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Unplug
A Simple Guide to Meditation
Unplug (2017), a useful beginner's guide to meditation, makes clear that meditation isn’t just for hippies and monks; rather, it’s a practical exercise that anyone can use to become calmer, happier and healthier. Get all the basic info you need to start a daily meditation routine, as well as a number of supplemental tools that will aid relaxation and improve your practice.
This is a Blinkist staff pick
“These days, we are so busy at work and in our private lives that it becomes more and more difficult to truly relax. These blinks explain why meditation is the best medicine to fully recharge your batteries.”
– Robyn, Selection, Curation and Publishing Manager at Blinkist
- Anyone suffering from stress
- First-time meditators who want to learn the basics
- Skeptics who don’t like the spiritual aspects of meditation
Suze Yalof Schwartz was born in New York, where she worked as a fashion editor for many years. Since then she has created the Unplug Meditation Studios in Los Angeles, a secular meditation center that highlights the freedom that meditation has to offer.
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Unplug
A Simple Guide to Meditation
- Read in 15 minutes
- Audio & text available
- Contains 9 key ideas
Synopsis
Unplug (2017), a useful beginner's guide to meditation, makes clear that meditation isn’t just for hippies and monks; rather, it’s a practical exercise that anyone can use to become calmer, happier and healthier. Get all the basic info you need to start a daily meditation routine, as well as a number of supplemental tools that will aid relaxation and improve your practice.
This is a Blinkist staff pick
“These days, we are so busy at work and in our private lives that it becomes more and more difficult to truly relax. These blinks explain why meditation is the best medicine to fully recharge your batteries.”
– Robyn, Selection, Curation and Publishing Manager at Blinkist
Key idea 1 of 9
Meditation fits any lifestyle, and a mere ten minutes per day is already beneficial.
For many, the word “meditation” conjures up images of long-haired hippies listening to new age music, sitting in rooms full of incense smoke and preaching about their vegan lifestyle.
While you’re certainly welcome to go this route and buy all the crystals and incense you can get your hands on; meditation can also match any lifestyle.
If you prefer a minimalistic approach to living, then you can approach meditation in a similar manner.
In fact, there’s hardly anything more minimalistic than meditation, since all that’s required is stillness and focus.
If you’re worried about your friends or roommates mistaking your practice for some newfound spirituality, you can always explain it as a way of improving your concentration.
Chances are, even people who roll their eyes at the M-word will immediately recognize that feeling calm and thinking clearly is desirable for both work and personal life.
Another misconception that often keeps people from meditating is that it takes up too much time.
It’s true that you do have to set aside some time – but it doesn’t take much. The benefits will soon become apparent.
According to Harvard neurologist Sara Lazar, your brain function will improve in just eight weeks if you spend 27 minutes each day in meditation.
But even ten minutes a day will provide you with tremendous benefits, such as feeling calmer and more grounded.
So there really isn’t any reason not to meditate. Even the busiest person can find at least five to ten free minutes a day. As you’ll see, it’s something you can do almost anywhere!
Next, we’ll take a closer look at some of the amazing benefits.
Key ideas in this title
- Meditation fits any lifestyle, and a mere ten minutes per day is already beneficial.
- Meditation alters the brain, reducing the levels of stress and increasing happiness.
- There are benefits to meditating first thing in the morning, but comfort is the most important consideration.
- Make it easier to keep up your practice by ritualizing your sessions and clearing your mind beforehand.
- Meditation can be broken down into six simple steps, and mantras can be a helpful focus point.
- Meditation can help you let go of negative thoughts, and visualization may aid you in doing this.
- There are other ways to meditate, such as guided awareness meditation and sound meditation.
- Aromatherapy and crystals can add new levels of relaxation and healing to your meditation.
- Final summary
