How to Meditate for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide

Want to know how to meditate for beginners?

Looking for a step by step guide to meditating daily?

Meditation is quite possibly the single most useful thing you can do for yourself.

It’s a quick and easy (not to mention free!) tool to calm anxiety and combat stress. It can help you sleep better, increase your focus, help you make better decisions, fast track you to slaying your goals, even manage pain, help you heal emotionally, improve your relationships. 

There honestly isn’t much that can’t be improved by meditating.  So how do you do it?

Many people just tell you to meditate but don’t explain how. I’m going to break it down and give you a step by step guide on how to meditate daily when you’re a beginner. 

 

What is Meditation? 

Meditation means focusing on a single thing, with the aim to bring peace and calm, awareness, happiness, and insight. 

Meditation means we venture into the workings of the mind: We get to know ourselves and learn to direct our minds in ways that serve us better.

 

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Objects for Meditation 

So, if meditation means focusing on a single thing what should we focus on? 

The best objects are simple. It could be your breath, it can also be a word, like love. Perhaps, it can be a visualization. Or it could be your sensations, like a conscious awareness of what you’re feeling in your body. 

I will explain more about all these below. 

The list of things you can focus on is actually almost endless – you may have heard of meditating on a mantra, like OM, or on the chakras, etc. These are certainly all valid but if you’re only just starting to learn how to meditate I would recommend keeping it simple and focusing on something that is meaningful for you.

 

What Meditation is NOT

Meditation is not something esoteric that is just for deeply spiritual people. Or hippies. You don’t need to be a monk on a mountain top to do it or sit still for hours. Or go to India to learn it.  

Don’t feel daunted – learning how to meditate is quite straight forward. Anyone can do it. 

And furthermore, you can do it almost anywhere – in the kitchen, during work breaks, laying down in bed. You don’t need to go to a special place, light incense, and sit cross-legged on the floor. 

You don’t have to do anything that feels strange or weird to you. 

Most importantly, meditation is not “emptying your mind” and not having any thoughts. 

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 It’s actually very difficult to have an “empty mind” without thoughts. 

Having thoughts is the mind’s superpower. We can harness this, we don’t need to suppress it. It’s how we deal with the thoughts that matter.

 

What is the Point of Meditation?

At the moment we have very little control over our thoughts. They go all over the place and often go where we don’t want them. Like negative self-talk, anger, insecurities, judgment, jealousy, lack of confidence, anxiety… 

We might find our mind returns to the same instance again and again and we’re stuck in a loop of thinking and reliving it over and over. We can’t stop because we have no control over our minds, our thoughts. 

When we know how to meditate we can take control of our mind and direct our thoughts where we want them, starting with focusing on one simple thing. 

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Ultimately, we want to be able to catch ourselves just before anger flares up, anxiety kicks in, confidence evaporates… Just before we have a knee jerk reaction or make a bad decision. 

The aim is to reduce the noise inside our head, have self-awareness, become calm whenever we want to, and direct our minds to access our deeper knowledge, our better self. To become the self that we really are.

 

The Benefits of Meditation

Here are just some of the benefits of meditating:

• Better clarity and focus 
• Better sleep
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Understanding yourself better
• More kindness with yourself and those around you
• More energy 
• Better memory 
• Being more present 
• Ability to feel calm whenever you want to
• Connecting to your intuition and inner knowledge 
• Feel happier
• Manifest the life you want 

In fact, here is an article citing over 100 studies that found 76 Benefits of Meditation and Mindfulness. 

 

Meditation Techniques for Beginners

There are many different ways to meditate. The most common meditations are:

1. Breathing Meditation
2. Visualization Meditation
3. Mindfulness Meditation

I’m going to outline step by step how to meditate with each of these three types below.

You can try the different meditations here and now, as you read through them. 

There’s no need to wait until you “have time” or until you’re somewhere quieter. You can get a taste, the first impression by trying the techniques right now for a minute or two. 

There’s a power in the Now, the present moment – you’re here reading this for a reason, so jump right in. 

 

How to Meditate Daily: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Whatever meditation you choose it’s good to start with some basic preparation.

 

When to Meditate

It’s best to begin with short meditations, ideally twice a day. Don’t be too ambitious at first, let the habit build naturally. Choose a time of day and a duration that is easy and achievable so that you’re off to a successful start.

