Even the most basic meditation provides a solid foundation to support a successful fast. Allow yourself the freedom to discover the type of meditation that works best for you
We are each blessed with a powerful mind; but normally people have forgotten or, most likely, never even knew how to use it. It is such a waste of our own greatest resource.
One way to start to extricate ourselves from the mindless quicksand is to gently exercise our minds, using mindfulness and meditation as a way of bringing ourselves more emphatically into the real world, and start the process of exercising control over our minds and our lives.
Creating a mindfulness meditation is a gentle but powerful exercise. But how do you go about it? Find your personal style of meditation.
A Simple Mindfulness Meditation Exercise
As with any meditation session, you need to get into a relaxed and comfortable position, eyes closed, and then commence with deep nasal breathing, focusing your thoughts on the breathing to ease yourself into a meditative state.
We separate from our conscious minds during meditation, allowing our thoughts to simply come and go, without attachment.
Once you feel that you are calmed by your breathing and that your breath is under your rhythmic control, then you can move on to focusing on your own body, a part at a time.
By using simple mindfulness meditation you are increasing awareness both of yourself and your surroundings, in a very gentle and easy way. It can serve as a prelude to some mental task, as well as being part of an ongoing mindfulness campaign to strengthen and expand the use of your own mind during fasting.
Start with 10 minutes of silence, once per day. Gradually, extend your meditation to 20 minutes, reserving time to meditate every day.
Guided Meditation
Meditation in its truest sense does not only help people in developing tranquility, calmness, and inner peace but also to grow as a true person. However, some people have misconceptions about meditation as being a hippy act or something associated with marijuana smoking. They did not realize that meditation is done so that the mind can think better to improve the condition of life.
Guided meditation is a form of meditation wherein someone guides you throughout the meditation process and helps you to obtain the result of some descriptions. Many people associate meditation with just sitting cross legged on the floor, eyes closed and repeatedly go humming. This is not the result that most people want because the essence is totally absent.
Compared to other things, meditation must be done with a purpose. Take for instance; you are applying for a job out of a purpose. Once hired, you will have a monthly salary that you can use for example; purchasing a car, house, food, or spend on vacations. Probably, you will not work if you don't have any purpose.
Meditation is precisely the same. A purpose is needed when meditating and it can vary in many ways. Meditation is done to achieve inner peace, bring about concentration, relax, change the state of the mind, improve learning and creativity, build self-esteem and confidence, focus on healing oneself, control external and internal pain, and overcome fears. The reasons for doing meditation are really unlimited.
You don't have to be afraid during the guided meditation process since someone ensures that you are taking the right path for achieving your objectives. Thus, it is very important that you choose your meditation guide properly. Different practitioners and experts on guided meditation have different strategies. They facilitate people to experience the different meditation paths according to their objectives.
Most meditation experts are teaching deep breathing methods for beginners to orient them in practicing relaxation as well as in maintaining focus. Meditations paths will not certainly work if you failed in the first step. Keep in mind that meditation guides are unique from one another. So, ask the meditation guide for a free meditation lesson before paying for the services.
Meditation programs with good quality are usually open for viewing and testing. This is the same if you wanted to go to meditation centers or health retreats. Finally, guided meditations will be successful if you are patient enough to do regular meditation practice.
How To Meditate
How to meditate? Breath, and watch your breath.
Among the documented benefits of meditation are less anxiety, decreased depression, reduction in irritability and moodiness, better learning ability and memory and greater creativity. That's just for starters. Then there is slower aging (possibly due to higher DHEA levels), feelings of vitality and rejuvenation, less stress (actual lowering of cortisol and lactate levels), rest (lower metabolic and heart rate), lower blood pressure, and higher blood oxygen levels
How to Meditate Right Now
Here's a simple technique that will give you results in minutes. Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and tense up your whole body. Sigh deeply, then breath deeply through your nose and release the tension from every muscle. Just feel each part relaxing, watching for parts that may hold onto tension, like a tight jaw.
If you still have tension somewhere, tense up that part again, then let it relax. It may also help to repeat silently "relax" as the tension drains. This will train your body and mind to recognize relaxation. Later you may be able to relax more easily just by repeating "relax" a few times.
Breath through your nose. This is important because it brings in more oxygen by involving your diaphragm more. You can test this. Breath with your mouth and you'll notice that your breathing is shallower. Then breath through your nose and you'll notice that your abdomen extends more. Air is being drawn deeper into your lungs.
Allow your breathing to fall into a comfortable pattern, and pay attention to it. Pay attention to your breath as it passes in and out of your nose. Your mind may wander endlessly, but all you have to do is continually bring attention back to your breath.
If your mind is still too busy, try naming the distractions as a way of setting them aside. For example, say in your mind, "itchy leg," "worried about work," or "anger," and then immediately return attention to your breathing. Use any way you can to identify and set aside distractions.
That's it. Continue for five or ten minutes, or for 100 breaths. Afterwards, open your eyes and sit there for a few seconds. You'll feel relaxed, and your mind will feel refreshed. And you'll be better prepared for any mental challenges. That's how to meditate.
Easy Meditation Techniques
Meditation may be a challenge for most people to do as a habit. But it is not as difficult as some may think. There are several easy meditation techniques that anyone can follow toward attaining a deeper sense of relaxation. Meditation is an effective weapon against banishing stress brought about by the rigors of life. You should try it out and here are the simple steps that you can follow to help you out.
One of the first things is find a place where you can sit comfortably. It should also be some place where you can have few distractions as possible. Distractions are not good when you are meditating since they can keep you from developing your focus and concentration and keep your mind away from everything. Once you get the hang of meditating by keeping away the distractions, you can also do your meditation while riding the train, bus or plane.
After you have a place where you can do your meditation in comfort, you now need to choose a mantra. It can be any word that you feel can help you feel relaxed and calm. Try to go with words for your mantra that really appeals to you. It can even be your own name as long as it helps you feel positive and be aware of your meditation.
Once you have yourself comfortable and have chosen a mantra, close your eyes and start repeating the mantra to yourself. Let the mantra do what it wishes. If it is something that you wish to repeat it slowly, fast, quiet or loud, then do so. Try not to let outside thoughts to disturb you while you are doing this. Just ignore them and focus on repeating your mantra.
As you repeat the mantra, try not to get distracted and just be aware of what you are saying and focus on it. Learn also to remain relaxed and calm as you do this. In time you might sometimes find yourself going off on a daydream and stop repeating your mantra. Just try to refocus and continue on with your meditation before you ward off any further.
The key to this simple meditation is trying not to let distractions come before you when you meditate. It can be a bit hard sometimes to do first, but it will develop along the way and will help you develop your focus as well as awareness better. After some time, stop repeating your mantra and remain quiet while you are still sitting comfortably. Do this for about a couple of minutes or so. Avoid getting up immediately after your meditation. It would be similar to jumping up just after having a deep sleep. It would cause a lot of stress in itself.
The other key to effectively make use of such easy meditation techniques is to do it as a habit. Try to allot some free time in your schedule for your meditation. Making it a habit would make you improve your ability to keep out distractions when you do not need them. This meditation technique can be done in as little as ten minutes or so. It is not such a long time to spend on something that can provide you with a lot of benefits especially when it comes to battling everyday stress.