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A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation with 5 Easy Steps

Are you new to meditation? Here’s how to get started.
Adora Winquist
Adora Winquist

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Mind-body practices that have been around for centuries are becoming more modern, accessible tools to elicit greater health and harmony in life. Current research shows the numerous benefits of consistent mindful-meditation practices, such as increasing emotional intelligence, boosting the body’s resilience to stress, and improving positive states of mind. Our physical health, productivity, and longevity are directly affected by our mental and emotional wellbeing. Are you new to meditation? Here’s how to get started.

  1. Create a space that feels warm and inviting. A clear and clutter-free environment allows the mind to settle and the energy to flow freely. Having a sanctuary space for your sacred intentional practices will become a haven for you on the days when the hectic pace of the world can seem overwhelming.
  2. Enjoy a cup of rose petal or lavender tea. Specific herbal teas can nourish the body, calm the nervous system, and soothe the spirit. These two are wonderfully relaxing and heart nurturing, helping to create the conditions conducive to meditation. 
  3. Incorporate your favorite heart-centering essential oils like geranium, ylang ylang, or eucalyptus by inhaling one drop of the essential oil from the palm of your hand or cotton ball for 30 seconds while you focus on The Love Code Breath Technique. Pure essential oils are the most potent form of plant medicine and offer a profound and immediate effect when used via inhalation. The process of inhalation creates a new memory cell in the brain, filled with positive intention, energy, and intelligence. The aromatic molecules imprint their vibration and medicine through our olfactory senses, through the brain into our cellular consciousness and the totality of our beings. When feeling overwhelmed, anxious, down, or disconnected, we can create new habit patterns of using essential oils via inhalation to uplift our emotions and re-pattern our neural pathways for a healthier way of being, feeling, and living. 
  4. The Love Code Breath Technique: Release Forgiveness Gratitude In each moment, we can let go of the thoughts, feelings, actions, and activities that we know do not serve our highest health and wellbeing. When you start to feel triggered, upset, or frustrated with yourself or others, center yourself like a tree rooted in the earth, and take a deep breath into your heart. On the exhalation, invite the intention to let go and release that emotion or thought. Then take a deep breath in forgiveness. It need not be directed at a person, yet more of a healing balm for our hearts. Then close with a breath of gratitude, a sense of appreciation for yourself, and a commitment to grow, heal, and elevate to the best, most loving version of yourself. 
  5. Cultivate this practice consistently You don’t have to spend an entire hour meditating to Zen out. Starting with five minutes a day consistently is a great way to cultivate a commitment to yourself that is simple to keep. Over committing can create a sense of overwhelmn that is counterproductive. Once you feel like you have a solid five-minute daily practice, increase by a few minutes each time as long as it feels easeful. Work up to 20 minutes a day. Journal your experience and benefits for the first 21 days to see the bright and beautiful new shifts in how you feel inside and how these greater feelings of goodness and gratitude ripple out around you. 
About The Author
Adora Winquist

Adora Winquist is the author of the alternative medicine book Detox, Nourish, Activate: Plant and Vibrational Medicine for Energy, Mood, and Love. She is a meditation expert, modern alchemist, healer, and expert in the field of aromatherapy.