How do you meditate longer? I can only meditate for 5 minutes, then I feel anxious.

I think it’s a practice thing. I have ADHD and am still doing 3 which is just right for me. I think one has to remember why one is meditating. In my case, I am training my mind and my daily 3mins works – I can now quite easily revert to my breathing and body checks if I am agitated or battling to sleep which goes to prove that the amount of time doesn’t matter, it’s the consistency that counts.

I think one helpful things is to mentally note 📝 that you feel anxious after about 5 minutes and resist feeling bad about it. Then, a little trick may be to try counting your in and out breaths or counting to 5 or 8 with a deep inhale through your nostrils, hold your breath while you count to 3, then exhale through your mouth counting to 7 or something like that. Then, be curious about you anxiousness- maybe not why you are anxious or how you can stop being anxious because the answers to those questions may not be forthcoming or even helpful at first when trying to meditate for longer- maybe instead be curious about your anxiousness and ask what clues from your body make you realize you are anxious? Are you fidgety or thoughts begin racing? Or do you clench your fists or teeth or do you begin to feel low back pressure or something? Gradually, you will be able to mediate for longer if you keep it up I think

Well, just as with everything practice makes perfect. Learning how to meditate at first may seem difficult…it's hard to focus, thoughts keep flying through your head,..anxiety kicks in. All this is normal and happens to everyone starting out. Just think of it like this, everytime a random thought comes to mind or your anxiety kicks in for a moment, and each time you are able to focus back on your breath and clear your mind even for a brief moment is essentially a bicep curl for you brain and spirit. Each time you are able to focus it strengthens your mind. And I promise if you keep meditating consistently you will be able to focus much longer and have a positive outlook on life. Keep up the good work I believe in you🤗

It’s maybe because your not ready to meditate yet . Is the silence is giving you axienty ask yourself what are tou resisting to ? Let the answers and emotions arises, it’s ok , you are gonna be ok .do it as many time as this feeling of anxiousness arises while you find yourself alone with you …

Try listening to a guided meditation with a lot of talking. If you do this then it will keep you distracted for longer than 5 minutes and you should be able to focus on focusing.

I even struggle meditating in complete silence. I always put on background music or something to listen to.

Try out different things and see what works for you.

Deep breathing. And imagine that you are sitting on a hill watching a highway and all the cars are you thoughts. You aren’t trying to stop the cars but you are just sitting back and letting them go by and not getting involved. Have a series of questions you want to meditate on, maybe what are you grateful for? Or what did you do well today?

Understanding that eliminating thought is not the goal helps me feel less like ‘I’m doing it wrong’ the process of coming back from a thought is the practice – sticking with it until it feels like a refuge

When I start feeling anxious I keep reminding myself than I just have to focus on breathing. Like it would be the most important task of my life. I also keep telling myself that my thoughts are not facts, that they are make me anxious because I let them. I am telling myself to keep breathing and let the thoughts go. Sometime it won't work, but more I am doing this, more benefits meditation is giving me.

Breath deeper, focus on the breath more and on pulling it into yourself. You are probably breathing too shallow. There’s a huge correlation between breath and anxiety, it’s what my masters dissertation was on

For me, meditation starts with trying to learn how to observe silently. You notice you are feeling anxious, that is the first step. Don't judge your emotion while meditating, but try to let it go with your breathing, let all thoughts gently pass by, leaving you only the moment, and your inward watching attention

Well, it does take time. You can start encreasing a couple more minutes each day and stay there for the whole time it setted, even if you get distracted. When you realize your mind is wondering you just bring your attention back to your breath and it’ll help you to focus again. You can count breaths it helps a lot to focus. Count until ten full breaths (inhale and exhale) and then start again. It kinda gives your brain some work to do. Hope it helped ^^ Remember to always keep trying, some days are better than other, but all of them teach you something important!

Over time. I felt anxious to start as well. But that made me realize that I was scared to be left with my own thoughts and the feeling of being aware of my body. I knew I wanted to change that. So I worked at it; gradually adding a single minute until now where I look forward to meditating and I’m no longer scared of being stuck in my own head or scared of feeling the breath inside me. It will change over time. I promise.

I took subscription of Headspace and undergoing their basics program training. Now I am doing much better. Guided meditation helps.

By using the fabulous 9 minute meditation. Having a mantra helps – maybe, as they say focus on the breaths going through your body, or on something that makes you feel good – a puppy, a loved one, etc. Also, I believe it’s okay if you feel anxious at times, as part of meditation is allowing, accepting then letting go. In addition, I do not think time -ie. longer, shorter is the main point with meditation but that you are doing it for yourself. Use what works for you. Instead of longer meditations, perhaps you can try shorter ones but do them frequently as you build up to longer ones. Or whenever you feel anxious, take just a minute to do breathe exercises, focusing on breaths going through your body. Meditation is not a forced activity. I believe it is an exercise where you take a moment to reflect and become one with your true self and being, and the world around you. Hope that helps.

Meditating for 5 min is fine and is actually the perfect amount you should start with in the beginning. Keep meditating for 5 min and practice being completely calm and aware and then if you feel you could practice for longer increase your time.

Practice is what will help. Start with 5 minutes and increase the duration gradually. What exactly makes you feel anxious? Many people can’t stand being alone with their own selves. Meditation for me is a training for every day life – of how to be present in the moment. Happy meditating!

What kind of meditation make you amxious? Did you focus on breathing only? There are many different ways to meditate. I can recommend you some.
1. counting breath In 1 Out 2 till 100
2. if you can hear your heart beat, counting it and don't pay attention to the breathing
3. Focus your attention on some of your body part, like left toe then move your focus to heel then go up to leg and so on.
Some people can meditate easier with moving focus method than stay still method.
There are also walking meditation. Hope this help

Guided meditations really helps. I use recordings from my Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course or from apps like "Calm". They offer an array of meditations of various duractions. Listening to the guiding voice helps me come back to the task of meditating and reminds me what to do about my mind while I increasingly calm down.

Do some hard exercise/workout before. Cleans your head, releases endorphins, motivates you and let's you forget to worry

I use the Calm app and usually meditate between 10 and 20 minutes. The guided meditation helps me from feeling anxious