Meditation Tip: Minimizing Distractions

Like my mom, I too often experience "monkey mind" when meditating. While I don't have any special hints for dealing with distracting thoughts, other than just continuing to meditate, I do have a few tips for minimizing other distractions.

Checklist for before you meditate:

• Let your partner/family/roommate know you will be meditating, how long, and that you would like not to be disturbed
  
• Turn off your phone and any other electronics that may beep, flash, etc.
• Adjust the thermostat to a comfortable level, drape a blanket or shawl over yourself if needed
• Put on lip balm and lotion
  
• Pull your hair away from your face
  
• Make sure you are wearing comfortable clothes - nothing too tight or that digs in
  
• Remove any jewelry that may bother you or make noise
• If you have time, do some stretches or gentle exercises before sitting
• Take a moment to notice whether there is anything urgent you need to do floating in your mind - if so, take the time to jot these things down on a piece of paper so your mind will be less likely to keep coming back to them during meditation
• Set a timer - I use the timer function on my watch - and make sure it is working
• Experiment (over the course of several days) with finding the best sitting position - in a chair, on the floor, on a small cushion, large cushion, or no cushion, etc.

I also recommend that when distractions come up during your meditation you experiment with which distractions you can sit through and which need to be dealt with. I have noticed that an itch will go away if I continue to sit and focus on my breath, whereas if my foot falls asleep, it will continue to become more and more uncomfortable until I shift my position to correct the problem.

What are the distractions that challenge you, and how do you respond to them?