How to Meditate for Concentration

Have you ever tried meditating for concentration? It’s a stress-free method to enhance your concentration skills in all aspects of life. If you want to try it, I know it can be a bit confusing to understand how it actually works or what steps to follow, so I’ve researched the topic for you in this article.

How to Meditate for Concentration

5 Step Fast Start

Choose an object as your focus point. Like your breath, mantra or specific object.
Close your eyes or leave your eyes open with a soft gaze.
Begin to focus on your chosen object.
Notice when you mind starts to wanders.
Gently bring your mind back to the focus object.

You want to use meditation to enhance your concentration, but you might not be too sure how to start. Are there specific steps to follow? What are the most common techniques? And how long does it take to work? If you have these or other questions, read along, we’ll answer them together!

MEDITATION FOR BETTER CONCENTRATION

Have you ever tried concentrating on an important task only to notice that, somehow, you end up checking your social media every 15 minutes or thinking about your dinner options? I’m sure you all have, and it is frustrating! Thankfully, that’s when concentration meditation can help you.

Unlike other forms of open-monitoring meditation (that keep attention involved in a monitoring process), Concentration Meditation is a focused-attention technique to train your mind to sustain prolonged attention and direct it towards one single object. The chosen object can be an image, your breath, a mantra, a candle… but the key point is to train your mind to constantly returning your attention to the specific object in case of distractions, while remaining calm and focused.

I’ll admit that meditating for better concentration is not the easiest practice, but you can obtain really interesting benefits if you stick to it. Studies have demonstrated that concentration meditation benefits keep increasing over time and you’ll be able to perceive them in many areas of your life. From being able to concentrate on a task without distractions to cutting down on procrastinating, you’ll be able to see positive effects within a few weeks.

A recent study on a group of students proved that even 20 minutes a day of meditation training, carried out for only 4 days, can help you perform better on concentration tasks. Not only, but also a psychology professor from the University of Washington suggests that 5 minutes each day of mindfulness can bring dramatic benefits to your way of coping with distractions. A simple technique used by Professor Linehan to improve patients’ concentration consists in sitting down somewhere in a crowded place and direct your eyes forward as strangers pass by. Essentially, you should resist looking at people, no matter how interesting they might look, and concentrate on NOT watching them. A task that is easier explained than performed if you ask me, but if you can do it for a few weeks, you will see your concentration skills improve!

In this area, the sky appears to be the limit, and researchers haven’t found it yet! Practice makes perfect and indeed, when studying the brains of expert meditators with around 19000 hours of practice, researchers have found that disruptions (sounds or thoughts) are very insignificant when they concentrate on an object.

Taking this even further, researchers have also seen that in more experienced meditators (with an astounding 44000 hours of practice) the regions of the brain associated with concentration hardly activate during a task. This would demonstrate that, thanks to their higher concentration skills, those people could concentrate with no real effort.

Honestly, I cannot see myself meditating for 4 hours a day (I don’t even know where I’d find the time), but knowing that even less time spent on this practice could really help me concentrate better makes me already feel better.

If you think about it, after all your brain is very similar to your muscles: if you want them to be more toned, stronger and capable of heavier loads, you need to train them, constantly. So, why should you think that your brain could work any differently?

Meditation can bring you many benefits, but you need to commit to a certain extent. If you practice concentration meditation regularly, your brain will learn to focus on the one thing that is important at that specific time. And even if your mind without wasted time.

12 Step Concentration Meditation

Find a location – Choose somewhere you will have no distractions to start your concentration meditation. A quite room in your home, it could even be your car if you’re at work.
Relax and Loosen the Body – It’s important to gently loosen your body when you meditate. Shake out your legs, arms and light stretch any tight muscles. This allows you to relax more into your meditation.
Choose an Object as Your Focus Point – this can be your breath, a mantra or a fixed object. It’s important you choose an object in the present moment.
Find Your Best Position and Posture – if you a beginner the best positions for a concentration meditation are places you will be comfortable, but will also stay alert. A standard kitchen chair is a great option for this; it keeps your back straight and doesn’t allow you to get so comfy that you fall asleep.
Decide on Eyes Open or Closed – closed eyes allows you to go deeper into your meditation. Whereas eyes open can help you stay awake and can be done in more public places,eg.work, park or public transport.
Set A Timer – choose your duration.
Begin Your Meditation – Focus gently on your chosen object, don’t strain your attention and concentration with too much effort, just allow your mind to rest on your focus point.
Notice When Your Mind Starts to Wander – As you meditate random thoughts will start to flow into your mind. Your mind may start to join into these thoughts. This is a normal part of the meditation process.
Gently Bring Your Mind Back – When your mind derails from your focus object, softly guide it back and continue your concentration meditation.
Allow Feelings and Thoughts to Flow by– When negative feelings arise like feeling frustration or judgment, just observe these thoughts and let them float by, this is a normal process of meditation.
Show Kindness and Patience for Yourself – During your meditation give yourself the gift of kindness and patience. Especially when you feel like you’re not getting it right or it’s not working for you.
Gently Come Out Of The Meditation. When the timer sounds, allow yourself the time to ease out of your concentration meditation as you feel ready.

