How to Meditate A Complete Beginners Guide to Getting Started

Meditation is an ancient human spiritual practice with a history dating back thousands of years. It was first recorded in civilizations such as the Vedic culture of ancient India and the Taoist tradition of ancient China.

Today, meditation is practiced worldwide. It helps people improve focus, reduce stress, sleep better, and enhance well-being. So how can a beginner get started? In the following, I’ll share simple methods to help you ease into meditation with confidence.

Choose a Position That's Comfortable Without Falling Asleep

There are many positions for meditation, you can be sitting cross-legged or in a chair or lying down, just make sure your mind is clear.

Sitting Position

The preferred sitting posture is cross-legged, start with a loose or natural plank, and if you want to advance you can try the classic lotus sitting. For other requirements, please refer to the “Seven Branches of Sitting” in the picture below.

It's worth noting that you don't have to stick too closely to standard postures at first; comfort is the most important thing. For example, straightening your spine helps you breathe, but it's okay if you can't do that at first. You can slowly feel your breath as you meditate and adjust your posture naturally.

Lying Down

The easiest and most relaxing position for beginners is lying down. It is recommended that you lie on your back, which makes it easier to loosen up your whole body. Side lying is also fine, but the sense of relaxation is not as good. All you need is to place your hands naturally on either side of your body and gently spread your legs shoulder-width apart. Keep your head and neck straight, eyes slightly closed, find a pillow that is moderately soft and firm, and pick a comfortable bed or yoga mat. Remember, too soft can easily make you fall asleep straight away, and too hard is not easy to relax, so just find one that suits you.

Tips

It’s best to practice this every morning after waking up, as long as you’ve had 7 to 8 hours of sleep.
If you lie down for more than 30 minutes, it’s easy to fall back asleep. For beginners, practicing for about 15 to 20 minutes is recommended.
Keep your hands and feet uncovered, and just cover your lower abdomen and knees. This way, your body temperature stays balanced — not too warm to make you sleepy, and not too cold to make you uncomfortable.

Alternate Practice

The benefit of lying down compared to sitting meditation is that it’s easier to relax and doesn’t put any strain on your body. All you need is a comfortable bed or mat to practice on. Over time, with regular practice, your brain will gradually form a habit — whenever you lie in the same position, your body will naturally begin to relax, even as you fall asleep. However, in the early stages, lying down can make you feel drowsy or even fall asleep easily. On the other hand, sitting meditation helps keep your mind more alert and is better suited for longer sessions. But at first, you might find your legs go numb, or feel discomfort in your lower back or neck if your posture isn’t right or you sit still for too long.

For beginners, both postures have their pros and cons. It’s a good idea to try them both and alternate between them. You’ll discover the unique benefits of each, and it can work wonders — helping you get twice the results with half the effort.

Full-Body Relaxation

Once your posture is properly set, the next step is the most crucial part: relaxing your body. Many meditation practices overlook this, but in my 10 years of meditation experience, I can say this is a serious mistake. It’s often because people skip this step that they struggle to truly enter the door to meditation.

Body Scan

We’ll start by using a full-body scan to gradually relax the entire body. First, relax your hands and feet, then your arms, legs, and torso. Finally, focus on the chest and back — the area around the heart — which is often the hardest to fully relax. As you relax each part of your body, keep your awareness gently resting on that area. Repeat this body scan a few times, moving through the body from head to toe and back.

There is actually a standard for relaxation — it’s when that part of your body seems to “disappear.” That’s right: you no longer feel the presence of that area. A study from the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1990s found that during meditation, the superior parietal lobule — the part of the brain responsible for our sense of space and touch — becomes less active in experienced meditators. In fact, the neurons in that area temporarily stop firing. Since the parietal lobe processes sensations like pain, touch, and temperature, this helps explain why people who practice meditation for a long time can experience the feeling of their body “disappearing.”

For beginners, you won’t experience the complete sense of the body “disappearing” right away. What you’ll notice instead is that your sense of touch becomes faint and less distinct — it’s there, but not as clear as usual. This is a good start. As long as you keep practicing, you’ll eventually experience that amazing sensation of the body truly disappearing.

Full-Body Relaxation

Besides scanning and relaxing each part of your body one by one, you can also try relaxing your entire body all at once. In your mind, picture your whole body and let your awareness rest on it. Feel your skin, muscles, bones, and even your cells slowly letting go of tension. You can also add imagery that helps you relax — like imagining yourself lying on soft cotton, resting on a comfortable grassy field, or feeling your body gently melting away. Any image that helps you relax is fine — use whatever works for you.

Alternate Relaxation

You can alternate between overall relaxation and focusing on specific parts of the body — this also helps keep the practice from feeling boring. After a few rounds, if you notice that a certain area is still tense, simply rest your awareness on that spot and gently guide it to relax.

Slowing the Breath

First, be sure to use abdominal breathing. Simply put, this means letting the rise and fall of your lower belly guide the movement of your diaphragm up and down. You’ll notice your belly gently expanding, rather than your chest. Second, try to make each inhale and exhale a little longer — but don’t force it — and let your breath be smooth and steady. In fact, breathing and relaxation go hand in hand: as your breathing slows and softens, your body will naturally begin to relax as well.

Empty the Mind

Stopping thoughts means calming or stilling the thoughts (images or ideas) that arise in your mind. The key here is not to let those thoughts change or multiply — in other words, don’t let one thought lead to another. It doesn’t matter whether you’re focusing on an object, an image, or simply nothing at all.

Beginners often find their minds filled with too many wandering thoughts, like a wild horse that has broken free. So, you need to find something like a post to tie the horse to — something that keeps its movement within a certain area. This is what we call “using one thought to replace ten thousand thoughts.” There are three main methods for this: counting the breath, following the breath, and pausing the breath.

Breath Counting

Counting the breath means counting one full breath — one inhale and one exhale — as one count. You can count up to five or ten, and then start over from one. This method helps keep your mind focused on counting, so you’re less likely to get distracted. When you count, simply say the number silently in your mind, usually as you exhale.

Mindful Breathing

Following the breath means placing all of your attention on the air as it flows in and out. Imagine the air entering through your nose, passing down your nasal passages, through your windpipe and chest, and all the way to your lower belly — then following the same path back out as you exhale. As you breathe out, you can add a bit of intention by imagining that any illness or negative energy in your body is leaving along with the breath. The key is to let your awareness follow the breath and notice the subtle changes in your body.

Gently holding the breath

Pausing the breath means allowing a short pause between each inhale and exhale. At first, this pause might last just a second or two, and over time you can gradually extend it. The final stage is when you no longer feel the breath — or it seems as if there is no breathing at all. The air flows in and out naturally, without any effort on your part.

You may begin with counting the breath, as it is the most straightforward method. Alternatively, you can start by following the breath, which requires a bit more focus but feels less repetitive. Ideally, try both approaches and see which suits you best.

Conclusion

That’s the basic method for practicing meditation. I hope it helps you get started on your meditation journey. If you’d like more tips on daily practice, stress relief, or advanced techniques, feel free to follow us for more.