How to Begin Meditating: Ask a Meditation Coach

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1What is the most common misconception beginners have about starting meditation?

2How long should beginners meditate for?

3Do you recommend meditating at a certain time of day?

4How can someone minimize distractions in their environment when meditating?

5How can one motivate themselves to spend time meditating?

6What do you recommend people wear when meditating?

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If you want to start meditating but you aren’t sure where to start, worry not! Masha Kouzmenko is a professional meditation coach and she’s here to walk you through everything you need to know about getting started. This interview covers everything a beginner needs to know so that you can start your journey and get into the habit of meditating every day!

Steps

Question 1

Question 1 of 6:

What is the most common misconception beginners have about starting meditation?

1. 
   
   Masha Kouzmenko: I think a lot of people assume you have to clear your mind and have no thoughts when you’re meditating. A lot of newcomers are hesitant to get into meditation because they think, “I can’t clear my mind, that’s impossible!” Meditation is all about seeing your mind and observing your thoughts, so it’s not like you have to be in this state of perfect clarity or emptiness to start.

   • I always explain to new students that they should treat their thoughts like a movie when they’re starting out. You just sit there and watch them, but your head isn’t going to be empty!
   • The ultimate goal when you’re meditating is to reduce the number of thoughts and find that space in between the thoughts you have, but nobody starts off there on day one.
2. 
   Additional Research

   A lot of people assume meditating is going to be calm when they’re starting out. If you’re challenging negative thoughts or working through some emotional pain, this may not be a calming experience at first. That’s okay. It’s still important to work through those difficult feelings and it will get a lot easier over time!

   • You don’t want to remove all of your thoughts, even if you could. You just want your thoughts to be so comfortable and familiar to you that they no longer throw you out of a peaceful state of mind.

Question 2

Question 2 of 6:

How long should beginners meditate for?

1. 
   
   Masha Kouzmenko: If you’ve never meditated before, just start out by meditating for 1 minute. Find a quiet space, close your eyes, and just breathe for 1 minute. The next day, try 2 minutes of meditation. Then, do 3 minutes. After that, crank it up to 10 minutes before moving up to 20 minutes. This will get you comfortable with breathing, being yourself, and sitting still. You can work up from there.

   • Once you get used to being in that quiet space where you’re just breathing, it really does get a lot easier. Eventually, you won’t notice a big difference between 5, 10, or 20 minutes of meditation.
   • I’ve noticed that most people have the biggest struggle when they move from 20 to 30 minutes. Once you reach 30 minutes though, that’s a really length for a meditation session.
   • As you get really good at this, you can try working up to an hour. A lot of experts say 1 hour is the ideal amount of time to meditate. In some Buddhist traditions, they even recommend an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening!
2. 
   Additional Research

   You may not notice any changes in the way you feel or think when you’re just starting out, and that’s okay. There’s some evidence that meditating for 25 minutes a day will actively alleviate stress, so just stick with it until you’ve worked your way up. The long-term emotional, intellectual, and physical benefits are well-established, so you will reap rewards if you’re consistent!

   • There is no “perfect” amount of meditation is. People respond differently to shorter and longer periods of meditation.

Question 3

Question 3 of 6:

Do you recommend meditating at a certain time of day?

1. 
   
   Masha Kouzmenko: If you’re just starting out, I’d say just pick a time and stick with it. It’s a lot more important that you’re consistent at the beginning than it is to meditate during a specific part of the day. The right time is going to be different from person to person. Some people prefer the morning while other people prefer meditating in the evening.

   • If you meditate late at night when you’re tired, you’re probably just going to fall asleep, which isn’t ideal. I’d recommend not putting it off until the end of the day unless you’re struggling with insomnia.
   • Personally, I meditate in the morning right after I wake up. I do it before checking my phone or starting my morning routine!
2. 
   Additional Research

   There is a lot of scientific evidence that meditation causes your melatonin levels to spike. Melatonin is the hormone your brain produces when it’s dark out and it basically tells your brain that it’s time to go to sleep. So if you tend to have trouble falling asleep, it may help to meditate late at night to make it easier to get some rest. If you tend to be really anxious in the morning, meditating after you wake up can help calm you down before your day starts.

   • There’s some evidence that meditation will help improve the quality of your sleep as well.

Question 4

Question 4 of 6:

How can someone minimize distractions in their environment when meditating?

1. 
   
   Masha Kouzmenko: Pick a time of the day where you’re not going to have a bunch of interruptions. Often, this just means waking up before everyone else. So, if you have kids and they need to get up at 7 am for school, try getting up at 6:30. Alternatively, you could wait until it’s past their bed time and meditate when you have a moment to yourself.

   • It’s all about working around interruptions from children, pets, or outside noise. You can always silence your phone or turn the TV off, so that’s not the problem; it’s about working around the distractions you can’t control.
2. 
   Additional Research

   If you’re struggling to focus or you find yourself constantly distracted by minor noises in the background, try a guided meditation app. Apps like Calm and Headspace offer guided instructions that can help you stay in a productive place while you meditate.

Question 5

Question 5 of 6:

How can one motivate themselves to spend time meditating?

1. 
   
   Masha Kouzmenko: It’s important to remember that meditation is all about learning how to be a better person. Picture your boss yelling at you because they’re having a terrible day. Compare that to a random knee pain while you’re meditating. What you learn in meditation is that you can breathe and relax your way through that knee pain, the same way you can breathe and relax through that awful boss. Once you realize meditation is like lifting weights for your emotions, it’s a lot easier to stay motivated.

   • After you’ve learned to meditate, you won’t feel the need to attack back and get defensive when something irritates you. Instead, you begin to realize, “Wait, I can just breathe into it. I don't have to take in all of this negative energy.”
2. 
   Additional Research

   There have been some studies that hint at the possibility that meditation can make you less motivated to complete daily tasks. This is probably because people that meditate are more accepting of themselves and the state of the world, while most people are motivated by a need to fix or improve something. If you get increasingly unmotivated to stick with meditation, that means it’s working! Try to fight your way through this until it becomes a habit.

   • The good news is that this decrease in motivation won’t impact your work or school performance.
   • Make it a habit to meditate at the same time every day. If you get used to meditating consistently, it won’t really feel like work and you won’t need any motivation to do it—it will just be automatic.

Question 6

Question 6 of 6:

What do you recommend people wear when meditating?

1. 
   
   Masha Kouzmenko: You want to be a little warm so that you’re comfortable. If you think you’re going to get cold after you start meditating, just slip into something warm before you start. I personally wrap a blanket around myself when I wake up early and meditate because it’s typically pretty cold in my home in the morning. I throw a heated blanket over my back and I sit cross-legged.

   • Stay away from restrictive clothing, like bras, tights, or compression socks. You need to be able to take deep breaths and if you’re wearing anything tight, it won’t be comfortable.
2. 
   Additional Research

   You can wear anything you’re going to comfortable in so long as it’s loose at the waist and you don’t feel restricted. You don’t need any special clothing or anything to meditate effectively.

   • There’s some evidence that meditating can raise your body temperature up to 17 °F (9 °C)! You probably won’t see this kind of radical shift when you’re just starting out, but it’s interesting evidence that demonstrates the power of meditation.

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