Meditation Guide: 7 Steps to Establishing a Great Meditation Practice

Meditation is like a vast unexplored continent, the further you travel the more splendor and beauty you will see. To begin the great adventure, one must prepare for the journey and bring appropriate equipment, clothing and fuel. A well equipped expedition will ensure minimal setbacks and determine the success of the journey. Here is an inventory list of some “equipment” you will need on your meditation journey in order to establishing and maintaining a successful meditation practice.

1. Set the intention: Be clear and realistic with your expectations. Ask yourself, what are you willing to sacrifice in order to set aside the time necessary to meditate?

2. Creating the atmosphere: Dedicate a little corner, mat, or chair for meditation, use it only for this purpose. Put on some music, make some tea, develop a meditation ritual. This does not mean you must be sitting there on a cushion, with lit candles and an incense stick, but it does mean that there should be a special place where you go only for meditation.

3. Set aside a time: This may be obvious to some, but have a specific time of day when you know you will be alone and in relative quiet. Be selfish in maintaining your inner peace and don’t let anyone disturb you.

4. Unplug: Turn off your phone, the computer, and the T.V. Without these distractions, you know you can have some peace and quiet to dedicate to your meditation.

5. Stay Consistent: Consistency is the major stumbling block for any practice and developing a good habit is crucial. How do you develop a habit? It takes three weeks of doing the same thing over and over again for your body and mind to adjust and then it becomes easy and natural.

6. Keep a journal: After every meditation session, take a few minutes to write down your experiences, thoughts, mental imagery, or bodily sensations. You can look back and check on your progress and its a great way to share your experiences with friends. Keep a record of the date, time of day, and duration of the meditation.

7. Experiment: There are many different types of meditations and you never know which one will work best for until you try them. Amongst the many types, the most common are: guided visualizations, music, no music, sitting, walking, slow repetitive movements, mantras, and watching the breath.

Many thanks to author Vlad Moskovski who is a yoga practioner and meditator. Vlad Moskovski was born in Russia and at a young age moved with first to Israel and then to the United States. Intrigued by yoga from a young ago, Vlad began his studies of yoga while attending Rutgers University in NJ. During that time, he began exploring additional meditative traditions and working with Zen, Taoist and Tai Chi practitioners. A graduate of the NLP Center of NY, he writes and teaches about meditation. See his excellent website at http://www.meditationsecretsrevealed.com/ and Vlad has written a book, Road to Involution. His belief is that we can change the world around us and effect others in a profoundly deep way, spreading love, compassion, understanding, and mutual respect to all living beings.

Copyright 2009 Vlad Moskovski

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