Meditation for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide for Newbies

Stress, anxieties, fears. Who doesn’t encounter them, feel overwhelmed by then? We all do suffer, even when we try our best. Thankfully, there is a way to tackle them: meditation. Even if you are a complete beginner, you can start practicing mindfulness today. And you don’t need fancy equipment!

What Is Meditation?

Meditation is a broad term. And you have tons of different types of meditation. But to keep it simple: it’s a practice to train attention, awareness and calm your emotions.

Remember: meditation is not about NOT feeling emotions. Quite the opposite. It’s about truly understanding WHAT you feel and WHY you feel.

As a beginner, you might be afraid that your mind wanders during your meditation sessions. Chill out. It’s normal. When you start practicing mindfulness, your thoughts and emotions might be chaotic.

That’s completely okay. Just breathe and try to observe them. Don’t dismiss them! Just observe.

How to Nail Your First Meditation

If you are just starting with mindfulness – don’t overcomplicate. Just follow these steps:

1. Sit in a chair/armchair/on a sofa.
   1. Best to choose your favorite and calm spot.
   2. First, take a sitting position. Later on you can experiment with lying down, standing or kneeling.
2. Close your eyes and calm your breath.
   1. Find a pace that is calm, but suits you. Don’t force yourself on a slow breath.
3. Ask yourself: what am I feeling?
   1. Observe your feelings, your emotions.
   2. Maybe your neck is sore? Maybe you feel stressed?
4. Bring your attention to observing.
   1. If you are a newbie, just look at your feelings. Neither dismiss them nor focus too much on them.
   2. And remember about breathing!
5. Notice when (and why) your mind has wandered.
   1. It’s normal that after some time your mind wanders somewhere.
   2. Just simply focus on your breath once again. And then focus on your thought and feelings.
6. When you feel exhausted, gently return to your body.
   1. Once again, check how your body feels. Is it still sore?
   2. Or maybe you feel lighter?
7. Thank yourself for that time.
   1. No matter how long you have meditated: thank yourself.
   2. Open your eyes and, with a deep breath, say “Thank you”.
   3. This way you build gratitude towards yourself.

How Long Should You Meditate as a Beginner?

The thing that bugs a lot of newbies is the duration of meditation. Truth be told: it’s not that important in the beginning. You can start with just 5 minutes. Or even 3. First, you should learn how to meditate. Then focus on duration.

The key is to commit to mindfulness every day. So instead of jumping right into 1-hour long meditation, full of transcendental practices, work on the basis.

Your meditation routine might look like that:

1. First week – 5 minutes once a day in the evening.
2. Second week – 3 minutes early in the morning, 5 minutes in the evening every day.
3. Third week – 5 minutes early in the morning, 5 minutes in the evening. Once a week – 15 minutes meditation.
4. Fourth week – two meditations of 5 minutes every day and 15 minutes three times a week.

Of course, that’s just an example. You don’t have to follow it precisely.

Turning Mindfulness Into an Everyday Habit

A lot of our everyday behaviors run on “autopilot” – we don’t think about them, we just… do. A great example of that can be the morning routine. You wake up, wash your face, prepare breakfast, start making coffee and brush teeth in the meantime.

Do you think about your morning routine? There is a high chance that your mind drifts away while you do it.

That’s the power of habit. And that’s precisely why you should aim to turn mindfulness practices into an everyday habit.

A habit should be:

1. Obvious/simple;
2. Attractive;
3. Easy;
4. Satisfying.

Of course, meditation for a beginner is probably neither of those. Don’t worry. You can shape your habits, using the tips below, to incorporate mindfulness into your day:

1. Obvious – put reminders around you. For example: prepare a “mindfulness corner” with a meditation cushion, favorite candles and talismans that are dear to you. Nothing fancy: start with your cuddle bear from childhood.
2. Attractive – set up a right mood for meditation so you start looking forward to it. If you are tired after work, gym or swimming lessons, then treat mindfulness practices as a way to relax.
3. Easy – as previously said: don’t overcomplicate. Start with short sessions, and prolong them when you feel comfortable.
4. Satisfying – at the beginning, you can use small treats to make meditation more rewarding. For example: a bar of chocolate or favorite cookies. With time, you will realize that calmness and relaxation are rewards in themselves… but that will come!

Basic Meditations for Beginners

When you are just starting mindfulness practices, you might have a wrong idea about what’s that all about. We often think that meditation is about having an empty mind and no thoughts at all. Just you, space and Cosmos.

