Your meditation time is a rare
opportunity to connect within on a very deep level, let go of stress and
accumulated tension, and find peace. If you're going to take the time to do a
guided meditation, it pays to make the most of it by getting set up beforehand.
Here's a checklist of things
to do to optimize your experience:
Eliminate distraction. Make
sure you will not be disturbed by anyone knocking on your door, ringing your
phone, jumping up on your lap (that means you, Kitty Cat), or playing the drums
in the next room.
Get comfortable. Ideally,
you'd want to have your feet flat on the floor, so you can have the experience
of being "grounded" while you're connecting inside. But if it works
better for you to have your feet up, then set it up that way, and give yourself
whatever support helps you to forget about your body for a while. It's probably
best not to be totally horizontal, though, because you're likely to end up
asleep. (Unless of course that's your goal.)
Set the volume. Whether you're
using headphones (recommended if you're comfortable with them), or speakers,
set up the recording and give it a test before you get started. It should be
loud enough to hear the words spoken, and not much louder.
Breathing. If your meditation
calls for some deep breathing, great! If not do yourself a favor and do some
deep, belly-centered breathing before you begin. Slow, deep abdominal breathing
helps your body relax, gets the blood flowing to your brain and nervous system,
and helps open up those creative centers so your imagination can take flight.
Be rested. It's hard to get a
lot out of Free
Guided Meditation when you're too tired to appreciate it, or when you just
fall asleep instead of hearing the narration. Do your guided meditation when
you have the energy to devote to it, rather than using it as a way to nod off
-- unless that's your intention.
Don't be too hungry. Haven't
eaten in a few hours? Maybe it'd be a good idea to have a little pre-meditation
snack, so your stomach doesn't pull your attention away from your inner
journey.
Ready? Not quite. Before you
begin, be conscious of what your goal is for the meditation, and set your
intention to achieve it. If you're simply looking for a relaxing inner
vacation, let yourself know that ahead of time. If you're working with a
program to connect with an inner guide or spiritual figure, take a moment to
focus all of your attention on that goal before you start. By focusing on your
goal before you begin, you'll put your whole system on notice that this is what
you're after. That way your body, brain, imagination, and higher consciousness
can all start working together for you.
Source: http://bit.ly/2euNFQn