Begin your day with morning meditation to be aware, alert, and mindful. Regular morning meditation can help cultivate an innate sense of peace and calm in your life. Guided morning meditations work especially well for beginners, as it helps them channel their energy during the meditation practice .
Whether you wake up before sunrise or before noon, incorporating a morning meditation into your schedule can be extremely beneficial for the day ahead. People often tend to accept feeling stressed and exhausted as a part of their lives, but practising meditation on a regular basis can help minimise negative emotions.
Keep reading to learn how to start your mindful journey with the help of morning meditations.
Benefits of meditating in the morning
How you start your day can have a great impact on your mindset for the day. For example, if you wake up feeling tired and hurriedly go off to work after a quick shower, you may be more irritable as compared to when you woke up well-rested and had the time to eat breakfast and workout.
Guided morning meditations are a great way for beginners to incorporate mindfulness into their routine. By practising meditation in the morning, you can actively set the desired tone for the day.
Studies show that people worldwide spend a major chunk of their free time scrolling mindlessly—doomscrolling—through social media. This starts as soon as the person wakes up and often ends with them scrolling through their phones at night till they fall asleep. This has been shown to increase anxiety and lead to a decline in their mental health.
A generalised study also revealed that dispositional mindfulness is associated with a smaller amygdala, the part of the brain that perceives fear and threat, and a bigger hippocampus, the part of the brain that plays a major role in learning and memory retention. You can cultivate mindfulness as a dispositional skill as well with the help of guided morning meditations; much like you train your brain to learn how to drive, you can train your brain to be mindful.
Morning meditation can also:
- Reduce feelings of anxiety and sadness
- Increase focus and still the mind
- Lower your blood pressure and heart rate
- Help you make more active and less reactive decisions
- Improve the quality of sleep
- Raise your happiness level baseline
What do you need to get started?
Meditation is simple to begin with; you don’t need to prepare in advance. If you have a credible source of guided meditation or know how to meditate by yourself, you can practice anytime, anywhere. There are several free guided morning meditations available on the internet.
There is also a notion that you must maintain a certain posture, dress in a certain way, and practice meditation only at specific times, but that is simply untrue. Anyone can meditate anytime; guided morning meditations work well for some people, especially if they are just starting out, while others might enjoy a relaxing wind-down meditation before falling asleep.
Consistency is very important, as with each meditation practice you become less reactive and more focused on the present moment. Breaking the momentum might result in you stopping the meditation practice for some time, and you may get more anxious with time. Scheduling meditation in your routine is helpful in sticking to the practice. If you can’t set aside time to meditate for the entire session on some days, try to take out a minute or two to pause and reflect on yourself while taking deep breaths.
No matter how focused you are, something or someone will distract you; it is inevitable. Thus, you should expect it and be mentally prepared. As soon as you notice that you have been distracted, gently bring your attention back to the object of your focus.
Types of morning meditations
Meditation is a flexible practice, and you can try different types of morning meditations to find the one that resonates with you the most. Listed below are some of the best guided and unguided morning meditations:
Mindfulness meditation
The intention behind this type of meditation practice is to be aware of the present moment and accepting it without judgement or trying to change anything. Beginners are recommended to opt for a guided meditation session. This meditation practice will help you experience life without getting affected by things. As you practice mindful meditation in the mornings, you will notice its benefits start to ripple into other areas of your life throughout the day.
Focused attention
In a guided focused attention practice, the instructor will invite you to calm down by taking some deep breaths. Then they will slowly take you through different steps to focus your attention on an object—your breath, candlelight, and nearby sounds. This type of practice helps you sharpen your focus and enhance your cognitive abilities. If you don’t feel comfortable keeping your eyes closed, you can try forcing on a candlelight or something else that is stationary.
Transcendental meditation
This type of meditation is taught in one-on-one personalised sessions, where an instructor (certified by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Foundation) teaches you how to practice it. You will be given a special phrase, word, or mantra to repeat in a certain manner to meditate.
A similar practice to modern transcendental meditation is mantra meditation, commonly practiced in Hinduism and Buddhism, and involves repeating a mantra a specific number of times every day.
Movement meditation
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to sit still to meditate. Some people don’t feel comfortable being stationary for more than a few minutes or might feel restless on a particular day. Movement meditation is perfect for these situations.
You can indulge in yoga, Tai chi, or simply go for morning walks while practising breathwork.
Breathwork meditation
Taking deep breaths signals your brain to calm down and helps you relax. Performing breathwork before or during your meditation can be extremely helpful in resetting your mind for the day ahead. There are several different types of breathwork exercises you can try. For example, Sudarshan Kriya by the Art of Living Foundation.
Tips to get started and stay consistent
Starting a new morning meditation practice can be slightly difficult. Here are some tips to start your mornings in a mindful manner:
- Start with short meditations about 5-10 minutes long and build your practice from there if your schedule allows it.
- You may set an intention for your practice, but don’t be attached to any particular outcome.
- Meditate in a room that is quiet and where you won’t be disturbed.
- Sit in a comfortable position (you can also lie down if you don’t feel well enough or find this position more comfortable).
- Wear comfortable clothes.
- Set a timer so that you can stop worrying about the next thing on your to-do list.
- Pick a suitable time and practice your meditation regularly at that time to solidify the habit.
- Practising breathwork before your meditation or simply taking 5-7 deep breaths can help you calm down and focus on your meditation.
- Find an accountability partner if you find it difficult to practise daily and tell them about your plans.
- Try imposing a 2-day rule that does not allow you to take a break from your meditation for two consecutive days.
Morning Meditation for Beginners FAQs:
What meditation should I do in the morning?
The best meditation for beginners is a guided morning meditation. Here are some of the examples of meditations, one can do in the morning:
• Mindfulness meditation
• Movement meditation, such as sun salutations or intentional morning walks, coupled with breathwork
• Mantra meditation
• Focused attention
Is it best to meditate first thing in the morning?
The answer varies from person to person. If you are someone who likes to go slowly and prepare yourself for the day ahead, you might find it extremely beneficial to meditate first thing in the morning as it can help you set your mindset for the day.
Others may fall asleep while meditating first thing in the morning and thus delay starting their day unintentionally.
Generally, it is a good idea to bathe and refresh yourself a little before sitting down to meditate. Many people prefer meditating after performing yoga and doing some breathwork.
How to do meditation early morning?
The best way to wake up early to meditate is to go to bed early. If you wake up groggy every day, chances are you will fall asleep during the meditation. Although if you want to change your routine, it may take a few days to adjust to waking up at such early hours, so don’t give up on the second day.
You can also try waking up early, preparing for the day, by working out or doing yoga, meditating, and then taking a short nap of 20 to30 minutes if your schedule allows.
How many minutes should I meditate in the morning?
This depends on how much time you have on your schedule. You can start by doing short meditation sessions of 5 to10 minutes in the morning and increase time accordingly. Being consistent in your practice is very important.
