MEDITATION MIXTAPE

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The Low-Down To Get You Started:

Sit cross-legged, back straight, eyes closed and breathe deeply—in through the nostrils, out through the mouth. As you breathe, imagine your lungs expanding and contracting as the air rushes in and out and in and out. Just relaxxxx and feel the positive energy as the stress leaves your body. Now empty your mind and try to calm those inner monkeys by softly chanting, “Ommmm…Ommmm…Ohhhmmm’ gosh I forgot to buy eggs for breakfast! Okay, no no no. Inner peace…inner peace…dinner, please? No-uh-inner peas and”—Okay let’s stop you right there. Chances are we lost you at “meditation” itself.

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Meditating is trickier than it seems. Your brain will 100% take you on a joyride through your deepest insecurities, your grocery list, and visions of yourself mouth-stuffing the entire bread basket at your last work dinner. That’s just how brains work. Meditation aims to recognise those distracting thoughts and notice the mind wandering so we can learn to bring it back into a state of concentration and focus.

These days, however, meditation has become a catch-all term, completely homogenised to represent one universal practice rather than a whole variety of practices. This is why we wager you might even be surprised to learn that there are many different styles of meditation, each with its own flavour and focus.

So stick with us for a few more words, and let us get you started with a breakdown of a few popular types of meditation styles:

Mindfulness Meditation: This technique involves being present in the moment and aware of one’s thoughts, emotions, and surroundings without judgement. Use your breath as an anchor, and if you notice your mind wandering, recognise the thoughts that arise and then try bringing your attention back to your breath.
Movement Meditation: In this type of meditation, your body is in motion and you combine physical movement with mindfulness, such as in walking meditation, yoga or tai chi. Once you’ve mastered mindfulness during movement meditation, you can broaden this awareness to other activities like gardening, doing dishes, playing a sport, etc.

Loving-Kindness Meditation: This practice involves cultivating feelings of love, compassion, and kindness towards oneself and others. The key is to repeat a message of loving kindness to feel loving towards yourself and grateful for all that you are and everyone and everything that is a part of your life.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation: This technique involves systematically tensing and relaxing different muscle groups. Start at one end of your body, typically the feet, and work your way up, focussing on each body part and visualising the process of relaxation.
Mantra Meditation: This technique involves repeating a specific word or phrase, often with a rhythm or melody, either aloud or silently. Your mantra doesn’t have to bear religious connotations, it could even be a word you like the sound of or a phrase that makes you happy.
Visualisation Meditation: Imagine a beautiful snow-covered mountain, a serene forest or the endless open sky. This type of meditation uses visualisation to evoke positive emotions and feelings of peace.
Guided Meditation: It can be hard starting on your own, so use another person's voice—live or recorded—to guide your meditation.

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"Quiet the mind so the soul can speak"

Ready to Hit Play?

So you’ve chosen your meditation style. Now what?

Well, you could tap into an abundance of resources available online!

Dive into mindfulness with ThinkRight through its guided meditations, podcasts, blog and tools to get you started.

Check out Insight Timer, which offers breathing and mindfulness exercises, guided visualisations, soothing soundtracks, podcasts, and a blog on sleep, stress and mindfulness.

If structure works better for you, consider an online course like those offered by Headspace and Calm.

Or start small with a 5-Minute Meditation You Can Do Anywhere with Goodful.

Known for their calming voices and soothing narratives, The Honest Guys specialise in sleep meditation and provide hours of guided meditation for beginners and experienced practitioners alike.

Follow Sara Auster, a meditation teacher and sound therapist, for sound bath audios

Look up Rochelle Fox, for content on meditation, self-love, and wellness retreats.

Find your story through Poetic Meditation with Nate Howard and learn the power of expression.

You could even design a sanctuary inside your home. Consider these design tips to create your personal meditation space.

The content online is endless!

Just remember to go easy on yourself, start small and grow from there. Meditation is practice, not perfection. Keep at it, and over time, you’ll build up your mental muscle memory to find pockets of stillness. Don’t forget that it will take immense patience and consistency to achieve the mindfulness you desire…because sometimes, you’ll find that feeding those inner monkeys is just way more fun.