 

How Long Should I Meditate?

I’d recommend 5-10 minutes in the morning and 5-10 minutes in the afternoon or evening. 

We tend to stick to things that are part of a routine. For example, if you’re anything like me you always brush your teeth before going to bed. (OK, almost always…) 

So instead of “brush teeth – go to bed – watch a little TV – fall asleep” your routine might become:  

“Think about which meditation technique to do today while brushing teeth – go to bed, meditate for 5 minutes – go to sleep”.

The full benefits of meditation are felt only if done regularly so I’d recommend building 5-10 minutes meditation into your morning and evening routine. 

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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

 

Steps to Start Mediating

Find a quiet place and a time when you won’t be disturbed. This will help you when you’re first learning how to meditate. 

Longer-term you might find this is no longer absolutely necessary. Meditation is a process of both going deeper within and increasing your acceptance of what is happening outside of you. 

So at some point, you might find you can meditate anywhere, even say, in the noisy metro surrounded by other people. Learn how to meditate anytime, anywhere here. 

Start your meditation with these simple steps: 

1. 1. Have your spine straight – sitting on your office chair is fine or even on the sofa. You can also meditate laying in bed, as long as your spine is straight. If you are sitting down put both your feet on the ground and your hands in your lap or on your knees. Be comfortable.
   2. Set an intention that you will meditate and focus on your chosen object for a specific time (like 5 or 10 minutes). Let go of any expectation what will happen and any judgment of your practice but resolve to stick with it.
   3. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. It can be in through the nose and out through the nose. Or in through the nose and out through the mouth. As you breathe out let go of any tension. Relax. Keep the spine straight but relax the rest of your body. Relax your shoulders, your jaw, and anywhere you hold tension. Take another deep breath and consciously relax. If you want you can sigh a long Aaaah as you breath out. This releases even more tension, mentally and physically.

Now you’re ready to begin the actual meditation.

 

 

Meditation Technique #1:
Breathing Meditation 

This is the simplest and most common way to learn how to meditate. Even the Buddha recommended this one first and foremost. Since you are always breathing you can do this meditation wherever and whenever you can take a few minutes break. 

Guided Breathing Meditation

Do the three steps of preparation outlined above.

Now let your breathing return to a normal, natural rhythm. With your eyes still closed focus on where the breath enters the nose. 

Feel the subtle sensation of the air as it enters the nostrils. And then exits the nostrils. 

Notice the subtle change in temperature between the in and the out breath. Do the in and out breath actually touch different parts of the nose? 

Notice the Small Pause

Then notice the small pause between the in and the out breath. And then the small pause between the out and the in breath. 

Keep your mind on the breath and notice everything there is to the breath. Do the in and out breath have different qualities? Different lengths?

You will find that your mind wanders away from the breath. This is completely normal. Every time this happens gently and lovingly bring your mind back to observing the breath. 

Just the in breath. And the out breath. For these few minutes, there is nothing else to do. Just breathe and observe the breath. That’s all.

Sometimes, observing how the chest or the belly rises and falls with the breath can be easier. Or counting can help, such as counting each in and out breath up to 10 and then starting again at 1.

But just know that it is surprisingly difficult to focus on a single thing, be it the breath or something else. Your mind will wander a LOT. This happens to everyone.

When Your Mind Wanders Off

So every time your mind wanders off just notice and gently and lovingly bring it back to the breath. Nothing but the breath. 

If your mind wanders off 10 times bring it back 11 times. If it wanders off 100 times bring it back 101 times. Gentle patience and loving perseverance are key. 

Despite your mind wandering you will notice how this meditation is instantly calming and relaxing. It combats stress and anxiety and increases focus. 

So just by keeping our mind on the breath, we are increasing our calmness and relaxation, focus and concentration, patience and perseverance. Not bad for such a simple exercise, is it. 

Then, Come Back

After 5-10 minutes slowly start to move your fingers, wriggle your toes, maybe sway your body side to side, gently open your eyes and come back to the room you’re in. Notice how you feel. Tell yourself “Well done” for doing the meditation. Journal if you feel like it.

Further resource: Here is a more detailed guided meditation that you can listen to. It also addresses sitting postures and dealing with distractions. 

