Guide to Starting a Meditation Practice in College
By: Justin Fineberg
Tags: Mindfulness, College Life, Meditation, College, Happiness

Guide to Starting a Meditation Practice in College

Learn to meditate, even from the loudest dorm on campus.

Photo by Donald Giannatti on Unsplash

More than any other habit I’ve picked up during my college years, meditation has had the biggest impact on my life. It has helped me to be more productive, less anxious, and undeniably happier. But you’ve probably heard all that before.

It’s no surprise that meditation and mindfulness are buzzwords around college campuses. Meditation has been presented as the antidote to almost all of the common college problems: procrastination, stress, anxiety, FOMO, the list goes on and on. The problem is that university mental health programs promote mindfulness and meditation all over their websites, but fail to follow through with proper training/resources. You’re not alone if you don’t understand how focusing on your breath can make you a happier person. I was the same way.

Three years ago, I took the plunge to start meditating. I started with setting a timer on my phone for 3 minutes and focused on my breath. After a month of consistent practice, I finally realized why I should meditate:

Prior to starting, I never really considered what was happening inside my mind. Stuff would just happen. I would go through my day constantly at the will of my own thoughts, thinking without knowing that I was thinking. Meditation opened my eyes to this autonomy of the brain.

For example, let’s say I got a bad grade on a midterm. Immediately, my mind was filled with thoughts of stress, anxiety, even self-doubt. “I’m such an idiot.” “I’m going to fail.” “Am I good enough for this?” Without any control, I inhabited those thoughts. I became stressed, anxious, and self-doubtful. There was no buffer between the stimulus, and how I reacted to it.

Meditation isn’t going to stop your brain from wandering, but it will train you to become more aware that it’s happening. I still think the same thoughts, but the difference is that I am now more aware of their presence. Meditation gave me a choice. Instead of immediately letting my thoughts control my emotions, I’m now able to recognize them simply as thoughts, and let them pass. I wasn’t aware of this until I started to consistently practice.

The only way to truly understand the benefits of meditation is to meditate, and I believe college is the perfect time to start. It’s the time in our lives when we continuously lose ourselves in thoughts of the future. We worry about our future careers, the families we may want, or the man or woman we want to become. Without meditation, it’s easy to lose sight of the present, and not appreciate where we are now. Meditation is the tool that will allow you to stop ruminating about the future and live fully in the present. The link to happiness is very clear. Here’s how to see for yourself:

Try doing it for only three minutes. The conventional way to start meditating is to simply:

a) Sit comfortably with your back upright, and close your eyes.

b) Begin to focus on the sensation of breathing. No need to control your breath, just watch it.

c) Any time you’re swept up by thoughts (thinking about homework, money, or even what’s for dinner), attempt to bring your attention back to the breath.

d) Keep at it.

As I said, I started meditating for three minutes at a time. After a month, I felt confident enough to add some more time. The more you discover about the lack of control you have over your mind, the longer you’ll want to meditate.

2. Do not fall in the “Am I doing this right?” trap. When I first started, I obsessed over making sure I was doing it “right.” I felt like there had to be a right and wrong way of going about it. But meditation isn’t like a chemistry final. There’s no such thing as ‘failing’ in meditation. Simply sitting and attempting to meditate IS meditation. When you’re first starting, the only goal you should have in mind is just doing it. And don’t worry, you’re not doing it wrong.

3. Have some compassion. Early on, it’s easy to get frustrated at yourself. Maybe you forgot to meditate one day, or you were restless during your whole sitting. Notice the self-doubt as a thought, and watch it pass. Smile and give it another try tomorrow.

4. Anytime, anywhere. Meditation can be done anywhere, anytime. I started meditating on the all-boys floor of the loudest dorm on campus. You don’t need to be in a quiet cave in the Himalayas to give it a shot.

5. Actually commit. It’s very easy to say you’re going to start to meditate. Doing, and sticking with it, is another thing. Commit to it for 30 days. I’m confident that, at the very least, you’ll find something out about yourself that you didn’t know before.

That’s all. Starting a meditation practice is a tool for all areas of your life. The sooner you start, the more time you have ahead of you to experience meditation’s many benefits.

If you have any questions or want more advice, feel free to reach out on Twitter @JustinFineberg.