Boaz Inspektor credits his spirituality for making him the man he is today. A second-generation American, Boaz Inspektor’s family originates from Krokowa, Poland. With a unique name, Boaz felt a little out of place as a child and when you feel out of place you fell off balance and it results in increased levels of stress and anxiety. When life felt overwhelming, Boaz Inspektor turned to his Buddhist faith and practiced meditation. Meditation always helped alleviate the barrage of negative thoughts and brought on a sense of peace and clarity. Boaz Inspektor knows many choose not to practice meditation because they feel that they just can’t do it. Today, he will provide a beginner’s guide that can get anyone started on the path to successful meditation.
Boaz Inspektor encourages those new to meditation to set realistic expectations. No one sits down to meditate for the first time and enters a Zen like state. Consistency will be essential. Boaz recommends starting out by allotting 20 minutes a day to meditation. Life can get busy, but beginners should do their best to practice at the same time each day. Location is important, especially at the start of a meditator’s journey. Ideally, a meditation space will be quiet and offer a chair that allows a person to sit upright with their back flat.
When sitting down with their eyes closed to meditate, the meditator should sit upright, close their eyes, and follow their breath. Following the breath roots the meditator in the present moment. With every inhale and exhale, the meditator should start to place the worries of the past and the future away. In addition to focusing on the breath, meditators can choose to take stock of their bodies. During this meditation practice, meditators start at the top of their head and slowly move their focus to different parts of the body. Whether a body part feels great or a little sore, the key is to acknowledge how it feels in the moment at hand.
The biggest reason beginners quit meditating is they find their thoughts creep in during their meditation practice. It’s easy to grow frustrated and turn that anger inwards. Boaz Inspektor encourages new meditators to acknowledge new thoughts as they come in and visualize that these thoughts are put in a folder and locked away in a filing cabinet. Once the visualization is over, the meditator can return to the breath. Resistance is only going to make it more difficult to focus on the breath. Meditators should know that every thought that pops up is a natural occurrence and how the meditator reacts will go a long way in determining their meditation success rate.
No matter how a meditation session goes in the beginning, Boaz Inspektor recommends taking a moment at the end of each session to congratulate oneself on doing something special for their minds and body. By simply taking the time to prioritize the health of oneself, meditation can be a true blessing. Boaz Inspektor encourages every reader to give meditation a try.
