and commuting. How can this person incorporate a holistic life-
style within this busy schedule? He can start by engaging in meditative practices at the
comfort of his own home. It would help relieve him of the stresses he experiences at
work and at the same time, increase his productivity or creativity.

Another scenario you can consider is the case of a housewife who is constantly ex-
posed to stresses when it comes to child care and chores. A typical day in the life of a
housewife involves waking up early, tending to the needs of the family and doing
household chores. The entire 24 hours can get eaten up without her allotting some time
for herself. This is very detrimental to the mental health of the housewife or simply put,
her saneness and happiness. Just a few minutes of meditation a day can help clear her
mind and restore her bliss.
Of course there are other reasons for starting a meditation practice at home. For the ca-
reer prioritizers, the students who lack focus, the insomniacs with racing thoughts, all of
these individuals can benefit from the use of meditation. Or you could just be a health
advocate who want to devote some time increasing your awareness about your own
mind. For all these reasons and more, you can begin your meditation practice as easy
as one, two and three, right at the comfort of your own home.

The things you need to prepare before the meditation

We would divide this blog post into two parts. First is the before part, wherein we dis-
cuss about the essential things you need to prepare prior to beginning the meditation.
Don’t worry as you really don’t need to buy anything, you can make use of resources
that are already available in your home. We want to make meditation easily accessible
for anyone and everyone so we won’t be recommending expensive things here.

1. Choose a quiet meditation area in your home or apartment

So what qualifies as a meditation area? It has to abide by these three characteristics:

noiseless, free from distractions and organized. If you live in a busy location, choose the
most quiet part of your home. Close the windows and add in some thick curtains to dim
the area a bit. Your meditation area shouldn’t have distractions like a television, radio or
thin walls where you can easily hear the neighbor’s conversations. If you cannot control
the noises in your preferred meditation area, then wear a noise-cancelling headset or
earphone for the duration of your session. Lastly, make sure it’s organized since clutter
can induce stress if you decide to meditate with your eyes open.

2. Prepare your sitting area as well

Once you have chosen a meditation area, then you would now need to prepare your
exact sitting area. It’s up to you what sitting position you’d like to engage in during medi-
tation. If you decide that you’re more comfortable in a chair, find a stable and sturdy
one, with the height that lets your feet lay flat on the ground. If you’re okay with sitting
on the ground, you can invest in a simple mat or rug. It’s not necessary to buy a zafu or
cushion, you can find alternatives such as towels or firm pillows that can give support
for your behind as well. There are also cheap zafu options in Amazon that cost less than
20 USD per piece.

3. Choose the duration and set the timer for your meditation

You can go the traditional way and just utilize your alarm clock. But since we live in a
digital world, it’s also okay to use your smartphone as a timer. There are many ap-
plications in both the Apple Store and the Google Play Store that are specifically for

meditation. Insight Timer is a highly recommended one because of its simple user inter-

face. It has a built-in timer where you can pick your own alarm sound as well. One tip
though is to put your smartphone on airplane mode or turn off the sounds for notifica-
tions before meditating. This way, it won’t disturb you during your meditation practice.

So that’s the first part of our guide. Remember that you need to accomplish these things
even before starting your meditation practice. Find your specific meditation area, find a
suitable sitting position for you and then prepare the equipments like the cushion or
timer. Only after doing these things can you begin your practice. This also establishes
meditation for you. If you have your own meditation area, it’s easier to make meditating
a part of your daily routine at home.
The things you need to do during the meditation

Next we have the things you need to do during meditation. If you go through our web-
site, you’ll find that there’s a variety of meditation types that you can choose from. We
have also extensively discussed different meditation types, like mantra meditation and
mindfulness meditation. So if you need a more thorough guide on these types of medi-
tation, we encourage you to read those posts. As what we have said time and time
again, focused meditation is the easiest category of meditation to get into. So for this
section, we would be giving you tips about this kind of meditation and how you can en-
gage in it at home.

1. Get into your sitting position and the proper posture

You have already chosen a proper sitting position on the before section. If you’re still
confused about sitting positions, you can refer to this blog post as it discusses them ex-
tensively. Once you have assumed the correct sitting position, it’s time to align your
spine. Sit straight but the natural curvature of your spine to still be there. Position your
hands in a comfortable place. You can put them in a mudra or simple place them in your
thighs, as long as they are relaxed. The head, neck and shoulders should be straight
but relaxed too.

2. Focus on your breath, an object or a scenario

This is the best way of concentrating and focusing your mind. Choose something to fo-
cus on, whichever you prefer. The most common mind target is the breath, it’s free, it’s
easy to observe and it’s natural. For some people, focusing on the breath makes them
act unnatural though. So if you belong in that category, opt for an object or scenario in-
stead. Any inanimate object such as a candle, a fruit, a glass of water or a flower would
do. Scenarios like the river flowing, the gushing of the waterfalls and the rustling of the
leaves can soothe your mind.

3. Re-focus your mind once it starts wandering

Easier said than done, we know. But with practice, you will learn to do this technique
better. That’s why we have a mind target so you can re-focus your mind back into the
object once it wanders. Don’t worry though, most beginners would find it hard to truly
focus their mind into an object or scenario during the first time. Even experts can expe-
rience mind wanderings from time to time. What is important is that you revert back to
your mind target and do not let the thoughts stay for more than a few seconds. Do not
engage them, let them go like a bride letting go of a dove during the wedding.

By the time your alarm or phone rings, you can begin to stand slowly from your sitting
position. Breathe deeply for a few seconds before resuming your activities for the day.
You can put away your equipments for meditation into a safe place. Open the window
curtains and enjoy the natural light. Hopefully, the meditation helped clear your mind
and you’re ready to tackle a busy day ahead of you again.
Other things to remember when starting a meditation prac-
tice at home

One tip we can give you is to stay consistent with your practice. Choose a time of the
day wherein you can practice meditation regularly. Preferably, especially for beginners,
this should be during the morning when your mind is still clear and fresh. But it’s also
okay to meditate during the afternoon or night time to relax your mind after a day’s activ-
ities. And when we say consistent, you need to meditate at least three times a week, so
that you can reap more from its benefits.

Do not set too high expectations during your first few tries. As a beginner, it’s okay to
have a wandering mind a few times in a session. On a related aspect, ease your way
into meditating by setting a realistic duration. A ten-minute session for the first timer is
more than enough time to get accustomed to meditating. You can gradually increase
your session duration as you get into your practice.

The focus is on yourself so make sure you are comfortable. This means that you need
to wear clothing that isn’t too tight, especially if you are doing breathing meditation.
Have a light meal a few hours before your meditation, no foods that can obstruct your
session like spicy dishes or oily dishes. The temperature should neither be too cold nor
too hot. All these little things can make a difference in your meditation practice.

Do not be intimidated by meditation

On the surface, it might seem like a complicated word but it’s actually very simple to be-
gin. We often hear the term out of the mouths of celebrated personalities. But the truth
is, meditation has been in existence for thousands of years now. In the modern world, it
has been glorified and commercialized to the point that some people have developed a
fear of it. But there really is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to meditation. It is a
suitable practice for a person who is looking into developing his focus or a person who
wants to achieve self-actualization. The best part is that it can be done in a small area in
your own home!

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