Meditation has been scientifically proven to reduce anxiety, improve cognition and has even been known to treat depression. There’s no doubt that the art of meditation is attractive to many, yet the thought of knowing where to start can be daunting. If like me your current lifestyle doesn’t have 3 hours spare for a Jay Shetty inspired meditation session all before you have your breakfast, then these techniques may work in your favour.

Since starting meditating in March 2020 through app Balance, I have collated a list of meditation techniques to help you stay grounded and aligned during the day, whilst simultaneously easing you into a practice that only takes 5 minutes. 

Before starting, it’s important to not put pressure on being a certain way when meditating. You won’t just feel zen all of a sudden. Your mind will wander. You will, in fact, most likely think about anything but the present. In 2018 it was recorded that our attention span is a grand total of 8 seconds long, which is less than a goldfish. 

You’ll remember that one time you were speaking on mute in that Zoom meeting, you’ll think about what you’re making for dinner - please remember that this is ok! The point of meditating is to recognise when you’re thinking about something other than the present. The more you notice these thoughts, the easier it will become to focus on the moment, and with time this focus will gain strength.

Feel Grounded 

(great for stress reduction, mental clarity, feeling centred and peaceful)

I find this works best for a midday reset, or even first thing in the morning to start your day positively confident. 

Get yourself in a sitting position, preferably with feet touching the floor. (If you’re working from home, your desk chair will work for this. If not, I find sitting on the edge of my bed works). 

Close your eyes. 

Focus your energy firstly on your feet. Notice the contact they make touching the ground. The force of gravity makes them heavy against the floor beneath you. 

Now, imagine your feet are sprouting into the ground. Imagine they’re growing deeper, slowly turning into roots and grounding you into the floor more over time. 

Work your energy up the body, imagining that each part of you is getting stronger like the trunk of a tree. Move to your calves, thighs, stomach, chest. 

When you get to your arms, picture them growing like branches, all the way to the fingertips. 

Open your eyes when you’re ready to and bring this feeling of alignment into the rest of your day.

Breath Focus 

(regulates stress and fatigue, lowers blood pressure and heart rate, helps to manage chronic pain)

Breathe focus involves concentrating on the natural rhythm and movement of your breath. I personally use this technique for if my mind's racing before going to sleep, works every time.

Lay or sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed. 

Start to notice your natural breath. Feel the cool air you’re breathing in, and the warm air you’re breathing out.

Notice that slight pause between inhalation and exhalation where your breath switches direction. 

Now that you’re completely focused on your breath, with every exhale, count down from 100.  

If you lose count or notice your mind wondering, simply notice these thoughts have occurred, then start again from 100. 

Body Scan

(releases tension, promotes body awareness, increases relaxation) 

Scanning different areas of your body during meditation is an effective way of noticing sensations and checking in with how you’re feeling - something that is often overlooked when we’re busy with our day-to-day lives.

Close your eyes and sit in a comfortable position. 

Start to focus your energy on the top of your head. 

What do you feel in this area of your body? Is it hot, or cold? Is there pain? Tingling? No feeling at all? 

Move your focus to other areas of the body, for example from your head you could travel down to your forehead, through to your neck, shoulders and so on. 

With each feeling noticed, actively try to relax your muscles more with every exhalation thereafter. 

After individually focusing on each part of your body and then relaxing it, you’ll feel a whole lot lighter post practice. 

Awareness and Visualisation

(greater understanding of self and others, helps to recognise thoughts that may be harmful or self-defeating, focuses direction on specific outcomes)

Awareness is the art of noticing without judgement what’s happening right now in your body, mind and surroundings. Visualisation uses the imagination to become more aware and energised. This practice combines the two and resonates in the mind days after the practice. 

Sit in a comfortable position, this time with your eyes open rather than closed.

Gaze straight ahead, don’t strain or stare. Let your gaze have a soft focus on whatever is in front of you.  

Now, focus on something that is most within your view that has perhaps escaped your notice until now. It could be a crack in the wall, a tree outside your window - anything. 

How big is the object? What are the details of the object? Its texture and shape? What colour is it? Does it in the sunlight or in shade?

Deepen your focus on your chosen object and study it for a few minutes. 

Blink a few times and lessen your gaze.

Take some deep breaths before carrying on with your day. 

Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to just do it.

The intention is there, the ideas are flowing - but actually taking a leap into the unknown, even if it’s as positive as meditating, can be daunting. 

Spending five minutes a day doing any of these exercises may not seem like a long time. It is, however, important to remind yourself that doing five minutes over nothing at all is a beautiful, small stepping stone that may leverage you to start gradually increasing your practice and beginning something that benefits you for the better. 

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Written by Charlotte Eve Pearce

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