That is simply false. Mindfulness is not about being a “blank page”. It is a practice to bring attention to observing your thoughts, feelings and emotions.

A great way to start is a meditation focused on your breathing.

• Sit down in a comfortable position.
• Close your eyes.
• Try to slow down your breath and focus on it.
• Where do you feel your breath most? Is it deep, or shallow?
• Stay focused on your breathing – if some thoughts appear, let them come and go.
• If you lose focus, don’t panic. Just bring your attention back to breathing.

Another great meditation practice for newbies is simple gratitude work.

• Sit down in a comfortable position.
• First look around at your space and think: what do you enjoy most about it?
• When you list what you like, close your eyes.
• Think about everything that you are grateful for that happened during the whole day.
• It can be anything: nice breakfast, no traffic, great coffee.
• Try to visualize those things and moments.
• In the end, thank yourself for caring about your wellbeing.

Once you are comfortable with those kinds of meditations, you can mix them up. Start with breathing meditation, and then, once you are calm, go into the gratitude practice. Or the other way around: first list what you enjoyed about your day, and after that practice breathing meditation.

There is no right or wrong way to go with it. Choose whatever suits you best and just go with it. If you feel like you need a change – go ahead. And if you don’t know what to chose – HERE is my guide on 7 Easy Meditation Techniques for Beginners.

What If Your Mind Drifts Away During Meditation?

A lot of beginners stress about the fact that they can’t focus on breathing or gratitude for too long. And they start thinking about random stuff, like “what should I eat for tomorrow’s dinner”, “do I need a new toothpaste” or “was my boss angry with my project?”

That’s completely fine if you drift away. The key is not to blame yourself for that. Just breathe in, breathe out and bring your attention back to your body, gratitude or whatever you are working with.

The worst thing you can do is to completely stop your mindfulness practices. Think about them as exercises. If you are going to the gym, can you bench press 200 lbs from the beginning? Or can you finish a whole marathon, if you’ve never run before?

Of course not. Then, why demand from yourself a 30-minutes-long transcendental meditation in your first week of mindfulness practices?

Treat your meditations as you would treat going to the gym or jogging. Except instead of training your body, now you are tending to your mind and soul. There are a lot of differences, of course, but the principle stays the same: be patient and go easy on yourself.

With time, you will get it!

Guided Meditations – Are They Good for Beginners?

You can find a lot of guided meditations on YouTube, TikTok, Spotify or elsewhere. And many of them go into different sub-niches, like:

• Reducing stress;
• Body scan meditation;
• 5-minutes of gratitude;
• Present moment;
• Whole body relaxation.

Guided meditations are a great way to get into mindfulness. Especially if you have absolutely no idea where to start. You can pick up any sub-niche, find the perfect length, sit in your favorite armchair and just listen to the recording.

The problem is… that’s not exactly what you should aim for with your mindfulness practices.

Don’t get me wrong – guided meditations are great to find out what this whole “spirituality-well-being” is all about. But the problem is that if you only focus on them, then you are basically “addicted” to external help. And meditation should be something you can (in time, of course!) do anywhere, anytime, with or without others around.

That’s why you shouldn’t rely on recordings too much. However, that doesn’t mean you cannot incorporate them into your everyday schedule. For example: listen to short ones on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and try longer on Saturdays.

Spiritual versus Scientific Meditation

Simplifying a lot, you have two different approaches to meditation: one is a “spiritual”, the second is “scientific”. 

1. Spiritual approach states that through meditation you can connect to your higher self, and thus (with time) reach enlightenment. During your journey you can also encounter spirits, ancestors or other astral beings. They may act as your guides, mentors, or serve some other important role.
2. Scientific approach declares that meditation is a practice that helps you train your focus, attention span and other associated skills. It also serves as a way to identify your emotions, needs and helps to relax. There is no astral consciousness involved in the whole process.

Of course, it doesn’t mean you have to follow one definition. Maybe both are true, who knows? You can (and even you should!) pick something that resonates with you the best and then just start practicing.

With time, your approach is probably going to change, depending on your experiences. And that is perfectly fine. Just go with the flow.

Meditation For Beginners – Summary

Meditation is a practice that takes time to understand and even more time to master. Treat it with curiosity, joy, and remember that it is okay to drift away or lose focus. The more you practice, the better you are going to be, just like with gym or other sports. Don’t demand too much from yourself. Just focus on consistency and even if you skip a day or two, just try again.

And first and foremost: have fun with that!