Disclaimer: I’m just a guy who meditates and is relatively new to Jhana practice, not a teacher qualified by anyone to write any of this.
If you are new to meditation but know you want to try and learn the Jhanas (soon or eventually), this is a guide for you. Going from little-to-no meditation practice to learning the Jhanas is a big leap. This is an attempt at helping you build a foundation – so that when you are ready to learn the Jhanas you can do so more quickly and successfully.
This is not a guide on how to access Jhanas. When you are ready, I recommend reading Right Concentration, listening to Rob Burbea’s Jhana retreat, and/or attending a Jhana retreat.
The meditation practices below will help prepare the mind/body to learn how to open to the Jhanas. While not Jhana practice themselves per se, they are often used as “springboard” practices to enter the Jhanas. They are also lovely practices on their own even without an intention to access the Jhanas.
You can do each for as little as 5 minutes. After some practice, try sitting for ~20 minutes, either with one practice or a combination. Eventually, you’ll want to be able to sit for 45-60 minutes at a time to be ready to practice the Jhanas.