Finding the right place to meditate is the first step. Not a temple. Not a fancy cushion. A corner of your room where the light is honest and the floor is familiar. There are many benefits of yoga to leading a healthy life, but meditation is the tool that quiets the mind — and the true goal of meditation is to understand the silence inside.
Many people think meditation is difficult. It is not difficult to begin — it is difficult to continue. Every individual carries what teachers call the “monkey mind,” jumping from thought to thought. The good news is that there is a way to meditate, a method that has been passed down for thousands of years. Here are five simple instructions I give to every student who sits with me for the first time.
1 Finding the Right Place
The first and most important step in practicing meditation is choosing the place. It should be clean, quiet, and comfortable. Not sacred — quiet. The sacred part comes later, through repetition. A corner of your bedroom works. A balcony works. A garden seat at dawn works.
What does not work is a place where you will be interrupted, where your phone will ring, or where the body cannot settle. The place of meditation should neither be too high nor rough — it should be a place where one can sit comfortably for an extended period. It can be a tea house, your balcony, or even the roof of your house.
The best time to meditate is early morning or late at night, when the atmosphere is calm. At both times the world is quieter, the air is different, and the mind has not yet filled itself with the day's noise. Sit in the same place every day. Let that corner of the room become associated, through repetition, with the practice.
““Meditation is not about stopping thoughts. It is about no longer believing them.”” — — Maa Nisha Kabir
2 Choosing Comfortable Clothes
While meditating, wear loose-fitting clothes. Tight clothing cannot be meditated in for long — we do not feel comfortable, our attention wanders, and the body keeps reporting on itself. Clothes should always be loose and natural. Cotton, linen, or any breathable fabric works best.
Moreover, loose clothing makes stretching easier, and one can practice asana before meditation with greater ease. Many students arrive in expensive yoga clothing. This is fine, but it is not necessary. A loose cotton kurta, an old t-shirt, a shawl around the shoulders if it is cool — these are enough. The practice is not improved by what you wear.
Try This Practice: Sit. Spine tall. Eyes soft. Count ten breaths. When you lose count — and you will — begin again at one. That is the entire practice. Ten breaths is enough to begin.
3 Sitting in the Best Position
Many people around the world think that meditation should always be done in a particular posture — usually padmasana, the lotus pose. But the truth is one can reach deep meditation in any posture, as long as the spine is upright and the body is still. There are no special postures required.
What matters is that the spine is erect without strain, the hands are resting, and the body can remain still for the duration of your sitting. Sit cross-legged on a cushion if your knees allow. Sit in seiza (kneeling) on a bench if your hips are tight. Sit in a chair, feet flat on the floor, if neither works.
We should keep the fingers of both hands together lightly. There should not be any kind of stiffness in the body. The body should be kept light and loose. To meditate, special care must be taken that the head, neck, and waist should be straight — a single line from the crown to the base of the spine.
You can choose any corner of your house to meditate, but keep in mind that initially it is better to meditate in an enclosed space rather than an open one. Once the practice is established, you can meditate anywhere — on a train, in a park, even walking down a noisy street.
4 Emptying Your Thoughts — Gently
The most important step is to empty your mind of unnecessary thoughts and emotions. But here is the secret most teachers will not tell you: this cannot be done by force. If there is something going on in your mind, do not try to push it away. Instead, bring your attention to a single point.
Many times in meditation, a person is present physically while meditating but somewhere else mentally. The body is on the cushion; the mind is in tomorrow's meeting. While meditating you should forget all your troubles — not by fighting them, but by giving your attention to something quieter than thought.
When a thought arises — and they will arise, in waves — do not fight it. Do not follow it. Do not judge yourself for having it. Notice it. Name it gently (“planning,” “remembering,” “worrying”) and return your attention to the breath. This returning — this noticing and returning — is the practice. Not the absence of thought.
5 Control on Breath
First, know about breathing — because breathing is the only medium through which we are connected to the cosmos. The final goal of meditation is the realization of the supreme, of the soul. Inhalation and exhalation are closely related to meditation.
Meditation happens in the right way only when deep and long breaths are taken in and exhaled comfortably. If the breathing is fast and shallow, then it means the mind is agitated. The speed of breath should be slow during meditation.
Before you begin your sit, take three long slow breaths. Inhale for a count of four. Hold gently for two. Exhale for a count of six. This single adjustment — longer exhale than inhale — signals to the nervous system that it is safe to rest. From there, let the breath find its own rhythm. Do not control it. Just listen.
If you sit for ten minutes a day, every day, for ninety days, you will have a meditation practice. That is all it takes. Not an app. Not a course. Not a retreat in the Himalayas (though if you wish to come, you are welcome). Just ten minutes, in the same corner, every morning. The practice is built one breath at a time.