5 Best Tips For Beginning Meditators

                                                     
                                                                        In meditation, we’re not trying to GET anywhere,                                                                     
                                                                                 we’re trying to BE somewhere, right here.                                                                                                                                                                                           – Michael Carroll


For many busy women, meditating sounds like just another thing on your "to-do" list, that you don't have time to do!
The whole idea with Busy Woman's Meditation is to find ways to make meditation work for you in your daily life. 
Here are five meditation tips for beginners that will help you overcome that problem:

1. Start with just 2-5 minutes. Even two to five minutes of meditation can make a difference in your state of mind.  
That's because just like any skill you learn or like an exercise program, the effects are cumulative. You could even try
short sessions a couple of times a day.

2. Understand the goal and purpose of meditation. The goal for beginning meditators is being able to bring your
attention back to your point of focus without judging or criticizing yourself. The purpose of meditation is to help you
live life better, in whatever way that means to you. Bottom line: just do what you can, good enough is good enough
and lose the judgy attitude.

3. Meditate your way. Listen to your body, and meditate in whatever way works best for you. Sitting in a kitchen chair
is just as valid and spiritual as sitting cross-legged on a mountaintop.

4. Take baby steps. Set small goals and reward your progress along the way. Give yourself credit for each and every
​accomplishment and remind yourself of the steps you’ve taken, regardless of how small they might seem. This model
I follow with my program of moving at your own incremental pace with meditations at increasing lengths, leads you to
​self- sufficiency and is what creates real results. It is also the key to maintaining a lifelong daily practice. Baby steps.
It's always baby steps.

5. You can't do it wrong. There's no wrong way to meditate, but if you’re like most people, you’re going to think you
are doing it wrong. You become distracted, you don't practice every day, you sometimes fall asleep. None of this
means you’re doing it wrong. It's called a meditation ‘practice,’ not meditation ‘perfect’  because there’s no such thing as
perfect meditation. In the West we often try to become the perfect meditation practitioner and there’s a tendency to take 
ourselves and our practice too seriously. It’s easy to fall into the trap of making one’s practice too rigid, and if this happens
we need to lighten up and remind ourselves that it’s "progress, not perfection" we’re seeking.