Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I meditate?

Work, eat, sleep, REPEAT. Work, eat, sleep, REPEAT.
Most of us are sleepwalking in our daily life. If we don’t pause, and declutter our mind, it can become a puppet of our emotions and compulsive reactions.

To change this habit pattern of our mind, we need to understand how our mind works. And here, meditation comes into play!

Meditation gives you a chance to evaluate and realign your own thoughts. Hence, starting with guided meditations for a few minutes daily boosts the mind’s performance. It calms the mind, sharpens the focus, and brings the clarity of thought you need to excel at anything.

What is meditation?

Meditation is simply a practice of sitting still and understanding the interplay of our thoughts, feelings and emotions. This allows us to declutter and re-organize our mind, and gives us the power to respond rather than react on every situation.

Meditation can include techniques like affirmations that enhance positive thinking, visualization that gives confidence, focused attention that loving-kindness that brings peace and feeling of compassion towards self and others.

Do I need to be thoughtless during meditation?

Not at all. Assuming that we must be thoughtless since the beginning only makes it difficult.

We don’t need to suppress thoughts during meditation, you can simply learn to observe them from a distance, instead of buying into their stories. Just like clouds pass in the vast sky, we can learn to simply let them come and go without forcing or judging them.

How do I know if I’m progressing in my meditation?

First, you need to understand the correct way to measure your progress. Progress in meditation is not about achieving a thoughtless state.

The progress can ONLY be gauged outside your sitting practice. If you are becoming more present, focused, loving and calm in your daily life, it means you are progressing!

Of course, you will occasionally fall into periods of difficulty, but it becomes easier and takes quicker to come out of it.

What is the best meditation type for me?

Meditation is food for the mind. Just like food choices, the best meditation for you depends on your needs at that moment.

On the Level SuperMind app, we have done the hard work of mapping meditation types according to mental needs. So just ask yourself, “what do I need at this moment, clarity, focus, motivation, relaxation?”, Whatever you need, you will surely find it in our extensive catalogue.

What is the best time to meditate?

Meditation becomes easier when it is done on the same time everyday, as our minds learns that the period is deliberately for the meditation. So the best time is when you can everyday devote the time in silence. It can be a 15 mins slot in the morning and evening, or any time that fits your schedule.

The only guideline is to avoid meditating just after your meal as you might fall asleep. Once you decide on your meditation time, stick to it to make it a part of your daily routine.

What should I do if I keep falling asleep while I meditate?

We tend to fall asleep as our minds learn to become more relaxed during meditation, and that’s okay! Continue practicing anyway. You should meditate with a straight back and avoid using a backrest so you don’t get too comfortable and doze off. However if you continue feeling sleepy, it may be a sign that your body needs more rest. It might be a good choice to increase your sleep time for a good mental and physical rest.

With consistent meditation practice, your awareness will increase, and you won’t feel sleepy during meditation.

How do I sit during meditation?

The goal of meditation posture is to make you feel relaxed yet alert so that you can witness your thoughts and feelings.

Some postures make us relaxed but sleepy, like lying down. Others make us more alert, but less relaxed, like standing upright. Sitting with our back straight provides us with a sweet spot somewhere in between.

Not everybody can sit in padmasana (lotus pose), and it is not necessary to do so. You can simply sit cross-legged or on a chair. We recommend you to check out Burmese Posture as it is easy and naturally keeps your back upright.

Am I meditating correctly? (How do I know I am doing it the right way?)

If you are feeling calmer in your daily and able to manage your thoughts and emotions in a better way, then you are on the right path.

However, if you don’t feel any tangible change in your daily life even after months of meditation practice, you are probably making some fundamental mistakes. Maybe you are too sleepy or distracted during the meditation session, or you assume meditation is completely silencing the mind. In such a case, please practice our beginner’s series to strengthen your basics.

What is the best way to meditate?

The best way to meditate is to stick with the instructions. Trust the process, after all, it has been refined through the ages. Remember, so many people have benefited from meditation, and you could too!

