Meditation for beginners: a simple guide to getting started

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the National Institutes of Health, meditation covers a variety of mind and body practices used to calm the mind. Mindfulness means keeping your attention on the present moment without judging what shows up.

There is no single right way to meditate. These are the styles beginners meet most often:

You don’t need special equipment: a quiet spot, a chair and a few minutes. Here is how to start:

Read this through slowly once, then practice it with your eyes closed, or record it in your own voice and play it back.

Sit in a comfortable position, feet resting on the floor, hands loose on your thighs. Let your eyes close, or let your gaze settle on one spot on the floor.

Notice the weight of your body on the chair. Notice where your feet meet the floor. There is nothing to change.

Now bring your attention to your breath. Feel the air coming in through your nose and going out. Maybe you notice it most in your chest, your belly or the tip of your nose. Pick one place and stay there.

At some point your mind will drift to something else: a to-do, a memory, a noise. That’s fine. When you notice, silently say “thinking,” and kindly come back to the next breath. Every time you come back, you are practicing.

Now open your attention to sounds: the near ones and the far ones, a fan, a car, birds outside. Just listen, without naming them.

Return one last time to your breath. Take one slightly deeper breath. Wiggle your fingers and toes. When you are ready, open your eyes. Give yourself a moment before you move on with your day.

The evidence is encouraging but modest, and studies vary widely in quality. A 2014 review of 47 clinical trials with 3,515 participants in JAMA Internal Medicine (Goyal and colleagues) found low-strength evidence that mindfulness meditation programs led to small reductions in psychological stress, and no clear effect on positive mood. It found no evidence that meditation worked better than other active options such as exercise.

On sleep, NCCIH says mindfulness meditation may help improve sleep quality. The 2014 review did not find a clear effect on sleep; a later analysis of 18 studies, published in 2019, found it improved sleep quality more than education-only programs. If rest is your goal, see how to reset your sleep schedule.

The bottom line: meditation is a wellness practice that may help you handle everyday stress. It doesn’t replace medical care or any treatment you already receive.

Almost everyone runs into the same things in the first few weeks. Here are the most common ones and what to do about each:

To see how movement and meditation sessions fit a retreat week, read our guide to yoga and meditation retreats; and if a phone break is what you are after, see our guide to a digital detox retreat.

What helps most isn’t meditating for long; it’s meditating often:

• A fixed cue: meditate right after something you already do, like brushing your teeth or pouring your coffee.
• Same time, same place: routine means you don’t have to decide every day.
• Short sessions: 5 minutes every day beats 30 minutes once a week. Add time slowly if it feels good.
• No perfectionism: if you miss a day, pick it up the next.

To pair it with other practices, read about breathwork and about lifestyle medicine, which puts sleep, movement, food and stress management at the center of health.

If you have a health question, such as sleep problems that last for weeks or tiredness that won’t lift, and you are physically in Puerto Rico, you can book an online visit with Dr. Diana Nieves Castro, a general practice physician licensed in Puerto Rico.