 

Meditation Technique #2:
Visualization 

Many people think they can’t visualize. But if I ask you to close your eyes and describe your front door, you can tell me if it’s blue or red, can’t you? Try it now – is it wood or glass? Is there a bell? 

You can answer these questions not because you’re standing in front of your house looking at your door but because you’re visualizing it. 

Visualizing just means you see something in your mind without having to look at it physically with your eyes. It’s not dissimilar to vividly remembering something or even daydreaming. 

You can combine visualization with meditating on the breath in the way described below. You might find this makes it more powerful for you and easier to keep your mind on the object. 

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Guided Visualization Meditation

Do the three steps of preparation, outlined above.

Let your breathing return to normal. 

As you breathe in, instead of focusing on the detailed sensations visualize breathing in a warm golden light. The light enters through the nose and then flows up and down your body, spreading to all parts. 

It fills your entire body, and even your mind. There is light, nothing but light. You are light. It is a pleasant feeling, warm and uplifting.  

Bring your mind back to the light

Continue visualizing this. With each in breath make the visualization stronger and more vivid. When your mind wanders just bring it back to the light that you’re breathing in.  

Now shift your awareness to the out breath. As you breathe out, visualize that you breathe out all of your fears and worries. Empty your lungs, let it all go. 

At the end of each out breath relax into the pause. Feel how fear and worry have left your body. 

Then as the out breath turns into the in breath breathe in light again. Visualize how this warm golden light floods your body. It heals you. Lifts your mood. And it chases out all your pain and struggles. Anything unwanted. 

Let go of any negativity

Any thoughts and feelings that no longer serve you then leave your body with the out breath. 

If it feels appropriate, visualize that your out breath is like black soot, carrying everything you no longer want in your life. 

Keep breathing in light and breathing out the soot of anything unwanted. 

Focus on the in or the out breath

If you prefer you can focus entirely on the in breath and feel how the light fills your body and mind, calming you, healing you, uplifting you. You can direct it to any specific part of your body that needs healing.

Or you can focus entirely on the out breath for a while and feel how pains and struggles are leaving you. Feel cleansed and free.  

Instead of breathing in the light you can also choose any other quality that you feel in need of  kindness, love, compassion, energy, healing, joy, whatever it may be.

Breathe in this quality with each inhalation. You can just think the word or you might find that after a few breaths the word starts to present itself quite naturally in a color and shape that feels right. 

 

Let it all fall away

The same with the out breath. Choose whatever you feel has run its course and is ready to fall away. Shyness, loneliness, anxiety, stress, anger, cravings, confusion. 

Visualize how these ride on the out breath and leave your body. And your mind. At the end of the out breath relax into your body that is now free of these things. 

After 5-10 minutes bring the visualization to a close. Slowly start to move your fingers, wriggle your toes, maybe sway your body side to side, gently open your eyes and come back to the room you’re in. Notice how you feel. Tell yourself “Well done” for doing the meditation. Journal if you feel like it.

 

Guided Meditation for Loving Kindness

This is a variation on the visualization above. 

Do the three steps of preparation, outlined above.

Let your breathing return to normal. 

As you breathe in visualize breathing in a warm golden light again. The light enters through the nose and then flows up and down your body, spreading to all parts, filling your entire body and mind.

Feel how the light lifts your mood and warms your heart. It eradicates your struggles and pains. It fills you with love and kindness and positivity. 

Do this for a few in breaths. 

Share the light with others

Then as you breathe out you send this warm golden light to other people. First choose someone you’re close to, someone you love. 

Send them this warm golden light and visualize it filling their body and mind. It lifts them up and warms their heart. It puts them in a good mood and eradicates their struggles and pains. 

Breathe in and feel the warm golden light doing the same for you again. The light flows to every part of you, nourishing you, healing you, bringing you what you need. Let yourself be fully absorbed in that light.

Then send the light to someone you love once again with your out breath. 

Do this for a few in and out breaths. 

Breathe in and feel yourself filled with this warm golden light. So much so it overflows and surrounds you, bathing you in it.

 

Send the light to a stranger

Breathe out and this time send the light to a stranger. The woman who lives at the end of your street, the guy in front of you at the supermarket queue, someone you were passing on the escalator, saw in the metro. 

You don’t know them but you know they all have pains and struggles, simply because they’re human. 