HOW LONG SHOULD I MEDITATE FOR IMPROVED CONCENTRATION?

Did you know that the average attention span (aka time you can concentrate on a task without becoming distracted) of a person is around 8 seconds? In comparison, a gold fish can apparently concentrate for 9 seconds!

However, the more you practice concentration meditation, the better benefits you can obtain. But how long should you meditate?

No official studies contemplate meditating for less than 4 times a week, so if you’re looking for sure results, that’s the minimum you’ll have to commit. In terms of session length, you should aim at meditating initially for 5-10 minutes, and when you can easily meditate for that time, increase 5minutes at a time.

Studies have shown that even 20minutes of concentration meditation practised 4 times a week can bring you benefits, and after only one week¹! So that’s the minimum time you should wait before seeing the first results.

20-30 minutes sessions are mostly advised, but everyone is different, so you will know whether you need longer sessions or if a 5-minute boost will suffice. And if you need longer time, just increase 10 minutes every few weeks.

If you are a beginner, however, even 1 minute can be a good start. Sure, you won’t get many benefits from it, but you need to learn to stand before you can walk. Once you’re confidently meditating for 1minute, increase to 2, then 5, and keep adding 5 minutes at a time until you reach your desired duration. Remember, meditation brings awareness, among other things, so let your meditation experience be your guide… and let’s beat that gold fish!

CHOOSING A MEDITATION OBJECT FOR CONCENTRATION MEDITATION

When practicing concentration meditation you must first select an object to concentrate upon. You should opt for something that you associate with positive emotions, but not too emotionally charged, otherwise it could actually distract you from your focus, i.e. the object itself.

I have listed here for you the most common objects for concentration meditation:

Your Breath –For this form of concentration meditation you should breathe through your nose, as it allows more facets of sensations. You can decide to concentrate on the breath itself, by counting each breath cycle, or on the physical sensations connected to breathing, like the cold air entering your nose, the rising of your belly.

Mantra or Phrase – The use in meditation of a mantra or a meaningful phrase is aimed at clearing your mind. In concentration meditation, allow your attention to stay on your chosen sound for the duration of your meditation, even if the words start losing their meaning. Remember they’re just a pathway towards your practice goal.

Fixed Object – If you choose an object to concentrate on (a sacred symbol, an image or everyday object), don’t label or interpret it, simply see it for its focal function. You can even visualise an object in your mind, but that’s not advised for a novice meditators, as that’s a far more demanding concentration task.

Counting – The most common concentration practice of this sort is breath counting. You can set your goal (50-100 breaths, or fewer if you’re just starting) and then count each breathing cycle, either while you inhale or exhale. If you lose concentration, start back from 1. If you reach your goal and want more, start counting backward.
Movements – If you’re the dynamic type, you can use as your concentration focus a particular posture, simple repetitive movements or a mudra (meditative gestures used to lead energy towards specific Chakras). Even activities like jogging, swimming or cycling, because they’re so repetitive, can be your focus to start developing concentration.

Eyes Open Vs Eyes Closed for Concentration Meditation

When it comes to concentration meditation, both closed- and open-eye practices have their pros and cons.

If you choose to keep your eyes object, especially if that’s a sound, your breath or a mental image.

The paradox, however, is that when you close your eyes you’re actually more likely to lose your concentration because, with no vision, your mind is more likely to wander. Not to mention that, unfortunately, keeping your eyes closed might cause you to fall asleep, a very common side effect of this meditation practice.

Conversely, if you opt for open eyes, you’ll have more troubles falling asleep and it will be easier to stay in the moment, preventing your mind from wandering off. Also, if you choose a real object or particular movements as your concentration point, open eyes are also a necessity and will help you focus on your task without extra mental demands (like imagining your focus point).

However, even keeping your eyes open has its side effects. Indeed, it can be harder to keep your focus as you have many visual cues that can act as potential distractions.

BEST POSITIONS FOR CONCENTRATION MEDITATION

The position you assume for concentration meditation depends on your personal taste. Whether you decide to sit, stand or lie down, make sure you place yourself in a position which is comfortable enough for you to maintain over the length of your practice.

Let’s see the main points to keep in mind for each position.

Sitting – When sitting for meditation, your back must be straight so head and neck are in line with your spine, and your hands can rest on your lap, palms up. If you sit on a chair, make sure your feet are flat on the floor and your legs form a 90°angle at your knees.

Standing – Make sure you stand tall and your feet are shoulder-width apart and slightly rotated, so that your toes point a bit outward. Once in position, slightly bend your knees and root to the ground with your feet at every exhale. You can place your hands on your belly to feel your breathing.

Lying – This position allows you to relax more easily while your body is fully supported. While lying on your back, relax your arms alongside your body, place your feet hip-distance apart and let your toes naturally rotate outward. For back support, place a pillow under your knees or bend them, while keeping your feet flat on the floor.

