It is really difficult for me to concentrate and relax when meditating. Any suggestions?

It’s not about meditating correctly. It’s about practicing. I do this “wrong” all the time. But I am more calm. My husband has noticed. It’s about repeating a practice of spending time quietly. It can be very hard. Sometimes it feels like a total flop. But I continue because I feel better with meditation and reflection as a part of my day.

That can be a tough one, especially if you’re new to meditation. For me, I don’t “try” to relax or concentrate, that can be paradoxical. Literally just showing up for mediation and sticking it out for the same amount of time every day is your job. If you can do that, you’ve started the journey and with time and commitment you will develop that capacity for concentration & relaxation that you seek. Just breathe, and keep breathing, and don’t judge whatever state you find yourself experiencing.

I also find it difficult, I’ve found that if I picture In my mind, a flower closing on my inhale and opening in my exhale it helps me to focus.

Divide your expected meditation time by ten and start there. If you expect to meditate for 15mins and you never have before, then start with 1.5 minutes and build up to 15 minutes. Over 4 weeks. Add a minute every few days. See if you can focus your thoughts for longer periods of time over time.

It may sound odd, but try to describe and find precisely the thing, that is disturbing you the most and be aware of it. Name it inside your mind, outside, take it as a challenge not to respond verbally, so don't move. It is only the analysis on the inside, which is happening. As time (days of practice ) go/es by, the disturbing element should weaken.

Just keep at it. That's the point of meditation. Find a quiet place. Wear earphones. Don't judge yourself for being distracted. Just keep meditating.

Let go, and concentrate on the sound of your breath, moving in and out of your body. This wonderful rhythm will help centre you, consider it music for your soul. And keep turning up to try again. I never thought I’d be able to meditate but at one of the most difficult turning points of my life, here I am, learning a new ‘language ‘. There’s no right way, it’s finding your own way but use the guidance it will help immensely. Remember it will feel strange at first, but do this for YOU! You deserve the centeredness it brings. Keep going 😊

I usually meditate in the morning, it’s the first thing I do after drinking the glass of water. When do it at this time of the day it’s easier to empty the mind and focus on the breathing and the process. Its a great transition from being asleep and awake and at this time of the day, I usually have nothing going on in my head yet.

Here an other tip that help me a lot : guided meditation. I used the app headspace, highly recommended. From this app you’ll lean that it’s normal the mind wonders during meditation, the goal is to notice it and bring your attention back to the breathing. Hope this helps

The harder you fight, the harder it will be to meditate. Yes I know that’s not very helpful in itself, but keep that in mind and then check out the book 10% happier and the app Headspace. The advice given and the examples presented in these sources helped me utilize meditation despite my ADD.
The way I paraphrase the advice for myself is “don’t fight your mind in order to concentrate. Instead concentrate on your mind in order to concentrate. Use your wandering mind and a steady breath be your focal point and rhythm to get you started. Observe yourself and your mind is wanderings. Meditation doesn’t mean you have to sit and focus on a specific thing, or wrestle your mind into concentrating on a specific point. All you have to do is sit and focus, whether you’re focusing on a specific point whether it be physical psychological or metaphysical, or if it’s a moving point such as: your mind. Focus on where your mind goes, why does it go there? What to do when I got there? How to get there? How do you feel about what I did when I got there? Bring it back to sender. Oh it’s wondering again? Where did it go? How to get there? Why did you go there? What do you think and/or feel about what it did? Then bring it back to Center.“ If your mines not gonna stop wondering don’t try and Put it in a cage, observe it, and then guide it gently back. most importantly, don’t scold yourself or your mind, or your thoughts. There’s no sense in punishing yourself over something you can’t control. It’s not about control. You can’t control it. No one can. All you can control is how you respond to it. You are not your brain. (That’s also the title of a great book I recommend)

Meditation is a long and hard process, I could give you tops but they are probably less useful than just saying listen to 10% happier and Sam Harris podcast/book waking up.

Let yourself be anxious and unrestful, but go through the meditation and try to understand the anxiety and stress. Becoming at peace with your emotions will relax you more than trying to force a state of peace.

Don't bother beating yourself up for not relaxing, just get back at breath whenever you find yourself distracted. It's just part of the practice

I don’t concentrate well either. Just keep practicing. It’s like using a muscle.
Also, I started with kirtain meditation due to my lack of focus. It’s still my favourite

When meditating I focus on my breath a lot. I focus on how it feels to come through my nostrils, how I may wiggle my nose, anything about breathing and the things involved in it. I make it like a sort of brainstorming game. Then before you know it, you’ve stopped thinking about all the other things trying to crowd your mind.

It’s easy.

Just focus on your breath!

Take time to think it through.

Try it a few times and I can tell you that this will end up working.

Good luck!

The goal of meditation is not to relax. But it is a nice result when it arises. In meditation I tend to observe myself. It is not wrong to drift off. Just when I notice I am lost in my thougths, I greet my thoughts and feelings and return to my breath. See what happens. How do I react to this disturbance? I observe, when I get lost again, I greet them and return to my breath. However, when there is a specific item taking my mind every time, I bring my attention to it. What is it that is taking my thoughts? Why is it important, what does it need/what do I need? And then, return to the breath.

You must accept your mind wondering from time to time, it’s like a child; straying off from their parents, and the solution is to gently discipline your child.
Gently discipline your mind.

Use head phones and a guided mediation. Fabulous app has some really great guided meditations. Go to an area where you can be alone.

I have the same problem, but I try to keep going. I figure the harder it is to meditate, the more I need it. Just keep going back to the breath, 100 times if necessary.

Give it some time. It’s not a digital game that you are trying to score at. The very fact that you can not concentrate is why you need to meditate. Whenever you can come back to focus on your breath, know that you are back at it and carry on. This will show results in a few months. Is that worth waiting in a span of a life time. Without focus you might lose a lot in life so have patience and meditate.