Different Types Of Meditation

Meditation, one of the principles of yoga, is indispensable in today's world of stress and competition. It provides many benefits like achieving mental clarity, relieving physical complaints like headaches, reducing symptoms of stress and anxiety and enhancing our immunity to illness. There are many forms of meditation along with the practice of asanas and Pranayam. We need to find the form best suited to our needs. Whichever form of meditation we choose, it is necessary to be focused and regular. A stress-free, healthy life can be achieved only through practice. The main characteristic of meditation is breathing in a conscious manner.

Beyond conscious breathing, which is shared by all forms of meditation, there is a wide variety of corresponding techniques. While meditating, the mind becomes quiet and moves away from the various stresses of everyday life. Virtually all meditative practices focus on the present, helping to divert the mind from the past or the future. Meditation associates the mind with happiness, positive thoughts and an altered state of consciousness.

Basic meditation techniques involve sitting in a comfortable position trying not to engage the mind in anything. Focused meditation technique needs you to focus on something constant like breathing. Sitting in a comfortable position, you need to pay attention to your breathing while keeping the eyes closed. Activity-oriented meditation engages you in a repetitive activity. Spiritual meditation makes one experience meditation as a form of prayer. One can meditate to clear the mind.

An empty-mind meditation helps to empty all thoughts from the mind. The process is to sit still in a full-lotus or cross-legged position and let the mind go silent. Walking meditation involves the body. One can walk outside or pace back and forth in the room focusing on the movement of the legs and the body. Mindfulness meditation is what Buddhists call vipassana. It is the art of becoming aware of your surroundings at the very moment without being judgemental.

Simple mantra meditation helps people to stop their mind from wandering. A word or phrase needs to be repeated again and again as one sits meditating. The most common mantras used are 'Om' or 'Shanti Shanti Shanti'. Transcendental meditation is the most researched and debated among all the meditation types. It helps to increase one's creativity and intelligence. Breath and navel meditation is the oldest and one of the most practiced meditation types. Here, one needs to control one's breath through different breathing techniques.

Emptying the mind through focusing and concentration is the most difficult and important aspect of meditation. The major part of all meditative techniques concentrates on this aspect. The better one can focus, the easier it is to get into a meditative situation.

Beginners in meditation should find a quiet environment. Gradually, with practice, one can meditate at any place. Prior to meditating, it helps to sit for a short while in silence to slow down the heartbeat. Initially, one must not try to meditate for a long period. With time, the period of meditation can be increased. After meditating in one technique for a considerable period of time, one can experiment with the other techniques.

• Juliana Breckinridge
• 02/05/2009, 2:59 AM
• 0 Comments