Meditation tips for beginners | 51 Tips for beginners in meditation

advanced meditators can meditate any where and at any time. for them anything can be a meditation practice. e.g. they can eat food mindfully or they can using listening as meditation and so on.

but for beginners in meditation, they need support to deepen their meditation practice and then only they can bring meditation in their day to day activities. here are few tips which can help you, if you are starting your meditation journey.

51 meditation tips for beginners:

1. There are many popular meditation techniques. You have to choose the one that you feel attracted to. try for some days and if it does not suit you then try some other meditation technique. Keep on doing this until you find the meditation technique which suits you then don’t change it. stick to it and try to go deeper and deeper into it.
2. choose a meditation posture which is comfortable. however the padmasana (sitting cross legged with eyes closed) is more suited for meditation practice. As it conserves energy.
3. keep your body healthy. doing yoga, pranayam or any other physical exercise is important to keep the body strong and yet flexible. If body is not healthy then it will attract your attention and also won’t support you fully in your spiritual practice. 
4. you need to have a deep night sleep. otherwise you will feel sleepy next day. so never ignore your sleep.
5. eat healthy food which nourishes you. so have lot of water, fruit juices, green leafy vegetables and salads. eat healthy to have a healthy mind.
6. don’t eat food which makes you sleepy or lethargic or excites your passions. satvic diet is best. eat food mindfully. also go for healthy food that nourishes your body.
7. avoid practicing meditation on full stomach as your whole energy goes in digesting food and you tend to feel more sleepy. don’t over eat.
8. create a meditation space in your home. it helps in charging the place with meditation energy.
9. its helps to meditate at the same place and at the same time. its good to wear loose or comfortable clothes while meditating. basically you should be comfortable when you are sitting for meditation practice.
10. be regular in meditation. don’t skip your meditation practice for mundane issues or out of laziness or over any other trivial excuse.
11. for beginners, its quite helpful to take bath and wear fresh clothes before sitting for meditation. this way you won’t feel sleepy and will be more alert.
12. when you feel sleepy during sitting meditation then try walking consciously and slowly (walking form of vipassana meditation). You can practice both passive and active meditations alternatively or as per your energy state.
13. take few deep breathes before sitting for meditation practice. it helps to bring your attention to here-now and it also divert your attention from worldly issues.
14. best time to practice meditation is early morning. other important time is just before going to sleep. however choose a time for meditation when you are free and also fresh. don’t choose a time when you are tired or sleepy unless you want to practice meditation which has to be done just before going to sleep.
15. choose a place where you won’t be distracted. make sure your mobile phone is switched off and remove other sources of distraction also.
16. meditation music, incense or peaceful environment helps in going deep in meditation. It helps to create a sacred environment in the room.
17. group meditation also helps a lot. in spiritual world, 1=1 is not 2 but 11. you can ride on each other energy and go deeper in meditation.
18. in meditation never fight with the mind. instead try to understand the mechanism of mind by witnessing it.
19. don’t control your mind or any other sensory experience. instead be a witness to everything happening inside or outside you.
20. don’t try to stop the thinking process. more you try to stop the thinking, more the mind will become active. instead watch the thoughts as if they belong to someone else.
21. don’t be ambitious in meditation practice. don’t make it a goal which needs to be achieved. when you go for inner journey then nourish these magical qualities in your life like acceptance, let go, patience, surrender, totality, love, compassion, sensitivity, sharing and prayer.
22. enjoy the meditation practice. don’t do meditation for achieving something. do it, because you like doing it and you want to grow inwardly.
23. be relaxed, calm and centered through out the day. bring harmony and consciousness in your daily actions.
24. don’t do things hurriedly or unconsciously. slow down and bring more consciousness in your actions. practice mindfulness in small activities of your life. this way you will be bringing meditation in day to day actions.
25. whenever you see your attention going to past or to future then bring it back to the present moment. try to live here-now or in the present moment.
26. watch the thoughts. let no thought pass by without being noticed by you.
