I have been teaching meditation for many years now. My clients are from all over the world, with diverse background and from all walks of life. On this journey of meditation teaching, I noticed few c obstacles on path of meditation. If you are someone who tried to meditate and experience one or more of these obstacles, please know that you are not alone. Many people face these issues, but it is possible to overcome them. Here are some tips to overcome them.
Obstacle 1. The mind is too busy, and the mind’s chatter is not quietening.
Obstacle 2. Uncomfortable posture or can’t sit still for too long
Obstacle 3. Getting bored
Obstacle 4. Uncomfortable emotions and worries keep coming up
Obstacle 5. Feeling sleepy during meditation
And many other reasons may come up for you, but if you are curious about meditation if you are ready to go past the noisy chatter of the mind to see why for centuries humanity has successfully used meditation to calm the mind and I’m guessing you want: a more calm, centered and creative mind. And the experience of yourself beyond the unnecessary chatter of your mind.
Just a few minutes of daily meditation can gives us so much. Here are some amazing benefits of meditation:
- Reduces stress, anxiety, depression
- Promotes emotional health
- Lengthens attention span
- Better memory & focus
- Reduces chronic pain, inflammation, and high blood pressure
- Brings a sense of calm & peace & much more
You can take the following steps to remove the obstacle from our path of meditation:
1. Find a time that really works for you. Even though the early morning is the best time for meditation, sometimes it may not be the right time for you, and that’s ok. Choose what works for you best.
2. Set practical expectations, in my experience if we set a very high goal like half an hour to one hour for meditation, especially if we have a very busy lifestyle, then we are setting ourselves up for failure. So be very practical, even just 2 minutes of meditation practice is a great start. consistency is very important. Block time in your calendar, set up a reminder. This may be very helpful to create a positive habit.
3. Make sure your posture is comfortable yet alert during meditation, and take as much support as you need. You can sit on a chair, if you are meditating while you are at the workplace you may not get the opportunity to take off your shoes, that’s ok, find a way to make yourself as comfortable as possible. When we are physically comfortable it is easy to bring awareness inwards. Gentle yoga movements or asana practice will help you to sit still for an extended period of time.
4. Drop expectations, it is what it is, there is no good or bad in meditation. Even if we think that nothing happened in our meditation or it did not work, trust that we are still getting the benefits of meditation. Please remember there is no good or bad meditation. one misconception about meditation is that the mind will be blank, but that is not the case. With regular practice, the mind will learn to calm down. relax, and enjoy the practice.
5. Have patience. To form a positive habit, give yourself at least one to two months of daily practice. Do this gently, remember the state of meditation happens when there is the least resistance. slow and steady is the way to go.
6. Choose simple meditation practice, You can even get personalized practice designed just for you by an experienced meditation teacher or you can choose a practice from a app.
7. Find a ‘Meditation buddy’ a friend on this path will be very valuable.
8. one more tip! keep a journal of your meditation journey. this really helps to notice how far we have come on our journey of meditation. If resistance comes up:- write down what is about? or what are obstacles on the path of meditation? what stopping you from showing up for the practice? what is resistance telling you? Is there any physical reaction to this resistance? do you feel any emotions raising? can you practically do something about it? in yoga philosophy awareness is the key,
The moment we become aware we have won 50% of our battle. writing down will help to become aware. We do this without any judgment. notice what ‘stories’ coming up for you?
In the yoga philosophy, it is believed that we all are the unique fingerprint of the Divine. Our uniqueness makes our path unique or individual. Your journey is going to be unique. This is why self-inquiry is very helpful to create a regular meditation practice.
If you want to learn to teach how to meditate join me on a life-transforming journey of Meditation Teacher Training. You will learn many meditation techniques, how to facilitate meditation in groups or one to one in the face to face and online, how to teach meditation in offices, how to develop meditation programs, and much more:
Click here for the Meditation Teacher Training