There are many types of meditation. The efficacy of each has been proven again and again in ancient scriptures and now in modern science. On the Level SuperMind app, you will find wide variety of meditations, which are filtered through our recommendation system to fit your current goal and mood.

Which is the simplest and easiest way to meditate?

“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one”. - Bruce Lee

Instead of asking what’s the simplest way, ask “what’s the best way to begin?” And the answer is to start with Level’s Beginners Series.

How do I become mentally strong?

To become mentally strong, you need to learn to experience thoughts and emotions without getting caught up in their stories.

In other words, you don’t need to suppress your thoughts and emotions, or get emotional and hurt others. You simply need to experience them – i.e., instead of pushing or pulling, you learn to observe them.

This way, you won’t get affected by your circumstances and you will become invincible.

How can we control our mind from distraction?

Our mind has innate neuronal connections to get distracted. To change these, first, we need to remain aware of distractions whenever they happen. And instead of acting according to the pattern, we need to change our response. This breaks the pattern and reprograms the mind.

So don’t focus on controlling the mind to not get distracted, rather, aim to train your mind to abandon the distraction, and return to the current task whenever it is distracted. Doing this over and over re-programs the mind to not follow distractions anymore.

What is concentration while meditating and how to develop that?

Often, people mistake concentration for strong one-pointed attention, where no distractions arise at all. Actually, concentration is about staying at a meditation object (for example breath), but having a clear awareness of distractions whenever they arise.

We can develop concentration by choosing a meditation object and loosely staying aware of it. It is highly important to stay loosely, so that distractions can arise. Yes, we want distractions to arise. The real magic begins when the mind gets distracted, we recognise it, and then we abandon the distraction and return back to the meditation object. Doing this over and over re-programs the mind to not follow distractions anymore.

So it is kinda funny. People think concentration is developed when we stay with a meditation object for too long. But actually, to cultivate concentration, we need to train the mind to abandon distractions. The former is forcing and fighting with the mind, and fails to change the behavioural pattern of the mind. The latter is being gentle with the mind, and re-programming it smartly.

In short, DISTRACTIONS ARE THE KEY TO DEVELOPING CONCENTRATION!!!

What should we think about while meditating?

It depends on the type of meditation. Unless it is a contemplative type of meditation, you don’t need to actively think about something during the process. The best advice for beginners is to use guided meditations and follow the instructions.

You don't necessarily need to do any material arrangements like lighting a diya or a candle, but doing so will help you build a stronger intention to meditate.

How can I start meditating consistently? After a couple of days I skip it and it ends. (What to do when you go off track?) (How do I make meditation a habit?)

Building a meditation may be challenging in the start. These tips will help you:

Try to build a meditation streak and don’t break it.
Meditate every day at the same time.
Consider meditation as a time for you to relax and rewind. Not a strenuous activity.

Even if you fail someday, don’t get discouraged. You can only actually fail in your journey if you never begin again. So collect your determination, and don’t resist starting again!

How can I get rid of overthinking?

Overthinking is a habit, and both building, and changing a habit takes practice as well as patience. So firstly, learn to be kind to yourself.

Overthinking, or spiraling down of thoughts, one after the other is the natural tendency of the mind. Once you become aware of this process, it gives you the ability to gain control over the mind and end this cycle.

This is exactly why meditation works on retraining your mind. Sitting in silence allows you to become aware of your mental pattern. The guided meditations remind you to constantly bring your awareness back rather than hopping on a long train of thoughts.

If the thoughts are too overpowering, you can always take a few deep breaths, which naturally calms the mind.

A regular 10 min guided meditation can be a big step towards managing your overthinking problem.

What should we do first- meditation or exercise?

While there are no set rules in this regard, performing exercises - especially yoga, before meditating may improve your meditation experience.

Physical exercises are also responsible for releasing hormones that bring positivity and calmness to the mind. Hence it is easier to meditate after exercising.

However, you can choose to do either of them first, depending on your preference.