27. its also important to watch the gap between two thoughts. next step is to watch the watcher who is watching the thoughts or the gap between two thoughts.
28. don’t get involve in the thinking process. stay aloof and witness them without getting identified.
29. don’t judge your thoughts as good, bad or ugly. don’t think that they are your thoughts.
30. always remember, that no thought belongs to you. at the soul level, there is utter silence or stillness. so no thought belongs to you at the soul level. so no need to take pride or feel guilty about your thoughts. in short, don’t get identified with any thought. watch them passively without getting involved. e.g. when you stand on the traffic signal then you watch all the incoming and outgoing traffic without getting in their way. you don’t try to stop any vehicle or change its direction. similarly watch the incoming and outgoing thoughts from a distance. don’t get involve with the thinking process.
31. its very easy to get identified with the thoughts of happiness or pleasure or anything which boast your ego, so be watchful about this fact.
32. if you forgot to witness any thought and got involve in the mental dialog then don’t feel guilty about it. because to feel guilty also, there will be a thought process in your mind. so here mind is fooling you indirectly. instead of feeling guilty, just be watchful of the guilt feeling or thought. the moment you realize that you are not witnessing your thoughts, then immediately start witnessing the thoughts without feeling guilty.
33. the more you witness, more the witnessing center becomes stronger. thus make it a constant habit to witness all the thoughts. practice makes a men perfect. next step is to witness your emotions.
34. don’t expect any results from meditation. all results are mind oriented and meditation is about going beyond the mind (a state of no-mind).
35. read meditation books of enlightened masters. this will not only inspire you but can also give many insights to you.
36. try to understand the mechanism of mind. so that it is not able to fool you and thus stop you from going deep in meditation.
37. vegetarian food is important for meditation or for any spiritual practice (exception is aghora sadhana or tantric practices)
38. avoid unnecessary conversations or gossips. save your energy so that you can go deep in meditation. if you are low in energy then meditation cannot flower.
39. keep your house clean and in order. don’t clutter your house with unnecessary things. because the silence and order of your surrounding will be reflected in your inner state also.
40. spend time with people who are interested in meditation or in growing inwardly.
41. don’t compare your experiences with anyone. everyone current situation and past is different. some people progress quickly in meditation because they have practiced it in previous life also.
42. practicing meditation in nature is very helpful. like under a tree or close to river or moving water body.
43. don’t clutter your mind with unnecessary information. avoid watching TV, cinema or surfing social media. Only add that information in your brain that is absolutely essential for you to know and is also useful for your life.
44. choose a lifestyle which supports lifestyle. e.g. don’t choose a job which is very taxing on your mind. instead go for a job which is creative and easy going. choose a house close to nature or peaceful ambiance.
45. meditation practice can take deeper roots if you visit a charged spiritual center or ashram for few days and practice meditation there.
46. persistence is one quality which is needed in any field. you might lose interest in meditation at times or you might feel that you are not growing. all these feelings comes to many meditators. just watch them but don’t give up. remember, this is just a phase and will soon pass away. keep on practicing the meditation.
47. don’t be serious in meditation. be sincere in meditation. it helps to keep a half smile while meditating. seriousness is another route via which mind can enter back and spoil your meditation practice.
48. laughing for few minutes when you get up in morning or before going to sleep or any time of the day is quite refreshing. as a meditator, be light hearted, easy going and non-serious person. many meditator tend to become serious. take life easily and enjoy every moment.
49. live life moment to moment. its good to plan for your future but be flexible and don’t miss your present for planning your bright future.
50. if there is any bodily distraction while meditating like itching or body pain etc, then watch it consciously or make yourself comfortable slowly but consciously.
51. give meditation one of the top priority in life. otherwise you might tend to ignore it. people who make meditation their top priority in life and give their 100 % to it are the one who goes very deep in meditation.

This Post “Meditation Tips for Beginners” from the archives first published in November 2015 has been republished and updated on November 2022.