How Do You Meditate Properly

by Alice Garten Writer

If you are a beginner and are interested in learning how to meditate, there are two excellent meditations to start with. These 2 are the most popular meditations on the planet and for good reason. They work!

These 2 types of meditation are Breath Meditation and Mantra Meditation. They have both been extensively studied and a great deal of research has been done on them. All this research has shown that these 2 meditations bestow an incredible number of benefits and can drastically transform one’s life for the better.

So to help answer your question, How Do You Meditate, are 2 videos below of each of these meditations. Each video demonstrates step-by-step how you should practice these meditations, and following each video I discuss these various steps to give you even more detail and clarity.

How Do You Do Zen Meditation

Zen Meditation is the most refined form of Breath Meditation. This meditation technique is also called Zazen and if there was just one meditation I could suggest for you to do, Zen Meditation would be that meditation.

Below is one of my most popular meditation videos and it teaches you all the basics of meditation. It is a video of Zen Meditation, which is also called Zazen or Breath Meditation. If there was only one meditation I could recommend to help you learn meditation, it would be this one.

Zen Meditation is probably one of the most practiced meditations in the world and its positive results have been verified by study after study. Here is Zen Meditation, which will teach you step by step how you should meditate.

Proper Meditation Posture

One of the most important aspects of Zen Meditation is correct posture. You should sit up nice and straight. Don’t hunch like when you are writing or drawing in a graffiti sketchbook or on paper. Your back should be erect, and your chin slightly pulled in like a soldier at attention.

If possible sit with your legs crossed, if you cannot do that, then sit up in a chair. If you do use a chair, again make sure your back is straight.

Proper Hand Position

The hands are kept in Cosmic Mudra, for this meditation. Here is a picture of Cosmic Mudra to help you see how it is done. For cosmic mudra, your left hand is below, right hand on top. Just the fingers are overlapping, and the thumb tips are meeting as shown below.

Your thumbs and index fingers make a nice oval shape and the tips should remain touching throughout the meditation. Your hands should rest gently on your lap.

Cosmic Mudra

For Zen Meditation, traditionally the eyes are kept half open and an unfocused gaze is kept on the floor in front of you.

If you find this eye position distracting or difficult to do, it is also fine to do this meditation with your eyes closed.

Zen Meditation Technique

Once you have assumed the right posture with your body, hands and eyes, you can begin the meditation.

You do this by remaining absolutely still and then bringing your awareness to your breathing and you start to count your breaths.

You start with one and go up to 10. Count each inhalation and exhalation till you reach 10, then return to 1 and start over. So the first inhalation is one, then the exhalation is 2, then the next inhalation is 3, and so on and so forth.

If during this time you get lost in thoughts and lose your count, do not judge yourself, instead simply bring your attention back to your breath and return to 1 and start over.

In addition to counting your breaths, try to feel your breath as intimately as you can. Feel its temperature, texture, depth, etc.

Continue in this way for the duration of the meditation.

How Long to Meditate For

For getting the most out of your meditation, you should build up your practice to at least 20 minutes. This amount of time will start to accelerate the benefits you receive from meditation.

One you have achieved 20 minutes of meditation at a stretch, you should include a second session in your day, so you will be doing 20 minutes 2 times a day. This is a very good practice to establish and if you can manage to do this on a consistent basis, your life will transform into something beautiful.

How Do You Advanced Meditation

Following are more advanced versions and variations of Zazen.

Change the counting such that you count 1 for the full inhalation/exhalation cycle, then 2 for the next cycle, etc, till you reach 10. Then return to 1 and start over as before.

Drop the counting entirely and simply be the breath.

Increase the time of meditation to 1 hour or more.

Leave the counting when an emotion or strong body sensation arises and attend completely to that feeling. Once it dissipates, you return your awareness to your breath.

Instead of watching your breath, you watch your mind and comprehend each thought as it occurs from moment to moment with direct perception.

If you feel you are ready to learn how to do advanced meditation, I suggest looking into the Mastery of Meditation Teacher’s Training and Certification Program.

This course is an 8 week long course and will teach you advanced techniques, which are ideal for building tremendous mind power and designed for bestowing Enlightenment. As it is also a teacher training course, you can also get certified to teach meditation by completing it.

How Do You Do So Hum Meditation

As I mentioned above, the other great meditation to learn, other than Zen Meditation is So Hum Mantra Meditation. Zen Meditation comes from the great tradition of Buddhism and So Hum meditation hails from the Hindu schools of meditation. It is also a terrific meditation, like Zen Meditation, bestows joy, peace, tranquility, healing, stress relief, clarity, powers of concentration, wisdom and enlightenment.

Not bad if I say so myself. I find it useful in my day job doing managed IT support calls and visits.

Correct Meditation and Eye Position

The sitting position for this meditation is the same as Zazen above. You sit up nice and tall with your back straight. For your eyes, you keep them closed for doing So Hum meditation. Your chin is again pulled back slightly. The difference is in the hand position and that is explained in the section below.

Proper Hand Position for So Hum Meditation

For this meditation you form the famous Gyan Mudra or gesture of knowledge. This particular hand and finger position facilitates going inward and is excellent for this and many other forms of meditation. In fact if you are looking to do other forms of Hindu Meditation, it is quite possible that you will be instructed to meditate using Gyan Mudra.

As you can see from the illustration below, to form Gyan mudra, you bring your thumb tips and index finger together, while keeping your other finger extended. Then you place your hands gently on your knees with your palms facing slightly upwards.

Gyan Mudra for Mantra Meditation

Once you have taken the proper meditation posture you begin the meditation.

To do this meditation you will simply think the sound Soooo as you inhale and think the sound Hum as you exhale.

So Hum means, I AM THAT, implying that you and Divinity are One, that you and the Universe are One. So as you do this meditation, keep that meaning in mind and adopt that attitude.

Continue to repeat this mantra for the duration of the meditation.

The duration of this meditation is the same as Zazen above as well. This meditation is wonderful to learn and practice if you are going through any hard times in life and it is often prescribed for depression as well.

How Do You Meditate Properly Summary

There is no substitute for meditation. This is one art that stands alone and it is what human beings are born to do. If you have discovered this website, it is not by chance. You have heard the calling from within and the Universe has guided you here, so you can take the next step in your evolution.

The benefits of meditation are immeasurable. They have a material equivalent. By meditating correctly and regularly, you will find yourself happier, calmer, healthier, wiser and better able to handle the challenges that life throws your way.

As I have given you 2 amazing meditations to help you get started, you might ask, "Which Mediation Should I Do?" You should do both meditations to start off with. Some people prefer Zen Meditation, while others prefer Mantra Meditation and the best way to find out is to try them both.

Do each meditation for 2 weeks and see which one you vibe with more. Once you pick one, then stick to it for at least 6 months.

This is typically the time frame needed to really start to see and enjoy the benefits of meditation. Surprisingly, others will probably see the changes in you before you do. That is just a sign that you are meditating well and that the benefits are starting to flow. Keep going.