Question for people who practice regular meditation

[SleepQuest33]

I’d like to start meditating everyday. I’m not sure what type of meditation would be the best for me.
How is the best way to find out?
is it a good idea to have an App? Or would it be better to go to an in person sessions? I don’t want to spend too much.

any guidance for a newbie would be appreciated!

Disclaimer: I would like to be a regular meditator, and find life is better when I do, but the complexities of life often mean I don’t do it daily/regularly, as I would in a perfect world. I keep striving!

I first meditated at the end of a yoga classes I did (built into the session), and initially hated this part of the class, but grew to love it, and for it to be my favourite bit. I then looked into how I could do it myself at home more regularly. I started with the Headspace App, and later also got the Calm app. Both have increased what they offer within the apps considerably since then, but when I started both had (and still have!) a lot of stuff for beginners eg Headspace has a ‘Learn the basics of meditation’ and then it used to have a 21 day beginners course, which was really good, and explained more and more to you each day as you meditated. After that you could just move on to their new-each-day daily meditation (or do it yourself, if you felt you didn’t need an app/guidance). Calm is the same, they have a ‘Mindfulness for Beginners’ 30 days course (where it takes you through a meditation each day for 30 days), and then after that you can move to their ‘Daily Calm’ (again a new-each-day meditation). You can choose from different people/voices to what best works for you. They also now have mindfulness, daily wisdom, sleep stories/help within the app etc.

I like either app, rather than do-it-myself as when I am busy or not-in-the-mood, the app voice helps guide me there, and it measures the time for you and talks you through it. When I am busy, or travelling for work and find it hard to get in the moment by myself, the app is always there to do at my convenience, rather than a class I have to get too.

I see lots of ads for 30 days free with the Calm app, and whilst I haven’t seen them, I’m sure Headspace probably have a free days or introductory offer so you can try it and see if it works for you. The beginner’s course or 30 days may be enough to get you then confident to go on your own, or you may see a benefit to continuing with the app - or seeking out a class. Good luck!

Try Insight Timer. Lots of different meditations on there and tips for beginners.

I am a long term meditator of over a decade. The best advice I can give is be patient and kind to yourself. Don't try to not think - it's impossible. Meditation is about being with what is, thoughts and all.
Noticing what's happening is key.
Don't be disheartened by how active your mind is. The fact you've seen it is brilliant.
Guided meditations and visualisations may work best to start with. Not so daunting and you have a structure..

Hi OP, I have been meditating for quite a while.
There are many types of meditation, so try a few and see what fits.

I practice yoga so usually there is a short meditation at the end- and often the beginning too.

Yoga style meditation is usually centred around breathwork techniques as are other types of meditation not involving physical movement.
I have tried meditation at Budddist temples, but those involved emptying the mind- Iot for me.
Some traditions use a mantra, I have learned transcendental meditation and it was effective, but I no longer practice.
I agree with others that a guided meditation or visualisation are probably the easiest place to start.
There are many wonderful meditations on youtube of differing lengths. I use them a lot, almost every day.

I would suggest that you keep meditations short - even 5 or 10 minutes to start with- again search on you tube- and the frequency low.

Set realistic targets to begin with- short meditations perhaps 3 times a week, you are more likely to reach your goal.

Thank you so much for those amazing replies. They’ve been very useful and have definitely given me the push!

sounds like an app or YouTube is the way to go.
@speakout is there a particular YouTube channel you’d recommend please?

im going to start straight away! Phage heard so many good things about meditation! Thank you.

Listen to this podcast about meditation. https://pca.st/episode/892a41ab-5c32-4f42-8707-dd154ab7d850

It says the best type of meditation is the one that you do. I try a couple of different types depending on my mood. Headspace is good, but you have to pay for longer meditations (fair enough it is a business). I have just discovered nidra yoga, which is like a guided body scan. I do that before going to sleep.

There some good one's on Youtube. But mostly i just do observation of my senses and breathing.

SleepQuest33

This channel has lots of meditations, I use it a lot.
https://www.youtube.com/@GreatMeditation

You can search for length of meditation, male/female voice/meditation for specific purpose.
I have created playlists of my favourites to listen if I feel overwhelmed. So general relaxation, but also calm anxiety, lift low mood, morning calm, inner child healing, stress, dealing with frustration or resentment, starting the day, or wind down for sleep.
I use the shorter ones in my car often, if I arrive somewhere early or in a supermarket car park I park up and take 5 minutes of meditation to ease my day.

I also love these two channels for sleep - more cosy walkthroughs or wind downs - if your mind is hamster wheeling when you try for sleep, you may find them soothing, and give your mind a safe soft landing spot.
I use one of these every night- and rarely get to the end as they help me drift off easily.

https://www.youtube.com/@MichellesMeditationSanctuary

https://www.youtube.com/@NothingMuchHappens

Thank you @speakout ❤️❤️

I'd echo what's already been said. I'm an Insight Timer fan too but often meditate by following my breath or setting an intention and repeating that or a mantra in my mind.

There are lots of techniques and the aim isn't perfection - regularity and repetition is what will make the biggest difference and it really is transformative.

have now listened to that podcast (during my lunch hour) and loved it!! Thanks for suggesting it.

I was taught transcendental meditation last year and I practise twice daily. I still feel like a beginner. A key difference between yoga and meditation is this: a teacher can see you doing yoga poses but meditation is much harder to assess. I don't know how to judge if my approach is correct and I would really appreciate hearing some key points to guide me along.....

Meditation is to know the mind. When the mind is known it is let go. So go from mindful to mindless.

I like Insight Timer too, I like the guided meditations but I use the focus music too and have even dabbled in the occasional gong bath! I don't use it consistently (but probably should!) but really do recommend it.

I did a Mindfulness course some years ago. I get being mindful. Can you help me with what you mean by being mindless?

Thoughts are not facts.
Imagination isn't real.
When you're mindful of this then you can let thoughts and imagination go and become less attached to the mind therefore mindless.

"We drink the poison the mind pours for us and we wonder why we feel so sick."
Atticus

I love Dr Joe Dispenza. There are a lot of Dr Joe ‘bots’ on YouTube, so beware!
His Love meditation is on there though, in multiple languages. It’s quite short, but effective. His audiobooks are very informative, if you’re interested in the science.
I also do Wim Hof breathwork, which is quite mind blowing.

Thanks for ideas so far - really helpful. One of my yoga teachers said that yoga was the servant of meditation. Keeping the body lithe and supple allowed a person to have long periods of staying immobile and meditating then getting up and walking away.

As these techniques are thousands of years old, were we taught them or did someone dream them up one day?

I practice Japanese Buddhism and my Sensei teaches me various forms of meditation. Chanting sutras is one of my favorites, the Heart Sutra , passages from the Lotus Sutra and Amida Sutra are my favorites. There are lots of videos of these on YouTube.

I joined a ladies meditation group 3 years ago and it has honestly changed my life for the better. Good luck on your journey. Xxx

The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat
Hanh is very good.

Here is a link to chanting the short Heart Sutra, there are lots of videos of it on YouTube and ones for longer chanting which creates a fine meditative state