Finding Meditation Styles that are Best for You
There are greater than 20 styles of Meditation practices and maybe even more!
The actual number is uncertain and this alone can be overwhelming especially for a beginner.
This Article Gives You Five Great Meditation Styles to Learn About To Get You Started
Meditation practices exist in every culture known to (wo)man.
All types of meditation help increase the ability to concentrate and focus. Meditation is an incredible practice for relaxing the body and reducing stress. There are other amazing personal benefits that come with practice and time.
Meditation Styles — Five to Get You Started
Below are Five Meditation Styles to get you started. These are the most talked-about so you will understand when reading or hearing about these methods with confidence.
Check out the Meditation Tips too that helped me when I began. Enjoy!
Mindfulness.
Buddhist — Very popular.
How to do it: Be aware of breathing in and out. Detach from your thoughts. Listen to your breathing. Breathe in, Breathe out.
Have a thought? Watch the thought go by. Detach from the thought and visualize the thought floating by with no attachment, no judgment.
After the thought has gone go back to focusing on breathing in, breathing out. Rid the thought, come back to the breath. Repeat.
Transcendental.
Hindu — A bit advanced.
How to do it: Sit in lotus posture (cross-legged posture with feet not touching the ground). Focus on breathing, a word or mantra is repeated over and over silently.
The possibility is to rise above all physical elements and experience out-of-body sensations.
You can learn Hindu mantras or create your own such as:
“Love and Peace” “Love and Peace”;
“Breathe in relaxation, Breathe out stress”;
“I am safe” “I am safe”;
“I am healthy and happy” “I am healthy and happy”;
“Abundance and money flows to me” “Abundance and money flows to me”;
Kundalini.
Hindu — A bit advanced. Great for creating a physical experience with meditation. See also Kundalini Yoga practices for more.
Kundalini = latent female energy at the base of the spine. Great for balancing and grounding. Uses breathing patterns to become aware of breathing. Each breath is used to move energy from the lower body (base of the spine) to up and out of the body to the crown chakra (top of head).
May include repeating a chant out loud and creating a rhythm with your breathing.
Great How To Methods for Kundalini here: 4 Ways to do Kundalini Yoga and Meditation
Guided Meditation.
Nonspiritual — Easy.
Typically a recording to listen to. Eyes closed. A person will guide you through imagery to relax muscles and decrease anxiety. Concentration is involved.
Often the meditation has a theme, with relaxing music in the background.
Great for beginners or if you struggle with sitting still. Attention is placed on a specific outcome.
I very much enjoy Deepak and Oprah’s 21-Day Meditation Experience, an online program you can use via an app on your phone. Each meditation lasts 21 days with new subjects based on an overall theme for 21 days. The free recordings become available often and when the free recording is over, you can purchase the meditation to listen to on your phone or computer for around $50 depending upon length.
Visualization Meditation.
Nonspiritual — Easy. Can do in 5-10 minutes. Good for beginners.
Think about what you want. Picture it while breathing in and out and focusing on your breath. How does what you want look, smell, feel, who is with you, what good things are others saying. Smile.
Good to set a timer so you can commit to a set time and not finish too quickly.
Meditation Tips.
Breathe in an essential oil. Strong smelling essential oil like peppermint or eucalyptus can help you remain present and focused in the beginning.
Burn Incense. Some incense sticks are designed to burn for 45 minutes — almost like a timer. My favorite is Japanese Cypress, brand name Nippon Kodo.
If you are having a lot of trouble quieting your thoughts, try lighting a candle and focusing on the flame. Every time you find yourself lost in thoughts, return your focus to the flame which will move slightly as you are focusing upon it. This is how I began.
Find a mentor – online or locally you can learn from and practice with.
List any negative feelings before beginning with the intention of changing them to positive ones.
Listen to sound recordings via YouTube with headphones, and focus on the sounds, notes, and instruments you are hearing while breathing in and out. Search by a topic such as gratitude or stress relief.
For inspiration to meditate, watch the movie On Meditation on Netflix — this film highlights different types of meditation and features a few well-known individuals that use meditation to improve their lives.
Be patient. You may only be able to sit quietly only a little while at first, you will work up to longer and longer. Find what works best for you.
I often tell myself: “I am doing this now” if my mind begins to wander and think about things. Search for some mantras online via a YouTube video. Such as Jason Stephenson’s 17 of the BEST affirmations for your Morning.
Meditation Styles and My Experience
I am in awe after 5 years of serious meditation how much my life overall has improved. Meditation is truly the best discipline I have ever done and this practice has affected all other disciplines I am committed to.
Initially, I began meditating to create discipline and frankly because I wanted something(s) – to manifest and create tangible items into my life and I was not succeeding otherwise. I was familiar with visualizing to create an outcome and meditation to me seemed the next best step. After practicing meditation for a bit, I found the following:
- I had a greater ability to concentrate and focus;
- My recall of information became easier;
- Stamina – ablity to do projects for longer periods of time;
- Ideas flow to me quicker than ever;
- More relaxed around other people and they “got on my nerves” a lot less;
- I was able to easily create those things I wanted in my life;
- My face became relaxed – and you know what that means? — fewer wrinkles and a more youthful appearance.
Several of the above benefits have surprised me and I now find if I do not meditate that I become aggravated and uneasy — yet I know what to do! Meditate! It’s easy, it’s free…
Love, Signe
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