What You Need to Know before Starting a Meditation Practice

TIP: If you’re not a big reader, scroll down to watch the video!

Whenever we start something new in life there’s always obstacles to get over. Giving up smoking, going to the gym, training for a marathon, or losing weight.

Starting a meditation practice is no different.

It might seem easy enough, sit down concentrate on the breath and then feel relaxed and calm the rest of the day. However, anybody that has tried it for more than 30 seconds know it is not that simple. In fact, it is hard starting a meditation practice.

I recorded this video and uploaded it to my YouTube channel with the 3 main problems we encounter when we start any kind of meditation practice.

What are the 3 meditation practice hurdles?

1. Thinking too much.

One of the first things you’ll notice when you sit down and attempt to be quiet, is how much your mind is very active. Congratulations, you are normal. We have around 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts per day. Yes, we are seriously crazy thinking machines.

In the video below I explain why this happens, and how you can overcome it so you do not give up at the first hurdle. And yes, nobody anywhere in the world thinks too much to not get the benefit of meditating.

2. Falling asleep.

Falling asleep during my meditation must be my biggest obstacle. And it still happens today, it was just this morning in my 30 minutes meditation I am quite sure I fell asleep for at least a few minutes. However, that’s okay. We need to relax a little, and falling asleep occasionally does not hurt.

It is only a problem if every time you start meditating you fall asleep two minutes in and wake up to the bell 30 minutes later. In the video below I tackle the reasons why you might fall asleep and give you some tips so it doesn’t happen so often.

3. It isn’t working.

Because any meditation practice takes time to have effect in our everyday life, you can be easily be forgiven for thinking it is not working especially in the first few weeks.

A better question would be ‘Do I feel better for meditation?’

If the answer to that question is, yes. Then continue it is helping.

To know whether it’s working in our everyday life we have to know the reason why we are meditating, and how it will affect us in our lives. I tackle both of these questions in the 3 Meditation Problems and How to Overcome Them video below.

I will add one thing, meditation is about cultivating the ability to return to the present moment and live mindfully during the day when you are not meditating. This gives us the ability to respond, so when something goes wrong in your life you have that little gap to not lose sight of your wisdom, clarity, and no longer make the situation worse.