12 Powerful Tips to Enrich Your Meditation Practice

and the 3 Most Important Things to Know if You Struggle With Consistency

For Your Mastery, Joy, and Purpose

We all know that meditation offers a vast range of physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional benefits. So, creating a regular practice that you actually look forward to — will help you (happily) stay with it. Resistance melts away when you create something that feels good to you. (Hint, Hint) So, let’s look at 12 ways to enrich your practice so it’s something you want to do. Use the tip or tips that feel the best for you. Then, we’ll explore the 3 most important things to know if you struggle with creating a consistent practice.

Here Are 12 Powerful Tips to Improve Your Meditation Practice

1. Close Your Eyes and Focus on Your Breath as You Smile: Gently focus on your breath. Follow the natural rhythm of your inhalations and exhalations. When your mind wanders, gently (and happily) bring your focus back to your breath. Your smile will trigger the release of the feel-good chemicals dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. These neurotransmitters are associated with lower levels of stress and anxiety, and they increase happiness.

2. Start with or Experiment with Shorter Sessions: If you’re new to meditation or resisting, start with shorter sessions, like 5-10 minutes. Gradually increase the duration as your concentration improves and if that inspires you. When you feel successful in your shorter practice, you’re far more likely to stick with it, and your ability to focus will also expand. Short meditations are beneficial. You do not have to meditate for hours to get the benefits of this powerful practice.

Free 6-Minute Guided Meditation and More Tips

3. Choose a Comfortable, Beautiful Environment: Choose a quiet, comfortable, pleasing place to meditate where you won’t be easily distracted. Let it be a location you love, that’s easy to access daily. If you want to light a candle, do that. Do you love the smell of incense, essential oils, or fresh cut flowers? Use that in your meditation space! Set yourself up for a pleasing experience, and you’ll not only want to meditate, but you’ll also enhance your focus and joy.

4. Relaxed Posture: Sit or lie down in a comfortable way. The classic cross-legged posture works well if you’re able to use it. The key is to maintain an erect, yet relaxed spine to facilitate deep breathing. If you like back support, use a comfortable chair with a nice backrest. If you tend to fall asleep when you lie down, then use a comfortable seated position.

5. Try Uplifting or Relaxing Guided Meditations or Music: Guided meditations, music, and apps come in many flavors to help guide you, and they can be especially helpful if you’re struggling with focus or relaxation. Here’s one of my shorter guided meditations (6 minutes) called Happiness Path for expanding feelings of well-being. You can download it here for free!

6. Kind, Non-Judgmental Awareness: If you get impatient with yourself or are self-critical, you will naturally want to stop meditating. Yet, seeing your thoughts, without judging them, is part of the meditation journey. It’s one of the steps necessary for expanding your self-awareness, and learning how to separate yourself from your thoughts, so you can use your thinking mind for upliftment and growth, rather than being used by disempowering thought habits. So, give yourself a break, and make your practice self-soothing and loving, because that is what you deserve. So, as you begin, let your thoughts come and go without getting attached to them or getting upset. Observe them serenely, as if you’re an impartial observer and come back to focusing on the breath.

7. Body Scans: Start your session with a body scan. First notice how your body feels overall. How do you feel? Gradually shift your focus through each part of your body, observing sensations and releasing tension, and entering a relaxed, blissful state. When your meditation ends, notice again how your body feels. How do you feel after meditating? You will want to aim for some version of relaxed, centered, blissful, happy, and a heightened state of awareness. Observing the impact of your session tells you how you were focusing. If you feel good, you were allowing well-being and ease. If you feel unhappy, irritated or anxious, you were most likely pushing yourself, being self-critical, or entering your practice thinking you needed to rush or “just get it done”. Great, now you know what to release and intend so you can enrich your practice! Everything tells you something valuable!

8. Congratulate Yourself with Each Step: Do not underestimate the power of encouraging self-talk. When you do so, no matter how big or small your steps are, you’ll want to keep going. Empower and encourage yourself often in your meditation practice, and in any endeavor and watch the magic happen!

9. Expand Present Moment Awareness in Your Daily Life: Extend your awareness beyond your meditation sessions. Choose to be more present in your daily activities, focusing on each action with intention and your full, loving attention. Add short, 40 to 60-second pauses in between your activities. Smile and breathe deeply. Then choose how you want to feel and what you want to do during your next time segment. Enjoy being intentional and more present!

10. Love Yourself No Matter What: Give yourself love no matter what happens. It’s normal for the mind to wander sometimes. The key is to gently bring your awareness back without creating frustration. Treat yourself with love. Completed a session? Awesome, congratulate yourself and give yourself love. Missed a session? Awesome, congratulate yourself for noticing, and give yourself love. Then meditate when you can, smiling and congratulating yourself for your commitment to your connection with your inner being. Love, love, love no matter what, and see what happens!

11. Choose a Consistent Time: Set a regular meditation time and make it your “Happy YOU” time. You’ll find that you will automatically want to meditate. Why? Because it feels good and you are doing it for you!

12. Be On Purpose, Set Intentions: Get clear about why you want to meditate. What do you want it to do for you? Then remind yourself about your Big Why! Whether it’s for deeper happiness, stress reduction, strengthening your intuition or connection with your soul, greater happiness, better focus, or personal growth — having a clear intention gives you a powerful reason to do so, and it makes your meditation sessions far more impactful.

The 3 Most Important Things to Know or Do if You Struggle With Consistency

1. Remember that resistance is natural when you’re creating a new habit, and that doesn’t mean that you’re failing. You’re in new territory, and you’re exercising a part of your mind that doesn’t get a lot of attention in our current culture. Stay in unconditional self-love, learn, refine, and stay with it like it’s the beautiful adventure it is!

2. See yourself as someone who easily and happily meditates rather than someone who struggles with it. Give yourself a new story that makes your practice more impactful and fun. Write an empowering story for yourself, as if you’ve been successfully meditating all along, and getting amazing results. List the positive impact it has had on your life, and the reasons why you love it so much. This will shift how you see yourself, so you can have a rich, graceful experience!

3. Always remember your BIG WHY, and the mystery that YOU are. You are a multidimensional spiritual being, and you can’t know more of YOU, if you’re only focused on the material world and aftereffects. This is your time to step out of outer conditions and commune with your soul, your inner power, and the love that is within and all around you.

Choose a tip or tips that resonate most with you. Then try them on today. Have fun applying what you’re learning, refine as needed and … enjoy your journey!

Much love,

Elari

P.S. Get your Free 6-minute Happiness Path Guided Meditation Here

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Author, Life On Purpose Guide, and Spiritual Channel

Elari Onawa

Life On Purpose Guide & Author Of Just Believe: How Faith In Yourself Shifts Everything

I’ve been leading Life On Purpose and Self-Discovery programs since 2003. Prior to that, I led large organizations for 20+ years, helping them align with their dreams and goals. And then I said yes and followed my soul’s promptings. If you’re ready for more fulfillment and joy, if you want to embrace more of your higher aspects, and connect with the loving support that is available for you … I can help you have that! Take a powerful online program, or schedule your 1:1 session here.