Meditation has been known to relieve stress and tension and promote well-being. It relaxes your body and mind and heals the soul. It rids the mind of conflict and soothes the spirit. Regular meditation helps one cope with everyday pressures without falling victim to them. Meditation can be practiced in several ways. There are many techniques that help you get in touch with your inner self and bring relaxation to mind and body. Some of the simplest meditation techniques are mindfulness meditation, breathing and guided meditation.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness implies awareness. So, mindfulness meditation aims at being aware of one's inner self and the surroundings while touching on a higher level of consciousness. With mindfulness meditation all thoughts, feelings and emotions are acknowledged without making an attempt to suppress them. You have to play the part of a detached observer. In other words, you have to live in the moment without getting involved in it.
There are several ways to practice mindfulness meditation. Most of them involve focusing on a certain object or a process. This could be focusing on your breath, performing a recurring exercise or simply chanting a mantra. There's no specific posture that you need to take while doing mindfulness meditation. You can sit comfortably but you have to make sure that your back is upright in order to remain relaxed and alert. This is a very simple form of meditation and can be practiced at any time since all you have to do is sit and do nothing.
Breathing Meditation
Breathing meditation aims to clear the mind of distractions and make it calm and peaceful. Select a serene place to meditate and sit comfortably. You can take up any posture as long as you keep your back erect. Sit with your eyes slightly closed and focus on your breathing. Breathe through your nostrils and gain an awareness of how each breath enters and leaves your nostrils.
Concentrate on this alone and make an effort to stop your thoughts from wandering. If your mind strays from the breathing process, bring it back to the task at hand. Do this as many times as is necessary. With constant practice, this will bring a sense of calm and peace to the mind. Even though breathing meditation is often considered as a prelude to other forms of meditation, it is a very effective technique to experience peace and contentment from within.
Guided Meditation
The deeper the level of meditation, the greater healing it brings to mind and body. Guided meditation aims at taking you to a whole new level altogether. Either your guru can guide you and bring you to this new state or you can use an audio tape to achieve a similar effect. You have to keep your mind free of all thoughts and focus only on the guiding voice in question.
Here, you touch your inner self and unleash old resentments and emotions to create peace and harmony within. There are many audio tapes available over the internet that can be used for this kind of meditation. All you have to do is unwind and follow the instructions. Guided meditation is used to instill feelings of self-confidence and release feelings of insecurity.
All these three meditation techniques have a common purpose: To bring peace and reduce the conflict within yourself. Regular meditation will enrich your life and make way for a healthy and wholesome lifestyle.
