5 Easy Meditation Tips for Beginners (Even those with a busy mind!)

Our current world is busy and demands a lot from us (especially as women). Being overwhelmed by our busy day-to-day lives can leave us feeling stressed, anxious, and burned out. Meditation is the key to finding inner peace, but many think a meditation practice is inaccessible. I am here to tell you it is not. I provide easy-to-implement tips and offer you a free meditation to practice at the end of this post.

This blog post will cover:

What is meditation?
How to find time to meditate.
Where to practice meditation.
Meditation is for everyone.
Don’t overcomplicate it; if you do, that’s okay too.
What kind of meditation should you practice when you are just beginning?

What is meditation?

Thich Nhat Hahn, one of the most inspiring Buddhist monks, peace activists, authors, poets, and teachers I have learned from, says that meditation is simply being present with what is. When many of us hear the word meditation, we put judgments and expectations on the word, the experiences we have had prior, or the experiences we hope to have or think we cannot have before we sit. This is to miss the point of the practice completely.

Meditation is an ever-evolving intimate personal practice about resting and being with yourself, regardless of the genre you practice.

Many activities in life are meditative, so you have probably been in many meditative states without even realizing it! Meditation can come from playing music, walking, running, knitting, coloring, or even doing the dishes. All these activities count as meditation, but finding true stillness will bring the most peace, self-acceptance, and love we crave.

If you want a more in-depth explanation of the different types of meditation and how I developed such a strong and consistent practice (20 minutes twice daily), check out my post: The Power of Meditation: How my practice changed my life.

Tip One: How to find time to meditate.

We all live insanely busy lives, and finding the time to develop a meditation practice is challenging. I understand this because I once felt this way, too. However, over time, I have learned that first, nothing is impossible; second, time does exist - we are just choosing to do other activities instead (scrolling on our phones…); and lastly, the amount of time one needs to spend meditating to reap some of the benefits is a very small amount.

So, how do you find the time?

The best tip I have for finding time is to not limit yourself to meditating at a certain time of day. If you go into developing a practice with the idea that you will meditate at the same time you wake every morning or the same time after work or in the evening, you will not stay consistent because life is busy, and things always come up.

Still, when life is busy, that does not mean there is no time to meditate. There is always time.

Start small.

Set a goal to sit in quiet meditation for 5 minutes each day at any time when you have some quiet time to yourself. That time could be after you pull into the parking lot at work, before you drive home at the end of the day, after you get out of the shower, before returning to the rest of your responsibilities at work or home (or in the shower!), or during the evening in between Netflix episodes.

If you put too many restrictions on when you can and when you cannot meditate, you will always find the excuse that there wasn’t enough time. There is always enough time. You have to be flexible and make it.

Tip Two: You can meditate anywhere!

Would you think it crazy if I told you that with consistent practice, you could meditate even in a loud room during an event? Well, it is not crazy because it is possible—I do it all the time.

However, I do not recommend meditating in a loud room when you first start. Still, you do not have to be anywhere special - you must find a space to be alone with some quiet.

As a mom and a teacher, sometimes I find it difficult to find a quiet space to be alone and practice meditation. That is when I use my noise-canceling headphones. I will play white noise or listen to a guide using apps like Headspace.

Additionally, as I mentioned above, do not limit yourself to when you can practice; instead, commit to a certain amount of time per day; you should not limit yourself to where you practice, or you will always find an excuse not to make the time.

You might also practice outside on your lunch break, in your car, in the shower, or even while washing the dishes! Get creative—this will allow you to always find the time and space to practice.

Tip Three: Meditation works even for those with busy minds.

As a teacher, I often hear people say their minds are too busy to still. I say they do not understand the point of meditation.

No one will have an empty mind every time they meditate - even after a consistent ten years of practice; I still have a busy mind occasionally. When I started the practice, I was anxious and really believed no way would change that - but with meditation, it has.

The key is not to be frustrated with your busy mind or at your frustration with your busy mind. Really, meditation is just about showing up. If you can show up, even for 5 minutes a day, to a meditation practice no matter what state your mind is in, then you are meditating and a meditator.

Most of us who have had a long-term regular practice don’t have empty minds—we have just learned to become more and more comfortable with whatever our minds present 🙂. With consistent practice, you will be more comfortable with your mind, too!

Tip Four: Don’t overcomplicate it! But if you do, that is okay.

As I stated in tip three, meditation is just about consistently showing up for yourself and being present with whatever your life, mind, feelings, or body presents to you. So this is my invitation: if you want to start a practice, do not overcomplicate it.

Again, you can practice anywhere, at any time of day, and reap the benefits. But you must show up for yourself and your practice no matter how you feel or think that day. The only way you are meditating “wrong” is if you are not showing up at all.

However, my meditation philosophy is that even if you do find yourself overcomplicating it or making excuses, that is okay. Suppose you skip a day, a week, a month, or a year. In that case, there is no shame, and you can always choose to show up for yourself again with the understanding that we are all human and live in a world where finding the time feels hard and counterintuitive to our productivity.

Tip five: What kind of meditation should beginners practice?

My last tip is that I recommend starting your practice with a guide if you are new to meditation. There are many different applications and videos on YouTube for this. You can simply search “Five Minute Meditation” on your phone, and something will surely pop up. Or, you can enter your email address in the subscription box below, and I will send you a link to a free guided meditation I created to accompany this post!

My drive to share my knowledge and resources comes from hitting rock bottom and crawling my way out. I understand that life can be whatever we want when we let go of what the world expects. Additionally, I want to provide women with a place to learn ways to reclaim their health and self-worth for free.

In this post, I discussed how meditation does not have to be anything really beyond just taking some time to sit and be with yourself in some stillness. For each person, and at each stage of one’s meditation practice, what that stillness looks like in a meditation practice will be different. The point is to stop making excuses and limiting when and where you can practice or whether or not you are equipped. The point is to consistently show up for yourself, and you will reap the benefits.

If you want access to one of my free guided meditations, enter your email address below, and I will send you the link.

Additionally, my blog discusses healing practices and coping mechanisms for new moms. You can check out my post about self-care and meditation for new moms here. You can access the full blog here or find me at any of my social links below.

You need nothing but yourself to start this practice. If you have read this post, you have time to enter your email address and listen.

Create a meditation or self-care board on Pinterest and pin this post and others to inspire you to begin your practice!