MEDITATION TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE CONCENTRATION

You probably think it can be daunting sometimes to choose among the many concentration meditation techniques available. Like for many other things, there’s no one-size fit-all, and you need to find what comes more natural to you. So, to give you a starting point, I’ve listed here the most common meditation techniques to improve concentration…

Mindfulness – It’s one of the most popular forms of meditation to improve concentration. By training your mind to be present and focused on one object, you also learn to let go of unwanted thoughts and distractions. When you can incorporate mindfulness in your everyday life, you’ll see that your concentration will naturally increase.

Tratak– This technique involves concentrating on the flame of a candle in order to enhance your attention. Tratak is a very effective method to block distracting thoughts, especially if you practice it in a dark room. You should gaze at the flame until your eyes start watering, then close them and keep concentrating on the flame after-glow.

Soham or Hong-Sau – They are both powerful mantras by which you identify yourself with the universe. While uttering them, your concentration is on your breath, but not to control it, simply to let it flow. Following its natural flow, your breathing will slow down, allowing you to reach deeper levels of concentration.

Vipassana – This concentration meditation technique, which focuses on the physical sensations of your body, involves clear awareness of what is happening in your perceptual universe as it happens. It means insight and is aimed at purifying your mind and helping you see things for what they actually are.

Zazen – It’s one of the simplest concentration meditation techniques that focuses on your breath and posture. Yet, it’s the hardest to really understand. Its goal is zen breathing, aka a slow, strong and natural breathing rhythm which is based on a soft, long and deep exhalation through your nose, and a natural consequent inhalation.

HOW TO PRACTICE MORNING MEDITATION FOR CONCENTRATION

If you’re unsure when the best moment to practice concentration meditation is, mornings are probably your best choice as they are naturally slower and calmer than other moments of the day.

You might be thinking that in the morning you hardly have time to have breakfast, imagine meditating for concentration. But what you need to keep in mind is that you can incorporate your meditation into your adaptable morning routine.

Yes, because days are unpredictable, but you can meditate for concentration virtually everywhere: you can count your breaths while in the shower, you can focus on your toaster while you wait for your bread to pop or repeat a mantra on the train to work… you know the best place for you!

If you want to meditate in bed before even getting up, that’s fine, but I suggest you have a sip of water first (to re-hydrate and refresh yourself) and sit up rather than lying down, or you might let sleep inertia slide you back in to dreamland. Also, I’d opt to meditate before breakfast, as heavy meals can make you drowsy and food might trigger different body functions that could disrupt your practice.

Give it ago, and you’ll soon see how practicing concentration meditation in the morning will make you more aware and focused (not to mention calmer) throughout your day.

HOW TO MEDITATE TO INCREASE CONCENTRATION IN STUDIES

Whether you or someone you know are struggling with their last year of high school, studying for an important exam or juggling study and work, concentration meditation can be just the thing you need to cut your procrastination and make the most of your study time.

As mentioned before, studies carried out on university students have demonstrated that 20minutes of this meditation practice 4 times a week enhanced students’ performance on concentration tasks. So why not giving it a try?

For the best practice, sit alone or with a group of equally-minded friends in a peaceful place before studying or before an exam. Try concentrating on your breath or, if you’re a beginner, follow some guided meditation for 10-20 minutes. Practicing before studying is important, as meditation not only helps you concentrate better, but it also reduces stress, which is often linked to poor study performance.

Consider it like warming up your muscles for a sporting event! In the same way your brain needs to be warmed up for study! Meditation can help you get in the zone to perform and concentrate at your best ability.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEDITATION AND CONCENTRATION

A first difference between the two is that, while meditation is characterized by your mind disengaging, with no active control or direction. During concentration you are actively engaging your mind in different cerebral activities, paying attention to many different details.

Not to mention that, if concentration can be a source of frustration, especially if you don’t achieve the desired effect, meditation is the means to reach inner peace and calm.

So remember, although they have many similarities, their connection is not reciprocal: i.e. meditation leads to concentration, but concentration doesn’t necessarily lead to the benefits of meditation.

RELATED QUESTIONS

Can I meditate at work?

Meditation can be performed virtually anywhere, also at work. If you have a busy schedule or a stressful day, set aside 10 minutes to meditate and you’ll immediately see the benefits. All you need is a little bit of time, a bit of privacy and the will to close your eyes and start breathing.

Can meditation replace sleep?

Studies have shown that meditation can improve your sleep patterns and the quality of your sleep, but it’s not advised that you replace sleep entirely. Indeed, whereas while you sleep your body and mind are totally unconscious, thoroughly resting, meditation requires you to be always conscious awareness.

Should I meditate with music?

Listening to music or binaural beats during meditation is a common practice that can be helpful to relax and escape excessive noise. However, keep in mind that your mind will tend to focus on any interesting stimuli it can get, so sometimes music could be an obstacle for your meditative focus.