The greatest thing about meditation is that it can be done anywhere, by anyone, at any time. It has been around for hundreds of years, practiced by millions of people worldwide. There are a variety of techniques that can be practiced by anyone.
The whole purpose of meditation is to help you focus on yourself and connect with your inner spirit and being. Through meditation all situations, problems, and dilemmas become much simpler and the mind is more focused on peace, relaxation, and positivity rather than all the torment we put our bodies and mind through on a daily basis. Ever wish you could take control of all those loud, stressful, negative feelings, insecurities, emotions, and noises in your head? How good would you feel if you could reconnect with yourself in a few moments of silence, and then be able to handle any and all of life’s tasks with ease?
Meditation is simply a practice of focusing your total attention on a particular object or scene, generally something simple, like a word or phrase, a candle flame, a flower, the ocean, a sunset or sunrise, the sky, or just the simple sound of your own breath. In everyday life your mind is constantly processing a barrage of sensations, vibrations, visual impressions, thoughts, feelings, the connection with your body and all its movements internally and externally. When you meditate you narrow your focus, limit the stimuli bombarding your entire nervous system, and calm your mind in the process.
There are many different ways that meditation can be performed. While sitting is the most common, meditation also be performed standing, walking, lying down and in movement, for example tai chi. There are many different levels to meditation; daily patience and practice can reap the most benefits. When we meditate regularly for weeks, months or years we develop and generate an immense amount of energy that accumulates in our bodies. One can only describe this energy by experience.
Once you start to meditate, you may notice the mind wandering uncontrollably in different directions and you may at times feel uneasy, frustrated, or confused. This is a signal showing you how out of control you’ve allowed yourself to become and how disconnected you are from yourself. Practice is the key to controlling it all efficiently.
You can begin by meditating only 5 minutes daily and slowly graduating to more time as the process becomes comforting and relaxing. When sitting meditation, the back should always be erect, straight not slumped over, and your legs in an Indian position on the floor or cushion. If you cannot sit like this, try sitting in a chair or lying down palms facing up, legs uncrossed. Wear loose clothing so the body can breathe without restraints.
Begin by closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths – they are not to be forced, just natural breathing is fine. Once you’ve taken a few deep breaths, notice how that feels and let your body adjust to its comfortableness. There may be a lot of mixed feelings or uncertain thoughts if you are doing it right or wrong. Try to keep focused on the particular task at hand and every time you realize you’re not focused, try to catch yourself and channel your thoughts to breathe.
You can now let your mouth open, relax your jaw and repeat a word or phrase that you can focus on for the entire period of your meditation. Or you can just focus on the vibration of each breath you take, or picture a dream spot you’d love to be at one day, or a beautiful flower, or the sky, the sun, or the ocean. You can also imagine a mountain of warm honey trickling down on you from the top of your head to the soles of your feet; as it slowly moves down your body, the warmth relaxes every part of your body bringing you comfort and security.
Once you feel that you are relaxed and refocused, open your eyes take a few deep breaths, move your body slowly, and you will notice over time that all the tasks you have ahead will be much easier and your life less stressful.
Image: ePi.Longo
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