You may think that meditation is not for everyone, that it is a very specific knowledge and that it involves a very refined practice, however it can be an ally of mental health in an increasingly rushed and anxious world.
Taking a few minutes daily to meditate can help with relaxation, productivity, and good mood. Yes, a few minutes, or rather, 5 minutes are enough to improve attention, bring calm, increase confidence, reduce anxiety and improve symptoms of depression.
Another advantage of the 5-minute meditation is that it can be done anytime, anywhere, sitting on a rug, in your office chair, or even on the couch in the waiting room of a doctor's office.
You don't need more than 5 minutes out of your day to reap the benefits of mindfulness or "mindfulness" meditation. Understand the practice better and learn how to insert it into your daily life.
How to meditate in 5 minutes?
Inserting meditation into the routine can seem like a big challenge, especially for those people who suffer from anxiety, are restless or have difficulty focusing on one task at a time.
However, as with physical activities, training and practice are essential for meditation to become a habit. So go little by little! Five minutes may not seem like much, but it will make a big difference in your life.
To do this, just focus on your breathing during this time, clearing those intrusive thoughts from your mind. For just 5 minutes, breathing movements and heart rate will rebalance.
A 5-minute meditation can be effective in reconnecting with your consciousness and your breathing, helping to organize mental flows and concentration. It can also be a great preparation for those who are already able to do a longer meditation practice.
Best meditations to do in 5 minutes
Contrary to popular belief, meditation is not something that requires a lot of free time or a zen lifestyle. Meditating is nothing more than an exercise in awareness, which helps to slow down and promote physical and mental well-being.
When meditating, we connect with the present moment and we can do self-observation, identifying which points we can improve in ourselves. But how to do meditation for anxiety?
Slow down
Before starting this meditation, sit in a comfortable posture with a straight spine. You should be relaxed, but without losing your body control. Relax your arms and legs and take a deep breath, releasing it very slowly.
Then close your eyes and take three more breaths. Focus on her breathing and don't try to control her speed. Just breathe normally for the next 5 minutes.
5-minute meditations are also an excellent alternative to help you sleep after a busy day. To do this, take a moment in your day, turn off the other notifications on your cell phone and check out the tips on how to do meditation to relax.
Relax
Choose a quiet and comfortable place where, ideally, there will be no interruptions during your practice. To meditate, it is not necessary to sit on the floor and stand cross-legged. Although traditional, this is not an essential position.
The best position is the one you feel comfortable in, avoiding distractions. It can be, for example, sitting in the chair you work in or use to rest in the middle of the day.
Then place your feet on the floor and take a deep breath. Let your arms hang free and your hands resting gently on your thighs. As she inhales, she feels her abdomen and chest filling with air. Then exhale, slowly emptying the chest and then the abdomen.
Breathing slowly and consciously for 5 minutes helps you focus your thoughts on the present moment and increase your concentration for the rest of the day.
empty the mind
If you're having trouble sleeping, you can do the 5-minute meditation just before going to bed, sitting or lying down, as long as you're comfortable.
Start by identifying the points of greatest tension in the body and, after each inhalation, exhale, relaxing each region at once. Relax lips and tongues and unclip your teeth, allowing your jaw to relax.
The eyes can stay open or closed as long as they are relaxed. Try not to remember the events of the last day, Just concentrate in the present moment.
Take deep breaths, filling your lungs as you breathe in and emptying as you breathe out. When you reach the end of the programmed time, identify which regions of the body are being felt the most and what is the predominant thought.
For those who still don't have much practice, the tip is to try guided meditations. Their biggest advantage is that we can choose a specifically 5-minute one, without the risk of losing concentration halfway through.
There are some apps to download for free on your cell phone, such as “Sattva”, “Medite.se” or even videos on platforms such as YouTube, which help beginners focus.
How long should you meditate a day?
After all, is 5 minutes enough? And how long does it take to meditate? Well, an ideal period to meditate varies from 15 to 20 minutes, but 5 minutes will be enough to enjoy the best of the practice.
The ideal time is when you really dedicate yourself, carrying out the task with focus and determination. If you only have 5 minutes to spare during your day, start meditating for that time.
It's better to have these daily self-care minutes than not testing anything. Gradually, you can do more than two 5-minute meditations a day or gradually increase the time of the activity.
To help you relax, set your phone's alarm clock for 5 minutes or put music in the background with this approximate time. That way, you won't have to keep looking at the clock constantly to check if the time has passed.
Finally, do you need to meditate every day? The answer is yes! However, it is important that the practice does not have the weight of an obligation, thus causing more anxiety.
If your routine is variable and you can't find a fixed time to meditate, don't worry! Meditation allows for some flexibility and you can choose different times of the day to do so.
It is worth mentioning that the benefits do not appear overnight and that meditation will only have an effect on your life if performed consistently.
How to meditate anywhere?
Most people who live in big cities have stressful routines and are almost always in noisy places. So, how to meditate amid the noise? By the way, is it possible to meditate with noise?
It is true that the more peaceful and quiet the environment, the less likely we are to be distracted by something. However, it is possible to develop the art of meditation anywhere, after all, meditation is nothing more than a training of the mind.
For this, it is important to stay focused on these 5 minutes. The mind is the only thing that can get in the way of concentration. Let the thoughts run through your head, but don't pay attention to them.
Concentrate on your breathing until the end of the time you have set aside for the practice. Gradually, you will see that your brain will keep you in the present moment.
What is the best time to do meditation?
Some people prefer to meditate first thing in the morning, to increase concentration before starting the day, others prefer to do it before bed, to slow down thoughts and sleep peacefully. There is no right or wrong. In other words, the best time to meditate is the time you can meditate!
However, in the morning, the brain still hasn't received as many stimuli and the mind is calmer, making it easier to connect with the present. On the other hand, before bed, meditation can reduce stress levels and improve sleep quality.
Nothing prevents you from doing it in the middle of the day, in those 5 minutes during lunch time or during breaks during work. This will certainly help improve focus and productivity.
Even on those most intense days, when we have the feeling that we don't stop for a second, the 5-minute meditation can be inserted. Take the test and see how your day can get even more productive!
As you can see, the 5-minute meditation practice is easy and possible for anyone to do! There is no need for complex knowledge or drastically changing the routine.
So, before automatically repeating "I can't meditate because I don't have time" or "I can't meditate because I'm too anxious", take 5 minutes of your 24 hours to bring awareness to your breathing and reorganize your thoughts. thoughts.
You may also like
- How to turn meditation into a habit in 5 steps
- Find out what to do to combat sleep while meditating
- Meditation is not reflection! Understand the difference between the two practices
After all, you've certainly spent more than 5 minutes an afternoon scrolling through the feed of some social network. Try and insert this new habit into your routine to bring more calm, concentration and happiness to your days!
