Meditation Techniques For Beginners - Mindfulness Hacks

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Illustrated by: Paola Delucca.

Is it just me, or is adulting totally overwhelming? Behind my smile, I am usually feeling frantic, harried, and overwhelmed most of the time. Things happen so fast that I don’t have much (or any) time to think about or process anything — I am just in a constant state of reacting and trying to stay above water. Unwinding in front of Netflix at the end of the day is essential. But, while that may be pleasurable, I recently realised that TV and movies are just more information coming into my brain, pulling my awareness away from myself and onto something else.

My solution to this conundrum? Meditation. Before you roll your eyes, know that I had been trying to meditate for years before I finally resolved to make it a daily practice this January. This, admittedly, does not make me a Zen master by any means. But it does mean that I’m still enough of a meditation newbie that I know what it’s like to get annoyingly vague meditation advice. Hearing or reading something like, “Just breathe and let go of your thoughts” can all too easily elicit an internal reaction that’s akin to, “WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?! SCREW THIS!” (This reaction is also a sign of needing meditation, BTW).

With that said, here are eight hacks that helped me get into my meditation groove.

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