Essential Meditation Tips & Tools for Daily Practice

What are the key items you need in order to start or deepen your daily meditation practice?  To help answer this question I thought it would be best if I simply shared with you my personal meditation tools and some tips that have helped me establish and benefit from a strong daily meditation practice.  In the article Top 5 Mistakes in Establishing a Daily Meditation Practice, mistake #2 was “Don’t Prepare Your Meditation Environment.”  In that section I listed the essential tools of the trade for a successful meditator.  Below are illustrations of these meditation tools straight form my meditation world.  Hope it helps you to plan and set-up your own meditation room and environment.

1. My Meditation Space:  Here is my favorite place in the Universe.  Some items worth noting from this illustration are…

My Meditation Space 

Related Meditation Tips:

Lamp: I use a touch lamp which is within reach of where I sit.  It has 3 levels of illumination and really helps set a very serene and inviting atmosphere to help my mind settle down quickly to prepare for meditation.  It’s really pretty cool as it works with touch so is easy to deal with in the dark as well.

Shawl: You will also see a shawl which I drape over my legs to stay comfortable on cold mornings.  Early morning are by far the best time for meditation if you can manage it.  Here is an article that expands on that more:  The Secret of How to Become an Early Riser.

 


Meditation Cushion & Zabuton

2. Meditation Smile Cushion & Meditation Zabuton:   There were both purchased over the internet from the website zafu.net

Related Meditation Tips:

Meditation Smile Cushion: I also have a traditional round Zen Meditation Zafu, but, I have found the smile cushion above to be more effective for me as it gives more support to the legs.  If you are going to sit for 1 hour plus, without intermittent Kinhin (walking meditation) or other breaks, I would strongly recommend investing is a good meditation cushion.

Meditation Mat (Zabuton):  I normally cover my zabuton with a towel when I sit, so I don’t have to worry about it getting dirty often. 


Meditation Clothing

3. Meditation Clothing:  My wife was like, you are NOT going to put pictures of your self tailored pajamas on the website are you?  Well… yes I am and I am very proud of the design, which I am ultimately planning to sell it to Armani for a fortune in the near future :-D.

Related Meditation Tips:

Meditation Pajamas: The shorts are really for the Yoga practice which I do after my meditation practice.  The custom butchered pajamas are for meditation and they serve 2 very important purposes.  First, they are cut at the upper thighs so no material bunches up behind the knees to cut off blood supply to put my legs to sleep.  Second, the waist band is not elastic, but instead uses a thread (nala), which I loosen once I sit so that my diaphragm and breathing are not impeded in any way.


Meditation Motivators

3. Meditation Motivators:  These are just some items which inspire me and help set the right atmosphere for spiritual work. 

Related Meditation Tips:

Baby Proof Stuff: I have little ones who you can read about here: How to Make a Baby the Right Way with Illustrations.  So my incense box is baby proof, as is the lighter you will see in the picture below.


Meditation Tools

4. Meditation Tools:  For insight meditation practice no music should be used, so the remote is much more important for the Yoga & Pranayama practice, specially if you are using rhythm for the breathing exercises.  The most important item in the list above is the stop watch.

Related Meditation Tips:

Stop Watch: Make sure you have a stop watch which counts down from a particular time period.  This way you won’t have to disrupt your practice by looking at a clock to determine the length of your meditation.

Conclusion:

One item I realized I forgot is my meditation journal.  It sits right under my little table, or in my basket and any profound insights or enlightenment experiences I have I note them down there. 

I hope giving you this glimpse into my meditation practice inspires and helps you with your daily spiritual work.

You can also get more meditation hints and tips from this article: Silent Mind Meditation Program – Practical Hints & Tips- Chapter 18.

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15 replies
  1. Gowri
    Gowri says:

    Hi
    I was really waiting to set my meditation place. Gud you shared your things…. From this I can make my own peaceful meditation space. Is it okay if I change the place I use for meditation or better to use the same place everyday ?

    Reply
  2. morgana
    morgana says:

    Anmol,

    Thanks so much for sharing your personal meditation space and accoutrement – very helpful.

    I am enjoying the mediation teacher’s training program and can’t believe the difference that a mere 4 weeks has made in my life and my attitude.

    Thank you again – you are always so generous.

    With Metta,

    Morgana :o)

    Reply
  3. k2 incense
    k2 incense says:

    Related Meditation Tips:

    Stop Watch: Make sure you have a stop watch which counts down from a particular time period. This way you won’t have to disrupt your practice by looking at a clock to determine the length of your meditation.

    Awesome! Thanks for this.

    Reply
  4. Jaemi
    Jaemi says:

    Thank you for this website, as I am in school for Yoga Teacher Training. This site has become very important to me to familiarize myself and learn all that I can.
    Thanks so much for all your work !!

    Reply
  5. Anmol Mehta
    Anmol Mehta says:

    Hey Rod,

    I know, a few months back my lamp went on the blink due to an electrical storm and that pretty much ending my meditation practice and any hope for enlightenment :-D

    Cheers,
    Anmol

    Reply
  6. Rod
    Rod says:

    I think you’re taking a big risk relying on all that stuff. I mean, what are you going to do if somebody breaks into your home and steals your lamp?
    ;-]

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] these 2 items in detail and provide you many more tips and advice to help you meditate better. Essential Meditation Tips and Tools for Daily PracticeMeditation Tips | Help for BeginnersIf you have some meditation tips or advice, please do share that […]

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  3. Hatha Yoga Blog » Blog Archive » A Simple Mind the Key to Meditation says:

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  4. […] One of the most important aspects of learning how to meditate and reaping the rewards of this spiritual science, is to develop a consistent, daily practice.  Without such a practice, you are unlikely to master this subtle art.  I have previously discussed some tips on how to accomplish this in a few articles such as, Tips and Tools for Daily Meditation Practice and How Much Time Should You Meditate for Daily, and I would like to summarize all that wisdom for you here today.  So below are guidelines of what you need to set-up in order to maximize your chances of learning and succeeding in meditation. […]

  5. […] In the 2 previous article, Essential Meditation Tips & Tools for Daily Practice and the Top 5 Mistakes in Establishing a Meditation Practice, I shared many important meditation tips to help you establish a strong meditation practice.  Today I would like to give you some more valuable meditation help.  Today’s article will give you tips which are very practical in nature and should help you deal with common issues that many beginner meditators have. […]

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