Meditation is beyond what you expect and more unplumbed than what you can explore. To explain what meditation can do is difficult. You move on a path to find your true meaning. And during this amazing expedition, you discover something beautiful, something everlasting. It has come across many centuries as well as many cultures and many of us still practice it.
People often ask this question, “What is the right method of doing meditation?” With experience, I can assure you that there is nothing like right or wrong in meditation. You either do it or you don’t. Besides, there’s no necessity of doing only one type of meditation at a time. You can do a variety of them in a single sitting. And while exploring different types, you may find the one that best suits you. There is nothing like worldwide accepted or most effective technique. As I said, it depends on which technique YOU feel the connection with.
I started my journey in meditation 7 years ago to resolve my anger issues. Yes, I never expressed my anger back then in 2013 but somewhere it was affecting me. I had no clues about where to start. Saw some videos on YouTube and sat down on my bed. I still remember, it was 11 pm and the first thing I realised was that meditation doesn’t need any specific time. Today, I am grateful for so many wonderful gifts that this meditation has given me.
I did try many techniques, some were amazing while others were not for me. So today I will discuss some of the many techniques I have used and still practice in this blog. You are free to explore any type because it’s what suits you best.
1. Guided Meditation
This is the best step a beginner can take in his initial days of practice. Admit it or not, no one is a born meditator. Although I started my meditation journey from the next type, i.e. unguided technique. But, starting with guided one gives you faster results. It was only through this technique that helped me understand the true meaning of it.
So in guided meditation, a teacher guides you through the basic steps of the practice, either in person or via a meditation app. The teacher has the experience and their guidance is much useful to those who are new to the practice. I use Headspace as it teaches a lot of techniques, at affordable prices.
2. Unguided Meditation
This is what I started with 7 years back. And as a newbie, I thought I was doing it all wrong. But with time I realised the truth, as long as you are resting your mind by doing nothing, it’s all right. Unguided meditation or silent meditation is where you meditate alone. Without someone else explaining the process.
Some people use the techniques which they learnt through guided meditation. Rest, focus on breathing or their thoughts for a certain time. This is the technique you can practice anywhere. You don’t need an instructor or an atmosphere to start. A couple of a deep breath and you can start the practice right there. 3. Mindfulness Meditation
This form of meditation asks practitioners to remain aware and present at the moment. Rather than dwelling with past problems or dreading the future. Mindfulness encourages awareness of a person’s existing surroundings. This technique is supported by a lack of judgment. This is something people can do almost anywhere. While waiting in line, a person may look upon their surroundings. The sounds, smells and visuals. Without judging any of those. Research has found that mindfulness reduces negative emotions, improve focus and relationship satisfaction.
As you sit down and focus on breathing in and out, you let the thoughts flow through your mind. Not stopping it, judging or engaging with it. You simply let it flow. This practice improves focus, clears your priorities and cleans up the mess in mind.
4. Body Scan
I always mix this technique with any of the above as it helps to scan myself for areas of tension. During a body scan session, practitioners start at one end of their body and work through the whole. The goal is to notice tension and to allow it to release. You don’t judge or search for those thoughts making you tensed. You observe and allow the tension to release.
5. Mantra Meditation
A mantra is a syllable, word, or phrase that we use during meditation. It doesn’t matter whether you speak, chant, whisper or repeat it in your mind.
The main purpose of this technique is that it relaxes your muscles and helps mind from wandering itself from the practice. The sound that we produce, relaxes the stress and muscles. There are various sounds you can use to experience this. Most popular is “OM”. Emphasize on “mmm” part to see better results.
6. Transforming your anger Technique
This is applying the mindfulness in a certain manner to overcome your anger issues. If you see, anger is just an energy. It only gets worse when we engage with it or think about it. Through this practice, you start observing it rather than reacting to it. Instead of focusing on each breath, you focus more on breathing out. And every time you realise the feeling of anger, you observe your breathing pattern. Focusing and calming our out-breath can give tremendous and instant results.
These were some of the techniques, I use. There are many other techniques which you may be practising. Share your thoughts and some of the techniques you use in your daily life in the comment section. And if you liked it, do subscribe my page below for more such amazing content.
Share with your loved ones to make them aware of these techniques which they can use right away. As I said, begin with the guided meditation to get faster results. There are dozens of applications which provide guided meditation at a particular cost. But that’s a different story for my future blogs. Until then, have a great time. Bye!
Magnificent way of finding ourselves.. Adorable views🙂