Top Tips to get the most out of Soul Alive

Firstly a BIG welcome to the Soul Alive family! I am beyond excited that you have made the decision to explore your inner world. I’m sure you’re well aware of all the great benefits meditation can bring you so I’m not going to harp on about that any more but instead, give you my top tips on how to deal with the usual challenges and roadblocks I’m sure you’ll inevitably face as you start attending sessions.

Please take the time to read these. Maybe even bookmark this page to refer to it now and then when you feel you are struggling with meditation.

At any point too, feel free to reach-out and ask any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them in a timely manner.

Cheers, Luke

Tip 1 - Your Meditation position

You’ve probably seen those iStock pics of people sitting crosslegged on top of a mountain and thought that’s how you meditate right? Don’t worry. I thought that too when starting out.

The position you choose to meditate in really depends on how you’re feeling going into the meditation. I would recommend grabbing a normal chair. One that has back support and is comfortable but not too comfortable as you might fall asleep. Activate your core (pull your belly button into your spine), plant your feet flat on the ground and relax everything else. Pay particular attention to relaxing your shoulders. Steady your breath and let go.

Tip 2 - Your mind is going to wander and that’s a good thing

One of the most common reasons why I hear people not sticking with meditation is that they feel like they are doing in wrong. In other words, when they can’t keep their focus on whatever the meditative practice is directing them to focus on e.g. a mantra, their breath etc, they get frustrated and then that thought begins to snowball into a greater sense of frustration and even annoyance.

Here’s the thing though, that point where you actually catch yourself wandering off is an essential part of meditation. It’s like your mind doing a bicep curl. It’s you becoming more self aware and is something to be celebrated, not criticised. So when this happens, and it will, just smile, congratulate yourself and gently direct your focus back to what ever the meditation practice is asking of you (your breath, mantra etc). Meditation is the act of doing this over and over again with each ‘catch’ strengthening your mind and opening your spirit a little more and more.

Tip 3 - Progress will come with Discipline & Depth

A common occurrence after you’ve been meditating for a while is you’ll experience small moments of bliss and peace. Although these moments are wonderful they also carry a small trick with them. The desire to want more. Because these moments feel good you’ll naturally want to experience more of them. The next time you head into a meditation session you will either expect these feelings or strive for them to happen. Both efforts will lead to either disappointment or frustration. Which will then have you questioning the process itself or wanting to try a different type of meditation.

This is the exact reason why Soul Alive sessions follow a repetitive process. Although they may vary in the wording and length of sections, the process will stay the same to avoid the temptation of succumbing to our ego’s wants and desires.

I know this sounds simple but it is more difficult to actually do then learn a whole new skill and that is to consistently Show-Up when a session is about to start and then let go of what ever you are wanting the session to do for you. Say to yourself something along the lines of ‘I’m here and ready to let go. Everything is as it should be. It is what it is.’ That’s it.

I’m even resistant to suggest the following because any expectation has an equal opportunity for disappointment. So after I suggest this, forget about it haha.

Other than consistency, progression with meditation will come with the depth of it. How do you go deeper? By simply becoming more curious whilst meditating. Letting go a little further. Dance with your point of focus with no expectation, just effortless curiosity and see what happens.

Tip 4 - Simply enjoy yourself

When I started out meditating I treated it like any other new project or skill. I set out determined to learn and master it, with the aim of it ‘curing’ certain problems I was experiencing and improving other areas I wanted improvement in.

What I soon found out though was that this approach was, in fact, holding meditation back from doing it’s magic. You see, any ‘want’ or ‘desire’ is attached to the ‘self’ e.g. ‘I want meditation to help me relax.’ and meditation works best when we surrender the self (our wants) and simply accept the moment (the everything in and around us).

So my final tip is also the simplest. Enjoy yourself. Let go of the reasons why you wanted to meditate and just enjoy the process. Go into it expecting nothing and I’m confident you’ll come out of it with more than you can imagine.