How I Meditate For 5 Minutes

Due to certain things going on in my life, I felt the need to clear my mind of all of the thoughts going around in my head to help me focus on the important stuff.

Coming from a Yoga teaching back ground, meditating seemed the most logical thing to do for me yet I rarely did it.

I have found that if I do just a 5-10 minute slot before I get up or at some point later in the day then it fits in nicely to my routine. Here is how I do it:

I get myself somewhere comfortable (usually laid on the bed), lay on my back, close my eyes and become aware of making sure that my body is relaxed with no tension or tighness, by quickly scanning over the whole area. If there is any tension, then I focus my breath to that area and relax it as I breathe out.

Next to keep my mind clear of any thoughts (this is often the tricky bit), I bring my attention to my breathing. Tummy rising as I inhale and falling back towards my spine as I exhale.

I keep this momentum going. If my mind wanders - which sometimes it does - then I bring my focus back to my breathing. I work in this way for the next 5 minutes at the very least.

When I have finished I stretch and slowly get up. I feel more refreshed and able to focus on the rest of my day.

However, sometimes it doesn't go like that and instead I fall asleep, especially if it is later in the day.

When this happens, my mediatation goes something like this:

I do all of the above, relax onto my bed and focus on my breathing. Then I feel myself going into sleep and I sometimes have quick various dreams. After usually about 10-15 minutes I wake myself up, usually snoring!! (and I'm not your typical snorer - it's laying on my back that does it for me).

Whichever way it turns out is absolutely fine. They both have the same effect in that I get up feeling more focused and my mind and body have had a break :)

So give it a go. It may take a few attempts to 'switch off' your mind but it will get easier and over the long term is worth a little bit of effort.