Wherever you are when you have the time. If your schedule permits, pick a favorite spot in your house or garden or in nature to use for meditation. Pick spots that match your mood. Approach meditation as you would listening to music, if you love music.
You don’t need much to prepare for meditating, just make sure you are comfortable. Theoretically, you are supposed to be able to meditate anywhere and under any circumstances, but as a beginner it is highly recommended that you choose a quite spot to concentrate.
Clothing
Just wear whatever you are wearing, comfortable or uncomfortable.
Chair
My favorite chair for meditating is one with support for the arms, comfortable and stable. The main thing is that your feet touch the floor.
Some techniques work better for certain people while other techniques work better for other people. The important thing is to find what works for you. Explore and find out what works for you. Everyone is different. Some people can learn from a book, other people learn better from an audio program. The most important thing is to shape an approach to meditation that suits your individual nature, personality, body type and daily life.
The purpose of any meditation technique is to lead you beyond itself into a more immediate and vital contact with your everyday life. You will know, usually immediately, which techniques you like, and they will be the ones that leave you feeling rested and more available for the joy of living.
Meditation involves concentrating on something to take our attention beyond the random thought activity that is usually going on in our heads. This can involve a solid object or picture, a mantra, breath, or guided visualization. Typical objects employed include a candle flame or a flower. Some people use pictures, such as a mandala - a highly colored symmetric painting - or a picture of a spiritual teacher in a high meditative state. Mantras are sounds which have a flowing, meditative quality and may be repeated out loud or inwardly. The breath is also a common focal point. Finally, guided visualization is also considered by some to be a form of meditation.
There are two elements to any meditation technique: how you pay attention, and what you pay attention to. The how is usually gentle, restful, steady attention, and the what is something simple, and monotonous - like breath. There are thousands of meditation techniques, and all of them were appropriate for someone, somewhere, sometime. You can pay attention to almost anything as a meditation focus, if you really want to.
Meditating daily has a powerful beneficial effect on your physical health, your ability to heal, and your ability to function at your best. Meditation benefits all levels of life simultaneously and in balance. Physically, the muscles relax, the organs rest, the circulation of life energy is stabilized and tuned, and the body tunes itself up for action.
In terms of the senses, all the senses come awake, alert and ready. The brain and nervous system review past experience, heal and let go of painful memories, and prepare to enter action in a balanced, adaptive, successful manner. Most people notice improvements in their ability to communicate and work.
Meditation is known to help people with stress management problem, as it brings body and mind to a balanced and relaxed state. Meditation is recommended to people with sleep disorders, as it calms the body and empty the mind from thoughts. All meditation techniques heal and balance the body and mind.
