How Do I Meditate?

Ok, so I’m going to clarify something. You can’t float if you meditate. That’s not a thing (at least as far as I know), but it is real. There are lots of ways to do it, but here is a basic one that many martial arts schools practice. Personally, I like to do this at the end of every class that I teach. Here is how you do it!

1. Find a quiet (and safe) space.

Look for a nice, quiet, safe, space. I like to use my bedroom or sometimes my living room. If I’m at work, I don’t mind the staff room too much. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to turn off the lights, close the windows, or anything else (though some choose to do it). In fact, I quite like some nice sunshine in my room.

2. Sit down and set a timer (if you want)

Ok, this one seems kind of obvious. When you sit down, you don’t necessarily need to kneel or sit cross legged. You can sit in a chair. You can even lay down, though I often fall asleep if I do that.

One thing you probably should do is set a timer. It’s not because you might enter some metaphysical state or anything, you just might lose track of time. I usually set my phone timer for 2-5 minutes.

3. Place your hands.

That instruction is pretty vague. Where should I place my hands? And how? Well, in order to do a basic meditation technique like this one, you should place your hands on your knees. When I was younger I would put them down as fists (knuckles resting on my knees), but as I got older I opened my hands and placed my palms on my knees.

An AI sketch of a martial artist meditating.

4. I’m serious, don’t slouch!

I’m going to be honest; I have a terrible habit of slouching when I meditate. It’s important not to let that happen. When you do slouch, it looks like you’re sleeping very uncomfortably. So sit up straight!

5. Close your eyes.

Just breathe in, and close your eyes (or half-close them, that works too). The reason many people do this when they meditate is because it takes away a lot of our outside stimulation. Humans rely heavily on their vision, so taking that away makes it easier to focus on other things.

6. Breathe in, breathe out.

This is probably the most important part. Breathe in, breathe out. Specifically, breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Deep, slow breaths. Focus on your breathing. In through your nose, out through your mouth.

7. Ignore everything else.

This part is honestly the hardest part, and the reason I recommend going into a quiet room. You will likely get distracted. That’s okay. You don’t need to restart, just refocus. Breathe in, breathe out. If you are having a hard time with this, consider counting your fingers and then slowly moving towards focusing on your breath.

There you go! You now know the basics of meditation!

Good job and good luck!