Meditation
In today’s times, stress and tension have practically become a part of most people’s lives. Because of the fast pace of life, people just don’t have the time to stop and smell the roses. As a result, more and more people are having increased health problems and are fed up of having to take multiple pills each day, so as to keep their bodies going.
Well, what if there was an easy way to get rid of many of your health concerns without even needing to take one allopathic drug or medicine. What if we tell you that by giving just 5-10 minutes each day to yourself, you can alleviate many health problems and have renewed energy and vitality? Yes, through meditation, you can easily do all this and so much more.
Meditation Explained
The mere mention of the word meditation is enough to make people start visualizing some holy saint sitting cross-legged in a remote place, with his eyes closed, oblivious to the whole world around him, while he concentrates on his meditation.
While this is the popular conception of meditation, it is not what meditation is all about. Meditation is a form of concentration, wherein a person tries to concentrate on things within themselves, be it their breath, their inner light, or any internal sounds. Meditation is typically done with your eyes closed and is a process of trying to become one with your inner self.
Contrary to popular belief, meditation does not mean trying to rid your mind of all conscious thought and making it blank. A mindless concentration is the outcome of proper meditation and is not the process of meditation.
It is practically impossible for anyone to not have any thoughts. But when you are trying to meditate, you need to be aware that you are getting some thoughts and need to push away such thoughts and try and concentrate on the matter at hand.
Types of Meditation
Although there are various forms of meditation, most of them can be included into two broad categories. Here’s a look at these two basic forms of meditation:
1) Mindfulness Meditation
This type of meditation is when you allow yourself to be aware of what is happening inside your mind. You do not concentrate on just one particular thing in a bid to make your mind blank, but instead pay attention to all the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings that your mind and body are experiencing. But although you are aware of these thoughts, you do not consciously involve yourself in these feelings. It is like seeing your own mind from outside but not doing anything to control whatever is happening inside it. This type of meditation teaches you how to make yourself more relaxed and calm even when there is a lot of turmoil happening inside your mind.
2) Concentrative Meditation
The second basic type of meditation is known as concentrative meditation. In this kind of meditation, you have to concentrate your attention and awareness on a single thing, so as to make your mind stop wandering and allow you to reach a plateau of higher knowledge and clearness. Your attention can be focused on one of many things such as your breathing, or chanting some mantras, or looking at your inner light, or even focusing your concentration on an external image.
Although there are different ways of concentrative meditation, the easiest and most popular is one where a person who is meditating chooses to zero in on their breath. The main premise of meditation is that a person’s breathing and their minds are closely related. Have you ever noticed your breathing pattern at different times in your life? If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are scared, nervous, or apprehensive about something, you will see that your breath is invariably going to be quick and low. But if you are relaxed and peaceful, with nothing to worry you, you will see that you are routinely breathing with deep and slow breaths.
Thus, by simply focusing on your breath, and the steady pattern of inhaling and exhaling, you will find that your mind automatically stops to wander and starts to concentrate on your breathing rhythm, thus taking you into a meditative state.
How to Meditate
Most people think of meditation as a very difficult technique that has to be learnt or mastered from a master. But this is just a myth. Although beginners can benefit from meditating in the presence of a teacher, you do not have to do meditation with someone else. Here is a basic meditation process for those who have never meditated before.
-
Wear some comfortable clothing, preferable of some natural material like cotton, so as to allow your body to breathe easily.
-
Find a comfortable pose to sit in. Sitting cross-legged is a good posture but if you find that you cannot manage it, you can sit as you like. The floor, your bed, or even a chair; all make good places to sit.
-
Try to meditate in a place where there is a lot of fresh air and quiet. This is preferable for first timers so as to eliminate as much outside interference as possible. Once you understand the process of meditation, you will be able to meditate even in a room full of people!
-
Now close your eyes and try to focus on inhaling and exhaling deeply. Be aware of any conscious thought that comes into your mind, but try not to think about it. Acknowledge your thoughts and set them aside as they come.
-
Continue meditating for at least 20 minutes in the same manner. With time, you will realize that you are getting only 1-2 conscious thoughts every 5-7 minutes. This is when you have achieved meditation.
Benefits of Meditation
From being regarded as an alternative form of healing, to being used in mainstream medicine, meditation has indeed come a long way. Research has shown that meditation can help to lower stress levels, increase your lung capacity, decrease blood pressure, and lower cholesterol too. Thus, meditation can be beneficial in the treatment of the following conditions:
Thus, meditation is an art that can make your mind peaceful and calm, and bring about healing of your entire body. Meditation Books |
