How to get started with meditation
Meditation is a technique used to lower your stress levels, reduce the chatter in your brain and improve your focus. You do not need any expensive equipment, just yourself and a place that’s calm and quiet to you.
Whilst we may be experts in sports bras, unfortunately our knowledge on meditation does not quite stretch that far so to get a better insight in this field we spoke to yoga teacher and breath coach, Natalie from Derby.
Natalie has been regularly practising yoga for six years and teaching for two. She also has a YouTube channel called Find Your Flow where she has a series of free videos on yoga and meditation available
How did your yoga and meditation journey begin?
My 'why' for practicing yoga is completely different now from when I first started. Initially it was very much about the physical fitness side, after recovering from an illness and trying to find a way to ease back into exercise. I then heard about the benefits of meditation and thought I’d try it, finding it VERY difficult to sit still for even a minute! It wasn’t until I completed my teacher training that I continued to dive deeper into more of the mindfulness, philosophy and breathwork aspects of yoga, which has hugely supported me off the mat, as well as on.
When I first started, I think there were quite a few common misconceptions about the modern day yoga practice initially putting me off, e.g. you have to be super bendy, a very calm (and never stressed) person and you need to practice either on a beach or a mountain! But I soon found this couldn’t be further from the truth. Anyone can practice a form of yoga (whether that’s movement, meditation, mindfulness, breathwork etc), exactly as you already are. It’s this inclusiveness that I love sharing so much when teaching and has led me to where I currently am in my yoga journey.
What are your tips for someone starting meditation for the first time?
I’d recommend starting by letting go of any judgement or expectation. It’s very difficult to sit in quiet, whether you’re used to it or not, so approach your practice with patience and kindness towards yourself.
It’s also important to remember that we aren’t looking to clear our minds in meditation, but rather observe our thoughts more as a witness, without attaching ourselves to where they take us. I often practice visualisation, placing my thoughts in a bubble and watching the bubble float away until it eventually pops as the thought leaves my mind.
Lastly, it helps to not focus on an ‘end goal’ of your practice and simply keep focusing on coming back to an anchor (such as your breath) every time your awareness drifts. Try 1 minute to begin with and simply notice how you feel.
What do you think the benefits of meditation are?
There are many different benefits of meditation that you might come across and the experience is often very personal. I’ve personally found meditation helps me be less reactive and more responsive when I experience moments of stress. Instead of hot headedly retaliating to a particular trigger, I’m more able to take a moment to breathe, gain a better perspective and think about a more helpful way to respond. But it’s important to remember that we’re all human beings, not robots!! We will still get annoyed or angry about something and that’s okay!
My meditation practice also helps me better face moments of anxiety or worry. When I find I’m getting lost in my thoughts, worrying about the future that hasn’t arrived or about the past that’s been and gone, I plant both feet, close my eyes and take a deep breath in and out, bringing myself back to the present moment.
Do you have any advice on how to how to look after your posture?
Move more and sit less! It doesn’t really matter how you move, as long as you do - your body loves movement and your spine in particular will thank you for it! Lots of us live our lives on computers, driving a lot or texting and these all create a hunching in the shoulders. Simply being more mindful and aware of how we’re positioned whilst carrying out activities such as these is a great place to start.
Then think about consciously letting the shoulders soften away from the ears and roll slightly back. This will help to open up your chest and support your posture. Incorporating short ‘moving breaks’ into more sedentary days can really help too. Remember, a little bit goes a long way.
Have you got any tips on keeping your mind focussed?
As we move through our day-to-day activities, being more mindful of what we’re doing as we’re doing it can really help to keep our focus on the task at hand. Try not to look too far ahead from where you currently are.
In your meditation practice I’d recommend choosing an anchor point to tether your attention back to whenever it wanders. This could be your breath (perhaps where you feel it most in your body), a sound (such as a bell) or a physical sensation (maybe your belly rising and falling) to name a few. You can use your anchor not only in your meditation and yoga practice, but at work, home and any moment in your life when you’re feeling distracted, ungrounded and unable to gather your thoughts.
As we’re human beings, our attention will always wander, so keep coming back to practicing patience with yourself as you take the time to train your focus.
Do you have any advice on small changes you think we should make to improve our wellness routine?
Start by making one small change and allowing that change to become a habit. Then think about taking one more small change until that too becomes a habit, and continue from there. Try not to take on too many things at once, because we can then feel disappointed if we can’t achieve these all right away.
If you were to start with one thing right now, I’d probably recommend getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night as sleep is absolutely vital for everything! To help me to do this I wear blue light blocking glasses after sunset to support the production of melatonin (sleep hormone), I move my body frequently throughout the day and avoid eating after 6pm. However, when we take the time to look after ourselves in any way, I believe it gives us more energy to better support those around us. In my classes I often finish with taking a moment to thank ourselves for “filling our cup so we can help others fill theirs”.
Do you have any tips on how to have a positive day?
I personally have 4 things I try to take into each day with me:
1. Being kind to myself - Forgiving myself for making mistakes and not knowing everything. Letting myself learn as I go with patience and compassion.
2. Being grateful for the little things - The only moment we have is now, and being grateful for all of the small things we often brush over can bring such joy to our day-to-day lives and the typically more ‘mundane’ tasks, e.g. washing dishes and our drive to work.
3. Breathe - There will always be things throughout our day to throw us off, but taking a conscious breath in and out and greeting these moments in the present can really help us. I use my breath as an anchor to ground me and bring my awareness back whenever my attention runs down the rabbit hole in my mind. This particularly helps me combat negative thoughts and feelings of anxiety or overwhelm.
4. “Do the next right thing” - Believe it or not, a Frozen II quote, but it’s become an everyday mantra that has hugely supported me. Rather than focusing on the past I can no longer control or the future that hasn’t yet arrived, I break things down and simply focus on the step I’m currently taking.
We all still have those extra rubbish days where nothing seems to go our way, but it’s important to remember that it’s just a bad moment or bad day, not a bad life. Every breath we take is an opportunity to begin again and start a new, positive moment.
Thank you so much Natalie for taking the time to answer our questions! Wellness is such an important thing and the more we can learn about different ways to look after ourselves the better.
You can find out more about Natalie and how to book a class over on her website.
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