Meditation has numerous benefits. It helps with stress, regulates emotions, improves sleep and can even help with chronic pain. If you are a therapist or coach, you have probably told your patient all these benefits. However, you may still feel that they are not receiving the full benefits of mediation. So how can you help them? First, understand that it is not your fault that you cannot connect with your patient.
There can be many reasons why it feels like you are trying to swim upstream when helping your patients meditate. Well, not anymore! We’ve put together 8 ways you can connect more with your patient during meditation.
Use music to connect with your patient
The first step is to create a relaxing environment in your establishment. It will make your patient feel more relaxed. Therefore, it will also become easier to connect with them.
You can do this in many ways. One way is with music. You can use great royalty free yoga music options to improve your sessions with the patients. Good music helps patients meditate more easily, especially if they have not done so before.
It can also slow breathing, a crucial part of effective meditation. Incorporating relaxing music into your space can relax your patients, allowing you to connect more.
Create the right environment
Speaking of your establishment, make sure it is inviting and comfortable. We cannot emphasize this enough. Our environment has a significant influence on mood. It can motivate people to interact more with people, which is exactly what we want in this case.
So if your setting is inviting and comfortable, patients will have an easier time letting their guard down. This allows them to really indulge in the session. A beautiful, clean and comfortable environment also brings additional benefits.
It reduces stress, which is one of the biggest benefits of meditating. And it also gives you more credibility. Patients who are more relaxed in your office will trust you more.
Confidence and a sense of authority also help the patient relax. It gives them the assurance that you know what you are doing.
Share all information and build trust
We cannot emphasize enough how important trust is. A patient can feel very vulnerable while meditating. Guided meditations are a good option – more on that later.
To increase trust even further, provide your patients with all the necessary information. Talk to them about how you want to do the session. What do you expect from them, and more importantly, what role will you play in the session?
Counterintuitively, you should also tell your patient that meditation is not a panacea for every problem. It sets the right expectations from the start.
When your patient understands the possible outcomes, his mind will stop worrying and thinking about why he is doing this. Instead, they can start focusing on the session.
Share the benefits of meditation with your patients
Sharing the benefits of meditation with your patients will also help them open up. Some patients are very skeptical despite the proven benefits of meditation.
Don’t just tell them how they will benefit from the session. You can also share how meditation has helped you. Sharing a personal anecdote can also help us build trust and connection.
It’s a two-way relationship. The mind plays a crucial role in meditation. Therefore, if you can help your patients understand meditation and how it helps, you can connect with them on a deeper level.
Help your patient understand how easy meditation is
Clinicians should also strive to demystify meditation. Some patients become stressed if they cannot remain calm while meditating. Eventually it turns into a bad loop.
The stress prevents them from meditating properly. Which in turn causes more stress. What you should do instead as a doctor is teach them how easy meditation can be.
Don’t make things unnecessarily complicated. Ignore conversations about the perfect pose, the perfect time, and what you should be thinking, where your hands and legs should be.
All these extra things just add to the complexity. At its core, meditation is simple. Yes, to mediate effectively you need a structured process. However, dwelling too much on the smallest details can cause anxiety.
Instead, help your patient realize that meditation is not a complicated spiritual journey, which it can sometimes be.
However, it usually takes patience and time to reap the benefits. By focusing on the core and simple basics with your patients, you will get the most out of every session.
Introduce guided meditations
Patients who have no experience with meditation will benefit greatly from guided meditation. It’s a great way to learn from an experienced teacher, in this case you.
Guided meditation helps you build a bond with your patients as you instruct them through the process. It builds trust.
If the patient trusts you, which we discussed earlier, he will be more willing to let go of his concerns and become fully engaged in the session. That’s where you start to see real benefits for your patients.
Plus, your patients will have a better experience too. They won’t dwell on the small details. The patient can trust the expert. So take charge, but speak in a calm and reassuring voice.
As your patient gains experience with meditation, you can slowly introduce him to unguided meditations.
Do breathwork with your patients
You can use the basic human function of breathing to improve your patient’s experience and deepen his or her connection with you. There are many breathing exercises that you can help your patient master.
It relieves stress, improves mood and even helps regulate blood pressure. People who are new to meditation find it difficult to control their breathing. That’s where you come in.
Helping your clients learn proper breathing techniques while meditating will increase confidence. In addition, your patient will also be able to relax better. Resulting in a deeper connection with your patients.
Help them practice mindfulness
An important part of any meditation session is mindfulness. In some ways this is the crux of it all. Helping your patient practice mindfulness during sessions with you will enhance the experience.
Practicing mindfulness also has benefits beyond just reduced stress, improved sleep and emotion regulation. But the funny thing is that some patients are unwilling to practice mindfulness. To be more specific, they don’t really believe it helps.
This is the perfect opportunity for you to get in touch with your patient. A good way to introduce your patients to mindfulness is to give them the right information about it. It also helps to frame certain things differently. You don’t have to use the word mindfulness if they don’t like it.
To block
Building trust and providing a safe and comfortable environment are key to creating a deeper bond with your patients. The more comfortable and inviting your office and posture are, the easier it will be.
Patients can sometimes feel disconnected. Maybe they had a bad experience with meditation. Or it could be a past trauma. You can help them overcome past traumatic experiences. It builds an even deeper connection and trust.