Send them light, see how the light fills their body and mind, heals them, helps them overcome their difficulties.

Do this for a few in and out breaths. 

The next time you breathe in the light for yourself feel how it connects you with your higher self, makes you wiser, kinder. The warm golden light fills every part of your body and mind. A feeling of being whole, of being nourished and healed and complete. There so much light flowing through and around you that you glow with light. 

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Send the light to someone you dislike

Breathe out and send the light to someone you dislike. The guy with the annoying laugh at work, your boss who doesn’t listen, your teacher who was unfair, your ex who broke your heart. 

They all have struggles, they lack kindness and wisdom, which is why they behave the way they do. Send them light. Warm golden light. See in your mind’s eye how it heals them, how it gives them what is lacking in their life, nourishes them and makes them whole. How they become better, kinder people,

Breathe in the light for yourself again. Feel how it increases all your positive qualities, how it connects you to the divine, to source. Bathe in it, radiate it. Allow yourself to feel happy, joyful, content. 

Keep breathing in light for you, breathing out light for others. Focus more on the in breath or the out breath as needed.

After 5-10 minutes bring the visualization to a close. Slowly start to move your fingers, wriggle your toes, maybe sway your body side to side, gently open your eyes and come back to the room you’re in. Notice how you feel. Tell yourself “Well done” for doing the meditation. Journal if you feel like it. 

This meditation can really help you have more loving-kindness for yourself and for others. This can bring more peace and inner joy which can pave the way to connect you to your own inner wisdom.

 

Meditation Technique #3:
Mindfulness

Mindfulness means being fully present. Fully aware of your body, your feelings, your thoughts here and now. But without getting caught up in them.

This meditation technique can also incorporate being fully aware of your environment, whatever is going on around you. All without interpretation or judgment.

Here’s how to do it:

 

Guided Mindfulness Meditation

Do the three steps of preparation, outlined above.

Now let your breathing return to a normal, natural rhythm. 

Become aware of the sensations in your body. Where is your body touching? Feel your feet on the ground. Your bottom on the seat. 

Feel your arms touching the sides of your body. Your hands in your lap or on your legs. 

Become aware of your whole body. Which parts are cold, which warm? Is there any tingling, or any discomfort anywhere? Can you feel any parts of your body that are comfortable and not in pain?

Observe the rhythm of your breathing. Feel the air flowing in and out, your chest and belly rising and falling. 

And Your Emotions

Now become aware of your emotions. Are you feeling calm, bored, anxious, curious? 

What other emotions are there? Impatience, disappointment, elation, love, loathing, craving? Just notice without judgment. You don’t need to change anything. Just become aware. 

Become aware of your thoughts. Don’t engage with them, don’t follow them. Just observe as they arise and then let them go. 

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Like a cloud drifting through a deep blue sky, your mind is a vast space and thoughts are just drifting through. They subside as you let them go. Gradually there will be more space between your thoughts.

Plus, add your surroundings 

If you want to go further you can include your environment in this meditation:

Become aware of any noises in your room. Maybe there’s a clock ticking. Traffic noise outside. Dogs barking, kids playing. People in other parts of the house. Just notice, without judgment or labeling the noises good or bad.

Are there any smells? Notice them.

If you want to, open your eyes and gently look around the room. Just notice shapes, colors, textures. 

Become aware of your environment without self-talk in your mind about what you see. No labeling, no judgments. If any thought arises just notice this and let them go. 

Allow everything to be, inside and outside of you, but don’t engage. Just observe. Just sit in peace, calmly paying attention.  

After 5-10 minutes slowly start to move your fingers, wriggle your toes, maybe sway your body side to side. Notice how you feel. Tell yourself “Well done” for doing the meditation. Journal if you feel like it.

Further resource: Here is a guided mindfulness meditation with the founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, Jon Kabat-Zinn.

 

 

How to Meditate Daily for Beginners

If we want the benefits of meditation to last and change our life for the better we need to integrate meditation into our daily routine. Make it part of our everyday life.

Can you wake up 10 minutes earlier in the morning? Can you give up 10 minutes of watching TV in the evening? 

Try to practice meditation wherever you can take a short 5-10 minute break. In the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil. In the metro. Lunch by yourself in the office. Inline at the supermarket. During the ad break while watching TV. Just before going to sleep. 

