Five starter’s tips for meditative mindfulness

Dr Colinda Linda shares proven ways to get the best from 2017

THERE are many forms of meditation and no doubt different forms will work for different people.

But it’s good to try various forms of meditation mindfulness practices to help you find the method that best works for you. In-person guidance also works best, especially when you are first learning.

As a starting point, however, here are five tips to begin mindfulness meditation: TAKE YOUR SEAT: wherever you are sitting, simply become aware of the feeling of yourself on the seat; what parts of your body are touching the seat and how it feels – doing nothing differently, or feeling you should alter your position. Do this for two minutes, simply being aware, without judging. BREATHING: you are breathing all the time, so this can be done any time and anywhere. Breathing naturally through your nose, simply bring your attention to the feeling of the air coming in and going out of your nostrils. Observe what it feels like (it can be a little cooler coming in than going out), which part of the nostril it comes into and leaves from. You can also mentally follow the breath down as far as possible. EATING MINDFULLY: use your senses to observe the shape, colour, texture of a piece of food. Then smell, touch and handle the food, and bring it to your mouth. Nibble a little of the food, noticing the way it feels when you bite. Moving it around your mouth, savour all the flavours. Then notice the urge to swallow, and follow the food down. MINDFULNESS WITH AN OBJECT: pick up an object in your surroundings and look at, as well as handle it, as if you were a two-year-old who had never seen it before. Really allow your mind to absorb itself in exploring the object, without judgement or expectation. ACTIVELY LISTEN: when you are talking with someone, really listen to what they are saying; each word, each nuance. So often we tune out, waiting for them to be quiet so we can speak, or thinking how what they are saying is relevant to us but not really interested in how it is meaningful for them. Last, but not least, when starting to learn meditation, remember that the mind is like a puppy – it wanders, and it tends to be undisciplined until it has been trained. Training your mind is not unlike training a puppy – be consistent, be gentle. Judgemental screaming only scares puppies, and it will never encourage the mind to learn a new skill either!