A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation
People who meditate often report that it has improved their lives and helped them discover inner peace. Today, science supports these claims. Numerous studies have shown that when practiced regularly, it delivers astounding effects on all levels of your existence – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It links you to your inner forces of life, clarity, and love.
So you’re ready to give it a go, but you’re not sure where to start or what to do. Don’t worry, this article will help you out. But before we begin, let’s take a brief look at meditation and its advantages.
What is Meditation?
An article published in NCBI by Bærentsen KB[Author] on Patanjali and neuroscientific research on meditation defines meditation as “restriction (or stilling) of the fluctuations of the mind”. So a meditative state is any state in which you are highly focused. As a result, any situation in which you consciously develop attention is a meditation.
Why Meditate?
Meditation is one of the most natural and yet profoundly satisfying practices available to humans. Meditation is frequently promoted as a habit of highly successful and happy people. Numerous studies have shown that practicing meditation may enhance both our mental and physical well-being. Here are a few advantages of meditation on our mental and physical well-being.
- Physiological benefits. According to physiological research, meditation has been shown to, among other things, lower stress levels, boost immunity, and facilitate the body’s natural healing processes. As you meditate, your breath and brain waves calm down, your blood pressure and metabolic rate fall, and your circulation and blood detoxification increase. According to several recent research, regular practice of meditation can increase the amount and density of grey matter in particular brain regions in just eight short weeks.
- Mental benefits. No other activity is as effective as meditation for focusing and clearing the mind. Meditation helps us become more conscious of our thoughts and increase our emotional intelligence & leadership potential. Daily meditation can enhance our self-awareness, positively impacting our mood, decision-making, communication, and confidence.
Types of meditation
-
- Focused meditation
- Mindful meditation
- Mantra meditation
- Kriya meditation
- Zen meditation
How to sit for meditation
Sit in a comfortable position. Maintaining an upright posture. If you are sitting on the ground, it is best to elevate yourself with a cushion so that your thighs are at ease and your spine is maintained in a straight position. If you are sitting on a chair it is best to sit at the edge of the chair, and you may use a cushion to support your back if necessary.
Sitting on the floor – Click here.
Sitting on a chair – Click here.
Tips for effective meditation
- Wear Loose clothes. Dress comfortably in free-flowing, loose-fitting clothes. Wearing clothing made of organic materials and white is recommended. The color white is said to act as a filter for negative influences from the outside world.
- Take a cold shower. If the weather permits, it is best to take a cold shower before meditation. A cold shower can help a person feel more attentive, because of the impact it has on the body. Taking a cold shower helps improve mood and purify the etheric body.
- Meditate on an empty stomach. Your ability to enter a more advanced stage of meditation is increased by having an empty stomach since your mind is attentive. If you are doing meditation during the day, keep a gap of at least 4 hr after meals, 90 minutes after drinking tea, coffee, or tobacco, and 12 hr after drinking alcohol.
- Do some stretching. It is beneficial to stretch before meditation since meditation requires you to sit in the same posture for an extended period. To relieve any physical tension, it is beneficial to stretch first and relax your body. Learning to relax at will offers benefits that extend beyond meditation and into all facets of one’s life.
- Best time to meditate. You may practice meditation at any time of the day but ideally, good times to meditate are sunrise, sunset, noon, and midnight. At certain times, the sun’s gravitational pull acts in harmony with the body’s inherent polarity.
- Establish a Special Meditation Space. Having a space dedicated to meditation is highly beneficial. It will support the development of a meditative state and, over time, become infused with the “vibrations” of meditation. If you don’t have enough space for a complete room, set up a modest area in your bedroom or another room that may be maintained only for meditation.
Few guided meditation practices
Isha Kriya by Sadhguru – Brings about well-being, dynamism, health, and peace Click here.
Simha Kriya by Sadhguru – Increases lung capacity Click here.
Sitting with Buddha by Thich Nhat Hanh – Increases awareness and compassion Click here.
Chit Shakti by Sadhguru – Meditation for success Click here.