There is nothing mystical, religious or difficult about learning to practice mindfulness meditation. It does not require any special equipment. Meditation is a simple way to train the innate capacities of your brain to pay attention, to see things more clearly and to act with greater compassion. Just as you know you can strengthen innate capacities of your body through physical training, you can also strengthen innate capacities of your brain through mindfulness meditation training.
Without training, you can find yourself living your life on autopilot, constantly feeling distracted and overwhelmed. And when that is your reality, you begin to burn out, react instead of respond, and generally feel disengaged. Meditation is one of the fundamental building blocks of mindful leadership training. It develops focus, and helps leaders begin to see their own conditioning and reactivity more clearly.
Mindfulness meditation helps you to expand your repertoire of how you meet each moment of your life, and it allows you to make more conscious choices about who you are and how you want to be at work and at home. As our world throws more and more challenges your way, don’t you want as much brain capacity as you can get?
So, here they are, the 4 simple steps you need to get started in the next 10 minutes. And, to make this even easier for you to learn, here are the instructions and a simple training in audio form to get you started. Press play and enjoy! If you prefer to read the steps, they are below.
If you prefer to read about the simple steps you need to learn to meditate, here they are:
Step 1-Sit comfortably-no need to sit on a cushion or on the floor, just find a sitting posture that allows your body to feel supported.
Step 2-Begin to feel the sensations in your body that arise from the breath
Step 3-Bring an attitude of open curiosity to the sensations you are noticing
Step 4-Whenever you notice your mind wandering, redirect your attention back to the breath sensations.
With each redirection of your attention, you are strengthening your ability to notice when you have become distracted, and to focus on the present moment. It is only in the present that you can positively affect your life, at home and at work. Use this simple practice for 10 minutes each day and soon you will find yourself looking to learn more!