Meditation is like the brother of fitness. Without meditating and just working out, you are not a complete whole. Fitness trains the body to stay healthy, whereas the meditation does the same for the mind and the spirit. Therefore when you combine them together, you will be in excellent condition. However, you must do so with correct executions so that you don’t hurt yourself in the process and have negative results in the end.
The first people to practice meditation were the Hindus of Vedanta around 1500 B.C. Later on the Taoists of China and the Buddhists of India developed it in their own forms. Then meditation was transferred to more Asian countries, Japan for example, and started influencing more and more countries through the years. Finally many religions around the world like Christians and Jewish incorporated it in their own traditions and today it’s one of the most popular practices in the world. I’m sure when you hear of meditation the first thing that comes in your mind is Buddha. It’s because is the most well-known figure connected with meditation in people’s minds and Buddhist meditation is the one that influenced more people around the world.
Why is it so effective though and became so famous? There are two reasons for that. The first one is that balances in harmony your body, mind and spirit together. The second one is that it has plethora of health benefits. These are just few of them:
- Stress reliever
- Anger reliever
- Improves concentration
- Improves focus
- Calms and relaxes the individual
- Improves mindfulness
- Lowers blood pressure
- Improves blood circulation
- Decreases anxiety
- Mind gains clarity and peace
The best thing about meditation is that you don’t have to do it all the time and there are various ways to do it. It can be done from 5 to 15-20 minutes and even more every few days per week. The more you practice it, the happier you will be. The beginners should not try any advanced ways, just the simple one.
First, find a quiet place somewhere in your house or at a park or in general a peaceful place. Next download a music app for relaxation or find a playlist video from YouTube. There are all kinds of relaxing sounds like river, wind, leaves, Zen music, ocean, flute, piano and plenty more sounds. There are few ways to sit on a chair or on the floor using a cushion and your legs crossing each other. Make sure that your back is straight all the time in all of the ways and choose the one that you feel more comfortable with. Next put your hands on your knees or in between your legs, in any way that you feel like it and close your eyes. Meditation is all about deep breathing and focusing, so you can clear and calm your mind. Breathe in from the nose and breathe out from the mouth. Take in as much air as possible and then take it all out in a natural way. Do not force yourself. That removes a lot of negativity from your body and thus relaxing you. While doing that try to clear your mind but do not force your thoughts to go away. Instead, let them come and go through in harmony. There will be some thoughts at the beginning that will not go away and that’s fine. It’s natural for a beginner because you try to relax and remove everything from your mind and that makes it hard. The point is to concentrate on your breathing. If possible do the whole process until you feeling relaxed and your mind is crystal clear from everything.
Breathing is the most vital part of meditation that’s why you need to make sure to breathe the right way. Most people at first, they inhale from the chest but the correct way is to inhale from the lower Tan Tien point, which is at lower abdomen area. Breathing from the Tan Tien point helps on inhaling more air into your lungs and you breathe more deeply therefore the effect from meditation is greater. To make sure that you breathe in the correct way put your hands on your belly. If your hands move out because of your belly’s movement while you breathe in, then you use the right technique.
When it becomes too simple, you can move on and try the advanced techniques. There are 7 advanced techniques. Samatha meditation, Satipatthana meditation, Chakra meditation, Inner smile meditation, White skeleton meditation, Laughter meditation and Cleansing meditation. You can learn more about them through research but do not rush into them alone. Attend a meditation class or find a meditation teacher to teach you the correct progressions. You may think that it’s nothing and you can pull it off but it’s not.
Meditate regularly or at least once in a while to balance your mind with your body and thus live healthier. 2-3 times a week is preferable but it’s up to you. Meditation should help you to be healthier, not the other way around. Therefore do not force yourself to do it no matter what. Do it when you feel like it.
Share this article to inform more people and tell us your thoughts in the comments below: Do you meditate regularly? If not, how often? Do you experience positive results in your way of life? What type of meditation do you use?