Meditation: How to Start, How to Explore
David Stamation, Executive Life Coach
Meditation is concentrating the mind with a mundane task,
so the rest of the mind can find peace.
-J.J. Connolly
This is an ever-present topic with coaching clients, most of whom are seeking an entry point to experiment with it. It's an ancient practice with a lot of modern interpretations. I'll cover five types here to give you some structure for getting started. I'm a fan of the "survey" method: sample several types of meditation, note the results and experience, and ideally find one that fits your style well enough that you want to do it again.
These five aren't ranked by effectiveness. They train different things, concentration, non-reactivity, compassion, and embodiment, so the best one for you depends on what you're trying to build. I personally practice two of them regularly, open monitoring and body scan, and I'll flag those as I go.
Focused Attention Meditation
The classic entry point. You anchor your attention on one thing, your breath, a candle, a mantra, and gently return to it every time your mind wanders. This is the foundation of most mindfulness apps and Transcendental Meditation. It's basic muscle-building: noticing when you've drifted and coming back, which underlies most other styles. This one primarily builds concentration.
Open Monitoring (Mindfulness/Vipassana)
This is one of the two forms I practice myself. Rather than focusing on one object, you observe whatever arises, thoughts, sensations, sounds, without following them or pushing them away. Just notice them and let them pass. This is the core of Buddhist Vipassana traditions and most secular mindfulness training. It builds something different than focused attention: non-reactive awareness.
Body Scan / Somatic Meditation
This is my other regular practice. You systematically move attention through the body, region by region, noticing sensation without trying to change anything. It's especially helpful if sitting still with "just the breath" feels too abstract, since having a physical anchor gives the mind somewhere concrete to go. This one is often used for stress reduction and sleep.
Loving-Kindness Meditation
Here you silently direct phrases of goodwill toward yourself, then loved ones, then neutral people, then difficult people, then all beings. A common phrase is: "May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be at ease." This is compassion practice: rather than stilling the mind, you're deliberately cultivating an emotional state. It's shown strong effects on reducing self-criticism and increasing feelings of connectedness. I'm sure this is the foundation of my wife's daily practice, and I can report firsthand that it's infectious.
Movement-Based Meditation
I recently began exploring this one myself. Walking meditation, tai chi, or qigong place attention on the physical sensations of movement itself, rather than trying to sit still. This is especially helpful for people who say they "can't meditate" but have only ever tried seated stillness. Moving meditation can access that same present-moment awareness through the body instead of fighting restlessness. My early experiments with qigong are proving true.
Meditation Curious? Here's How to Start
Pick a few to experiment with, whether they sound hard or already resonate. You can do more than you think.
Give yourself a survey week. Five mornings is usually enough to get a sense of how you respond to each one.
Commit to one for a month. Once your survey period is done, pick the style that landed best and practice it 5 to 7 days a week for a month. That's enough to get a read on what your flavor of meditation does for you.
Keep a journal. Note the feelings and sensations that come up, session to session.
Share it with a confidante. Talk through what you're experiencing over the course of the month. Saying it out loud tends to surface things journaling alone won't.
If you try this and find yourself wanting structure, accountability, or just someone to reflect with along the way, that’s how I’ve designed my practice. Book a coaching session to explore which practice fits how your mind works.
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