5 Easy Ways to Enhance Meditation

Meditation is something accessible to everyone. You don’t need special equipment, you don’t need special tools or accessories. Anytime, anywhere, meditation is available to you.

There are ways to get a little more from your meditation , however. Sometimes it’s something as simple as being careful about where you meditate. Sometimes it’s a piece of furniture, a sound, or even just your posture.

This article dives into the myriad ways you can improve your meditation sessions, regardless of skill level. From minor adjustments to major leaps, there’s something in here that will help you relax, clear your mind, and better benefit from your meditation sessions.

So, how do you improve your meditation? Let’s find out!

1. Prepare Yourself Physically and Mentally

You can meditate at the dinner table by mindfully eating, but you’ll probably get better results if you put yourself in a less distracted situation.

Meditation poses are specially designed to help settle your body. The calmer you are, the less you fidget or stress, the easier it is to concentrate on what you’re doing. Hatha yoga , in particular, is designed to ready the body and mind for meditation.

You don’t need anything particularly elaborate. Simple lotus poses can be all you need to get into the right space. And if you trying to put yourself into a pose is making you uncomfortable, you can always just lie down to meditate.

Whatever you do, get your body into a restful state before you meditate.

As for the mind, you’re best off setting your intentions before you start. Take a few deep breaths. Set your goals for the session. Concentrate on what it is you’re trying to achieve, and bring your thoughts together with cohesive intention.

Preparing your body and mind for meditation is one of the simplest, best ways to enhance meditation available to anyone.

2. Prepare Your Space

The space you meditate in is very important.

Certainly, you can meditate on a crowded train if you have to. But a clean space, uncluttered, with all of the electronics, turned off, is going to get you where you want to be much faster.

There are many things that go into preparing your space:

• Find somewhere comfortable to sit. Whether it’s a meditation cushion or just your favourite couch, a comfortable place to sit is ideal.
• Turn off electronics.
• Bring in aromatherapy if you can, to fill the room with calming scent.
• Choose a room with a sound you can focus on; the white noise of a ceiling fan, for example, or the sound of a beach out the window. If there’s no distinct sound, create one in the space.
• Wrap yourself in a soft blanket to maintain warmth. Relaxing the body can have a cooling effect, which makes wrapping up particularly important in winter.

Wherever it may be, the space should make you film calm, relaxed, and at ease. Somewhere familiar and safe is the ideal starting point, even if it’s just your bedroom or living room.

3. Let Thoughts Happen

It’s a common misconception that meditation is about clearing the mind of all thought. Rather it’s more about letting thoughts happen, rising and falling from consciousness, without judgment or critical analysis.

The simplest way to enhance meditation is to not fight these thoughts. Whether you’re at the dinner table or in your calm space, letting thoughts happen will help immensely.

• Acknowledge thoughts as they arise without chasing them down a path. They’re a passing friend, not an invitation.• When thoughts do arise, turn your attention back to the source of your meditation — the sound, the image, the sensation you’re focusing on. Do so calmly, letting the thought pass you by.

4. Be Kind To Yourself

This is crucial, and touches on many points.

If negative thoughts arise, don’t beat yourself up over them. Again, let them pass.

If you can’t get into a specific pose before meditating, don’t be mad at yourself. Find a comfortable position. Lay down if you have to. There is no one right way to sit while meditating.

Can’t focus as clearly as other days? Can’t muster the energy you have had in the past? That’s perfectly fine. Some days are better than others. That is not a failing on your part.

The point of meditation is to reach a state of calmness and focus, and you can’t achieve that if you can’t forgive yourself of the slightest problem. After all, there is no “bad” way to meditate, and there is no “bad” meditation; only that which you can manage on a given day at a given time.

5. Use Sound-wave Brain Entrainment

That’s a mouthful, but it basically means use specially designed sounds to train your mind to relax and focus.

We mentioned focusing on the sound above. If you don’t have a sound to focus on — or don’t find any sounds available terribly relaxing — you can try binaural beats.

Binaural beats are sounds specially designed to interact with the brain and alter arousal levels. They have been tested and found to entrain brain activity, increasing mood and psychomotor performance while — potentially — positively affecting states of consciousness.

Binaural beats are one of the simpler ways to enhance meditation, but not all beats are created equal. Different songs are designed to create different reactions and moods within the brain, so do some research and follow instructions closely.

Zen12 is a great and a very affordable system you can start with, and you can read a Zen12 review by Unify Cosmos on how it works and how to get started.

If you've never tested binaural beats before, you can try my free binaural beats program called Infinite Beats .

Conclusion

Meditation is easily accessible to anyone, at any time. Simply through the power of your mind are you able to begin a meditation session wherever, whenever.

But with some simple tools and tricks, you’ll find there are many ways to enhance meditation to make it easier and more productive than ever before. Whether it’s as simple as sitting in the right position, or using a sophisticated tool such as binaural beats, it’s always possible to take your meditation sessions to new levels.