In this hectic world, when you’re completing different things in parallel, it gets exhausting to focus on one. You may find a lot of mind chatter, resulting in a cloudy state of mind, irritability, and restlessness. This is where meditation kicks in.
It’s an ancient practice that helps you focus on the now. According to the research, meditation allows you to disengage from distracting thoughts and gently push your attention towards one specific idea. It also helps you to increase focus.
But please understand that there’s no one meditation technique that is “the most effective.” In fact, it’s different for different people. So, you must do your research to find the best meditation solution for you.
However, today we’re bringing you a list of the six most commonly practiced meditation methods for a healthier and more serene lifestyle.
What is Meditation?
Anything that unites mind, body, and soul is meditation. Have you ever seen people at two different behavioral edges – one with a “stress response” towards the challenges of life and others with a “relaxation response” towards life?
Meditation helps people respond to stress calmly and in a better way. That is why meditation these days is a popular complement to conventional medicine.
Doctors and Neuro professionals recommend meditation and yoga for a tranquil state of mind. Also, evidence suggests that meditating even for a few minutes helps relieve stress and increase activity in an area of your brain that is related to feelings of happiness and well-being.
It’s completely mistaken that meditation helps your mind to be quiet. Thoughts do come, but with meditation, they just don’t clutter in your mind. They rather pass like a breeze of fresh air leaving you conscious and in the present.
It takes a lot of time and practice, but then you can experience these sensations outside of meditation sessions.
6 Methods of Meditation
If this intrigues, you for any reason, we invite you to continue reading to learn about six meditation methods that can help you to release stress and stay positive.
1. Vipassana Meditation.
Vipassana is India’s most ancient meditation technique. It’s a Buddhist term that means “insight.” It has been in practice to treat universal illnesses for more than 2500 years.
Vipassana purifies your mind as it is a journey of self-exploration. It is when you sit in a quiet place and focus on a broader section, breathing and exhaling “pain,” “suffering,” and “unsatisfactoriness.” While in return, inhale a breath of relief in your empty self that’ll help heal your internal scars.
It actually involves quietly observing your thoughts and feelings and letting them pass without thinking about them, and not judging your inner self.
You need a professional’s guidance to get started with Vipassana. Many yoga centers and meditation organizations offer courses for it.
It is advised to start with 10-20 minutes per day. Once you get along with it, you will feel stress-free and relaxed. Vipassana is proved to reduce mental stress and anxiety, making your brain more flexible towards life changes.
2. Body Scan
Body Scan helps you to Breathe out any physical pain along with stress using this body scan technique.
Sometimes when you’re stressed, you don’t even realize the physical pain that comes along with it. That pain can be in any form, from headache to discomfort, body pain, and stiff muscles. But, focusing on the pain and breathing it out will help you feel calmer, lighter, and relaxed.
During a body scan, you imagine a light beam gradually moving from your head to your toes. And while focusing on every part of your body, if you feel pain in any part, you focus on it, and the thoughts associated with the pain. Then breathe out and visualize yourself exhaling the pain and the stress.
3. Focused Attention.
As mentioned earlier, different kinds of meditation techniques are for different purposes. For instance, the primary purpose of some is to improve their sleep cycle. Other meditations aim to reduce anxiety symptoms and improve your concentration.
Based on your condition and body requirements, your instructor can better guide you about the technique you may need. Following that, focused attention meditation is a pretty straightforward method where you sit quietly and focus on the rhythms of your breath. If your mind starts to wander, gently push your attention back towards breathing.
This is a proven method to increase your time of focus. Studies have shown focusing on a particular thing makes you less bothered by disturbances and more focused.
4. Activity-Oriented Meditation.
This is the kind of meditation you may have been doing already without realizing that it is a meditation practice. For instance, anything that makes you forget about time and place is meditation.
With that said, while you’re so much involved in one thing, there is less chaos in your mind helping your brain relax. That is why many therapists suggest painting to their patients because it helps them to distract from negative thoughts, and your mind is involved in a repetitive activity that is calming.
This activity meditation can be anything you love. As for some people reading is their meditation, and for some, it is writing. You can practice different things to find out what suits you.
5. Yoga Meditation.
Practicing yoga, particularly Kundalini yoga, is a type of meditation that helps your brain to cope with daily life challenges.
Kundalini yoga is more of a spiritual practice that is believed to awaken your spiritual energy. The word Kundalini means a coiled snake sitting at the base of your spine. This specific yoga arouses that energy right from the bottom of your spine and through all chakras.
You need an instructor by your side while practicing this yoga. It involves a repetitive pattern of chanting, singing, movements, and breathing. It improves the following:
- Your stress response
- Boost your memory
- Internal peace
- Self-appreciation
6. Qigong Meditation.
Qigong is old, strongly effective Chinese meditation that opens energy pathways in your body, allowing “qi” (breath of life) inside you. And when you exhale, it is believed that you transfer energy to the universe because qi is everywhere inside us and around the universe.
It’s a pretty difficult practice to get along with because it is involved with slow movements and breathing. But, these slow movements help your brain practice patience and relieve stress.
In Qigong, when you slowly raise your arms, you collect energy from the sun, the moon, the planets, and the heavens, and then slowly move your arms down, moving energy through the head chakra and down towards your body.
Conclusion
It is our wish that you find this post enlightening and helpful. If you have any questions or suggestions, we love to hear from you in the comments below. Also, kindly accept our invitation to join our group on Facebook to surround yourself with kindred spirits and post your encouraging messages.
