3 Effortless Meditation Techniques To Calm Your Mind in 5 Minutes
Do you find it difficult to calm your mind?
Meditation is a vital habit that all of us should bring in our lives even if it’s just for 5 minutes a day. Through meditation, we can access deeper parts of ourselves which can guide us to a blissful present and better future.
“Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.”
— Ajahn Brahm
There are several ways of meditating and different kinds of meditations work for different people. The meditation techniques I am going to share with you are super easy, work for everyone, and take just five minutes to bring you to calmness. These techniques can help you be free of all the jabajaba going on in your mind and find space to think clearly in 5 minutes alone.
There are numerous techniques to meditate, but all of them come under the two main ways of meditating —
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When you focus on something
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When you observe your thoughts, sensations, and happenings around you.
I want to share with you three meditation techniques I used when I was going through severe anxiety. It was very difficult for me to come out of my mind patterns. These meditations helped me to easily change the focus of my mind. They also helped me completely change my mind patterns.
1. Sleeping Meditation
“Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.”
— Thomas Edison
I came across this meditation through Life Coach Louise Hay. She was diagnosed with life-threatening cancer when she was 40 years old. She used sleeping meditations to fasten her healing process. She was cured of cancer in two months and lived healthily till the age of 90.
Sleeping meditation requires you to find a guided mediation tape online. I have used Louise Hay’s healing mediation repeatedly. Depending on whatever you are willing to change/attract in your life — calmness/ abundance/ peace/ lover, you can find a tape and put it on while you are about to sleep for 30–60 days.
“Your subconscious mind works continuously, while you are awake, and while you sleep.”
— Napoleon Hill
As Bruce Lipton suggests, before and while sleeping our brain goes into theta and delta vibrations in which we can access our subconscious mind. Repetition is the key to reprogram and change our mind. So it's advisable to play the same tape for 30–60 days.
2. Counting and Breathing Meditation
I learned this meditation again from Louise Hay. When she was handling her clients she realized a lot of smart thinkers think too fast. She recommended this mediation to slow down.
Steps to follow-
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Lie down or sit down comfortably.
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Close your eyes.
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Start counting your breath from 1- 20.
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Then when you reach 20, start over from 1.
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Do this for 5 minutes in the beginning and eventually, you can do more.
“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
— Thich Nhat Hahn
Remember when you start thinking about your problems be kind to yourself.
3. Focusing On Music
“Music is the mediator between the life of the senses and the life of the spirit” — Ludwig van Beethoven
Find a calming piece of music that you love.
Sit in a comfortable position.
Put your headphones on and listen to it.
I used to meditate on the beach on Sigur Ros — Untitled 1. It would just fill me with so much love. When I would open my eyes the waves, the trees, the people around me, everything would be clearer and colorful.
To start doing this kind of meditation you have set an intention that you will just listen to music for the next 5 minutes. You can also simultaneously focus on your breath but this is optional.
“Meditation can make life musical, and music can bring a deep inner peace”
— Meditation Master Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Staying gentle to yourself is the key to a successful meditation session.
I hope these meditations bring peace, calmness, and serenity in your life. Feel free to ask questions if you want some deeper insights into any of these meditations.
Much Love ❤
written by Kartika