Posts Tagged ‘meditation techniques’

Since ancient times, people have practiced meditation for the numerous benefits it offers. Incorporating meditation into your everyday life could make a huge difference in your mindset and attitude.

Most forms of meditation call for the spine to be straight and the posture to be erect. The explanation for this is that sitting upright encourages the movement of your spiritual energy. This is considered to be your life force.

A straight back is essential to most of the meditation traditions, and is a standard component of the various postures used in this practice. Let’s take a look at some of them.

1. Seated position. The individual sits upright while maintaining a straight back. The head and spine are in alignment and not tilted. The thighs are parallel to the floor. The hands are placed on the arms of the chair or on the knees.

2. Cross legged posture. This is a very common posture; the lotus position is included in this category.

3. Kneeling position. The individual is on the floor in a kneeling position. The buttocks rest on the heels and toes, which are placed side by side. The hands are placed on the thighs.

4. Lying down position. In yoga this is referred to as savasna; it’s also known as the corpse position. The person lies down on the floor keeping the legs unbent and at ease. This posture isn’t that common since it so closely resembles the sleeping position. A person might doze off at times. This is better as a means of reducing stress more so than for meditating.

In addition to these postures, there are several gestures and movements that can be incorporated into the practice of meditation. Among these are hand gestures called Mudras. A theological meaning is at the root of these gestures. Coming from the yogic philosophy, they can impact your consciousness. One illustration is the typical Buddhist hand placement. With the thumbs touching, the right hand is positioned on top of the left hand.

Integrating assorted repetitive actions like chanting, deep breathing or humming also assists in bringing on a state of meditation. Some people practice walking meditation. It’s common to keep the eyes closed or partially open while meditating. However, Soto Zen practitioners perform their meditation with their eyes wide open in front of a wall.

To achieve the advantages of meditation, stick to the advice and training of the kind of meditation you have chosen to practice. Be aware that persistence and acceptance are required to achieve success. This could be of help at times when you find difficulty in meditating, and it will also improve your concentration in daily life.

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meditation techniques

In many ways, people who live today have the most advantages and conveniences of any other period of human history, yet for some reason many of these advantages have resulted in people feeling even more pressured to do more and do it faster. With cellular phones, PDAs, and laptops glued to their sides, it is hard to even feel that they are ever actually away from work. Interestingly, the ancient practice of meditation might be the best way for modern people to cope.

There are numerous benefits to meditation. As more modern, mainstream medical practitioners look into meditation techniques, the more they have started to acknowledge some of these benefits. Of course, this is nothing new to a great many people and is simply what Eastern religious and cultural traditions have known for centuries.

But, in the Western world, coverage of the benefits of meditation on a national, mainstream broadcast marks a definite shift in the society at large. Multiple research studies have revealed that when cancer patients are taught to incorporate meditation sessions with their cancer treatments, their treatments are more successful.

The fact that this is a major news story in the Western world, and yet is simply a well-known fact in the Eastern world, is a clear indication of how far behind Western medicine is, with regard to integrating spirituality into healthcare approaches. In fact, to many in Eastern cultures it even seems laughable to waste time on a study of the benefits of meditation when in that part of the world it has been a fact of life and practice for as long as anyone can remember.

But, the news is that researchers in the Western world have proven through scientific means, that the regular practice of meditation is an effective, simple and safe way to balance a person’s emotional, mental and physical state. As a result of this, it is commendable that more and more mainstream doctors are suggesting to their patients that they learn to meditate in conjunction with their traditional medical treatments. Many doctors have reported that meditations have helped their patients heal faster and respond better to various treatments and medications.

Of course, there are also many benefits even for those who are not undergoing any type of medical treatment, and many advocates of various meditation techniques say that a regular practice of meditating can help keep a person healthy and can actually be instrumental in warding off illness and disease. It is believed that one of the reasons for this is the fact that the meditation helps to keep stress and anxiety in check and since these are major contributors or triggers of many health issues, it is natural that those who meditate enjoy better health.

One of the primary benefits of the practice of meditation is the fact that it helps to significantly reduce levels of stress in the body. When people engage in meditation practice on a consistent basis, they are able to reach greater levels of inner contemplation and deeper relaxation. This in turn helps them to deal with the pressures and the worries that build up during the course of a day, and can help them to enjoy more calmness and peace in everyday life.

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the meditation

With the hectic pace of life in the modern world, it is no wonder why more and more people are dealing with issues of anger, rage, stress, depression and anxiety, as well as many other negative reactions and destructive emotions. With busy lives and packed schedules it is also easy to find yourself going through a day on “auto-pilot” and actually missing some aspects of life. Mindfulness meditations are one way that people are combating these issues.

The concept of mindfulness meditations is to help you to be more aware, or mindful, of the many aspects of your life and of everything you are doing. So many times it is easy to get into a groove or a rut and fail to recognize patterns of behavior, attitudes, emotions and actions that begin to take over. Sometimes, it seems that it is easier to let habit or outside circumstances and influences “push” us through the day, and living starts to take on an aspect of “unconscious existing.”

It has been said that you simply cannot change what you don’t acknowledge or what you are not aware of in your life. When people get into this mode of unconsciously going through the motions of life as opposed to consciously living, mindful meditations can be very helpful.

Taking time on a daily basis for mindful meditation practice is the way to become aware of the patterns that a person has fallen into. Once this awareness is brought about, the person who is meditating can then start to see their life from a different perspective and start to see where they can make changes and improvements. In general, meditation techniques help people to gain a more balanced, realistic and grounded view of their behaviors, attitudes and actions.

As you become more aware of all the different aspects of your life, your unique situation, and the environment you are surrounded by through mindfulness mediations, this in turn helps your body to relax, which also helps the nervous system to relax. As a result, stress can be greatly reduced simply by becoming aware through the meditation process.

Another of the benefits of gaining this increased awareness on many levels through mindfulness meditations is that you can then start to take greater control in your life. Often, one of the most stressful things is the feeling of not being in control of one’s own existence. Meditation techniques can be the first step in breaking the unconscious patterns and habits that have taken charge and shifting the control back to conscious decision-making.

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