I've been meditating for a while now and I'm worried that I'm not getting as much out of it as I should be.

  1. You're just beginning. Let go of the idea that thoughts in head = doing bad. Let the thoughts be, try to see them go by as if you were at a train station and the train was rolling on through. Everytime you get swept with the thoughts, it's okay, breath and bring your mind back to the station. That's the actual practice of meditation. The "getting back to center" is how you progress. You'll notice you're having to pull your mind back tens of thousands of times and try to do this off the mat too.

  2. Be gentle with yourself. When you meditate, let your body's tension go. If you set a timer, for that visualize yourself dropping your responsibilities to the world for that brief time. Let it all go. If your thoughts start to really lose control, just see what they want. Like a wild horse, watch them thrash and kick. It'll eventually get tired and you'll be there, breathing.

  3. Breathwork. I recommend the "Easy Breath" Pranayama because it works for me. Again, be gentle with your lungs. Don't try to force some awkward breathing and hurt yourself. However when my mind is just absolutely losing its shit (usually a combination of life choices and stimulants), breathwork helps me able to establish the space for me to practice "normally".

/r/Meditation Thread