Meditation practice
- martintaylor97
- Dec 17, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 21, 2025
What is meditation?
There are lots of ways to meditate. The one I do most, as part of my yoga practice, is Samatha, which translates to “calm abiding”, or “tranquility of the mind”. Samatha has been part of the Buddhist tradition since the very beginning.
This Buddhist meditation is basically sitting with yourself. When you see pictures of people meditating they always look calm and serene, but that it certainly not how it always feels.
Meditation is not what happens while we sit but how it plays out in our life
It’s getting to know yourself
Stuff comes up – sometimes we want to reject it because it is not expected or not welcome, but really it’s just us
Why meditate?
Here are a few benefits of meditation
Meditation has been shown to have health benefits
Reduction in stress levels
Lowered blood pressure
Improved sleep
Over time meditation practice encourages self-awareness
With this comes growth in compassion, emotional intelligence, and greater resilience to life’s problems
Meditation fosters skills of attention and focus
If your thoughts feel like a tangled ball of wool sometimes, meditation helps to tease out the strands into lines of thought that can be constructively woven together
Meditation brings happiness
Not the superficial instant pleasures of modern life like a new purchase or a social media “like”
But a deeper contentment to be the person you are now with what you have and where you are
How to practice
Meditation is a very low-maintenance practice – you need no special equipment, just a quiet place to sit for a few moments.
Approach
Don’t try to be the best meditator, just apply the technique
Know what your motivation is
Be kind to yourself – it’s ok to feel what we feel about ourselves
Remember that meditation is not about improving ourselves, but reminding ourselves
A good meditation is one where you show up
Technique
The technique could not be simpler, but that does not make it easy
Take a comfortable seat
Place your attention on your natural breath
When your mind strays, bring it back
We could elaborate a bit on this…
Sit on a cushion - knees lower than hips – even if you can sit without
Move if you need to, but only if you need to – for example if your back starts to hurt, or you get pins and needles
Keep your eyes open – this is an awakened practice
But with a soft gaze – avoid focussing a stare at a particular point
This mediation is not about retreating, it’s about being present and awake – in the moment
Why focus on the breath
Breath is personal, portable, practical and in the present
We need something to anchor ourselves to avoid being adrift in our thoughts
When Ghandi was being instructed on meditation he was told about the elephant: if an elephant is led through a market he will grab at everything he sees with his trunk and eat it. However if you give the elephant a stick to hold with his trunk, he will walk through the market without taking anything.
Try it now
Sit comfortably, on a cushion on the floor or on a chair
Focus on the sensation of your breath. Feel the intake of cool air as you inhale through your nostrils, and the flow of warmer air as you exhale.
If your mind wanders, notice that it has (that's the hard bit), and bring your attention back to your breath
Notice how you feel