Just straighten your spine, focus on your breath or visualize breathing in light.  

Notice how you feel before and after. If you feel better it will motivate you to keep going.

And the more often you meditate the more the benefits accumulate. 

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Practice Mindfulness in Everyday Life 

Mindfulness meditation is even easier to incorporate into your everyday life. You don’t need to stop what you’re doing. Just slow it down and bring your full awareness to what you’re feeling in your body right now. 

Then become aware of your emotions and thoughts. Observe, become fully present of yourself in your environment. What can you see, smell, hear? If you’re touching anything, what does it actually feel like?

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Eating Mindfully 

Eating mindfully can bring an enormous amount of pleasure. Just take one forkful of food or one piece of chocolate. First look at it, see the texture and colors. Smell it, take in the aroma. 

Then put it on your tongue, feel the sensations. Hot, cold, gooey? Slowly start to chew. Notice all the flavors and textures. Swallow and notice the sensations. Is there is any further taste as the food goes down? 

That one forkful of food or one piece of chocolate might well be the best you’ve ever had, simply due to tasting it with your full awareness.  

 

Which Type of Meditation is Best For You?

Of course, there’s no “best” type of meditation as such but there might well be the best type for you. 

Choosing your meditation practice is a very personal decision. It’s important to find a practice that works for you. If you would like more suggestions for further practice I have outlined more types of meditation techniques here. Try several of them for several days and then settle for a meditation that feels right and makes sense to you on an intuitive level.  

“Right” doesn’t mean it will be easy – whatever practice you choose you will find that the mind wanders from your chosen object. 

It’s hard to cultivate inner peace and quiet in the noisy world we live in – we have virtually no experience in it. There are 1440 minutes in the day and we tend to spend 1430 of those with our mind jumping around from one thought to the next. 

However the noise and busy-ness of our everyday lives don’t really serve us, so the ability to go to a calm and peaceful place inside ourselves whenever we want is priceless.

Ultimately, we all want to feel happy and content and experience joy and peace. These are qualities of the mind, they come from within and nothing external can provide these feelings in a reliable way so that they actually last long term. 

So to be able to lead the life we want we need to become the masters of our own mind. And there’s no better tool for that than meditation. 

 

Best Mediation Guides and Resources

Here are all the best resources to help you learn how to meditate as a beginner. 

Further Guided Meditations:

• Guided Breath Meditation with Kim Eng
• Guided Meditations for Health, Gratitude, Letting Go, and much more with Deepak Chopra
• Forgiveness Meditation from Oprah’s Super Soul Sundays
• Meditating Laying Down with Jon Kabat-Zinn, Founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program
• Guided Sleep Meditations to help you fall asleep with The Honest Guys

Meditation Inspiration:

• What a mindful life looks like – A Day in the Life of Eckhart Tolle
• Meditation from a Buddhist Perspective with the Dalai Lama 

International Meditation Retreats:

• Why not combine your next holiday with a deeper purpose? Go on a meditation retreat. You’ll get deep relaxation and the support from both a teacher and a community of like-minded learners. You can check online for Yoga and Meditation Retreats in Southeast Asia (with prices).
• Thich Nhat Hanh, the famous Zen Master, has a large center in France called Plum Village, with a friendly, open-minded community

Meditation Apps:

• Headspace is an excellent (and very popular) meditation app. Note, there are ten free sessions, the rest is paid content.
• Another excellent app with much more free content is Insight Timer (possible in-app purchase but 28000 meditations for free!)

 

Free Printable Mindfulness Mantras

Ready to start daily meditation? Looking for words or phrases to focus on? Get your 20 FREE Printable Mindfulness Mantra cards, that are perfect for mediation. 

Sign up below for your 20 FREE Mindfulness Mantras + get weekly tips to help you slay your goals.

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Before you start practicing meditation, here’s a quick review of all we’ve covered. You learned:

• What meditation is and is NOT
• The point and benefits of meditation
• How to start a daily meditation practice
• The best time to meditate daily
• The simple steps to starting including three techniques
  • Breathing meditation
  • Visualization
  • Mindfulness meditation

Now, go take a comfortable seat, close your eyes, and start meditating.

 

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How do you meditate daily as a beginner?

Last Updated on August 26, 2024