With life being as stressful as it is, it’s no wonder that more and more people are turning to meditation to calm and balance their minds and spirits. Though people associate meditation with eastern religions and traditions, it is practiced by people of all religions or no religion. The oldest kinds of meditation were practiced 5000 years ago. Since then many different practices have been developed, so there is one that’s just right for you.
Yoga
Though people associate yoga with different bodily positions, it’s also a form of meditation. Its purpose is to make the body more flexible while encouraging the calmness of the mind. Some yoga poses seem daunting to beginners, but they require that the practitioner stay focused and not allow distractions to break their concentration. As there are different schools of meditation, there are different types of yoga. They include hot yoga, Hatha yoga, Vinyasa yoga, and Iyengar yoga.
Tai Chi
As yoga originated in India, tai chi originated in China. Like yoga, tai chi meditation utilizes the movement of the body. Like yoga, there are different styles of tai chi, including chen and wu. Because the movements are gentle, it is excellent for people who are older or have physical challenges.
Chakra Meditation
Chakras are energy centers in the body. They are given their name because they’re said to resemble wheels, and chakra is the Sanskrit word for “wheel.” Traditionally, practitioners claim there are seven chakras in the body, though there are those who claim there are as many as 114. The seven traditional chakras are the crown, third eye, throat, heart, solar plexus, sacral and root chakras. The purpose of chakra meditation is to bring all of the chakras into balance, and when chakras are balanced they lead to the well-being of the mind and the body.
Because chakras are energy centers, chakra meditation pairs well with reiki healing services. Reiki is a type of healing where the healer places their hands just above or sometimes on your body and helps to direct its energy in ways that support your overall health.
Metta Meditation
Metta or loving-kindness meditation helps you send good wishes to yourself and others. First, you direct your loving kindness toward yourself before you send it outward. Loving-kindness meditation is practiced while you’re sitting comfortably. You take deep breaths and speak words of comfort, safety, peace, and health toward yourself. Then, you picture someone else, even someone you may be at odds with, and wish the same for them. At the end of the meditation, you send good thoughts to everyone.
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental meditation is noteworthy because it was developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who in turn taught it, or tried to teach it, to the Beatles. It’s quite simple in that you choose a mantra or are given one by a certified TM practitioner. Once you’ve chosen your mantra you sit in a relaxed position, shut your eyes, and say it over and over for 20 minutes, twice a day. This practice aims to free the mind and the body of anxiety, and scientific studies have shown that it does work.
Vipassana Meditation
This ancient form of meditation has the goal of allowing you to experience things as they are and not as you wish them to be. During vipassana Meditation, you’re taught to concentrate on your body’s sensations, which fosters a powerful connection with your mind. Traditionally, vipassana meditation is taught over a 10-day period where you are expected to abstain from a number of bodily pleasures.
Guided Imagery
Like transcendental meditation, guided imagery meditation seems to work best when you have a teacher. This teacher helps you create soothing mental images in your mind as you use as many of your five senses, taste, touch, sight, hearing, and smell, as you can.
Conclusion
People the world over have enjoyed the benefits of some kind of meditation for millennia, no matter what their beliefs or their station in life. Life has always been challenging, and meditation can help put those challenges in perspective. If things are stressful and confusing, or even if they’re not, meditation may be the answer for you.