Autism

I went to therapy for ADHD, and was given a worksheet from this course, where she recommends body scan meditation. She mentions meditation builds cortical tissue, helping with executive function, focus, impulse control, emotional regulation, etc. This gave me motivation to try again. I also think I was taught or assumed meditation had certain rules, so I let them go.

I did 5 minutes of this video, seated with noise canceling headphones on. It felt like I was relaxed, and not thinking about my troubles. So next day did the other 5. After that, I think I tried the whole thing. Then looked for others so it doesn't get repetitive.

That's my starting advice. If you still don't feel it, some more tips follow.

Try again tomorrow. Maybe add a tip from below. Try again in a year+. That's how long I had given up originally! Sometimes my focus is on the "wrong" body parts for the audio. That's okay. Sometimes I pause to linger on a body part. Sometimes I need to scan everything quickly. Sometimes, I think in the smallest, detailed body unit. For example, Fingers vs. tip of my right index finger. I might move in place and shift. And then I focus on what's changed. Most times I lie with eyes closed in the dark. These are natural ways to tell the body to relax. Seated and/or gazing is okay too. I'll scrunch my muscles and relax to focus on the change in feeling. I'll pause the audio and stretch, focusing on the feeling of stretching. I absolutely have to do it with noise canceling headphones. "Being in the present" is not my goal anymore. Sometimes I've fallen asleep :> I try to do it every day. I prefer videos with relaxing background audio. Possibly 10Hz binaural beats. You might prefer videos with only spoken audio! You can get up entirely and walk around and focus on those feelings. eg. Hands if you touch something getting up, pressure on feet while walking.

There really aren't any rules. My goal is to relax, so I experiment until I'm relaxed.