Meditation is an approach to train your mind. You perform physical exercise to keep your body fit and healthy and in the same way you use meditation for keeping your mind healthy.

Techniques

There are several different techniques available that you can use for meditation. They have their own benefits and problems. Different meditation practices require different mental skills. As a beginner, some of the techniques may not be suitable for you because it may not be possible for you to sit for hours can think of nothing.

Let’s know about a few techniques.

Concentration meditation

In this type of medication, you need to focus on a single point. You may focus on the breadth, repeat only a single word or do something else. There may be a mantra involved in it which you need to repeat while meditating. Some people may stare at a candle flame or may count beads. Buddhist people may listen to a repetitive gong. You may need to start small and gradually move forward as you can sit for longer duration. In this type of meditation, you learn to refocus your awareness on a specific chosen object. Each time your mind tries to wander of, you bring it back to that specific object. Gradually, you’ll be able to concentrate more on anything that you choose.

Mindfulness meditation

This type of meditation is a little different from other types because here you do not stay away from the wandering thoughts. Rather, you observe those wandering thoughts as they move in your mind. You do not get involved with them, you do not judge the thoughts but you try to be simply aware of those thoughts. After observing your thoughts for some time, it’ll be easier for you to see how your thoughts and feelings move in particular patterns. You will be able to become more aware of the fact that as human beings we are more likely to judge an experience as good or bad. With lots of practice, you’ll be able to get out of that and balance your inner self.

In some cases, some schools or some students may use both the techniques and combine them to get more benefits.

There are other meditation techniques available which are practice in different parts of the world. A Buddhist meditation practice is used by Buddhist monks, where they focus on the cultivation of compression. You will also find some other meditation practices known as tai chi, qui gong and walking meditation.

Benefits of meditation

We already know about the benefits of meditation. Let’s find out what it means for you.

When you regularly practice meditation, you become more relaxed. There are different types of short-term and long-term benefits of meditation. Meditation will lower your blood pressure, lower heart rate, reduce perspiration, reduce your anxiety, reduced blood cortisol levels, reduce stress and will provide you with other benefits. It will also improve your blood circulation, give you a feeling of well-being and will make your mind calmer.

However, the Eastern philosophy does not focus on the benefits or goals of meditation. It rather focuses on simply to be present getting any benefit at all. In Buddhist philosophy the ultimate benefit of meditation is liberation of the mind from attachment to different types of things which is not under its control. Since you cannot control external circumstances or strong internal emotions, it is always better to completely liberate your mind from attachment to those things and that is possible with the help of meditation if it is practice regularly for a long duration.

References

1. The Depth Factor
2. Meditation
3. Meditation and Psychiatry