THUNAIWhy should you meditate?
When we meditate, we inject far-reaching and long-lasting benefits into our lives. In a nutshell, meditation helps us have a much healthier relationship with ourselves (and, by extension, with others).
Here are five reasons to meditate:
Understand your emotional state
Lower your stress, get out of the fight/flight state
Connect better with others
Improve focus, concentration
Reduce noisy thoughts
How to meditate:
Take a seat: Find a place to sit that feels calm and quiet to you, and where you can relax.
Set a time limit: If you’re just beginning, it can help to choose a short time, such as five or 10 minutes. Just set a timer.
Notice your body: You can sit in a chair with your feet on the floor, you can sit loosely cross-legged, or you can kneel -There are no rules here as long as you are stable and in a position you can stay in for a while.
Feel your breath: Follow the sensation of your breath as it goes in and as it goes out.
Notice when your mind has wandered: This is inevitable, and you don’t have to fight it. Once you notice you are mind-wandering, simply return your attention to your breath.
Close with kindness: When you’re ready, gently lift your gaze (if your eyes are closed, open them). Take a moment and notice any sounds in the environment. Notice how your body feels right now. Notice your thoughts and emotions.
That’s it! That’s the practice. You go away, you come back, and you try to do it as kindly as possible.
Types of Meditation:
While the meditation just described uses breath as the focal point, there are other types of meditation that focus on different parts of the body.
Body Scan meditation:
A brief body awareness practice for tuning in to sensations, head-to-toe. Try this: feel your feet on the ground right now. In your shoes or without, it doesn’t matter. Then track or scan over your whole body. You can spotlight one particular area or go through a sequence like this: toes, feet (sole, heel, top of foot), through the legs, pelvis, abdomen, lower back, upper back, chest shoulders, arms down to the fingers, shoulders, neck, different parts of the face, and head. For each part of the body, linger for a few moments and notice the different sensations as you focus. Remember You don’t have to do anything about anything here. You’re just noticing.
Walking Meditation:
A mindful movement practice for bringing awareness to what we feel with each step. Walk at a natural pace. Place your hands wherever comfortable: on your belly, behind your back, or at your sides. With each step, pay attention to the lifting and falling of your foot. Notice movement in your legs and the rest of your body. Notice any shifting of your body from side to side. If you find it useful, you can count steps up to 10, and then start back at one again. If you’re in a small space, as you reach ten, pause, and with intention, choose a moment to turn around.
Loving- Kindness Meditation:
To extend compassion to yourself, those around you, and the larger world. This loving-kindness practice involves silently repeating phrases that offer good qualities to oneself and to others. You can start by calling to mind things you have done out of good-heartedness. Silently recite phrases that reflect what we wish most deeply for ourselves.
Traditional phrases are:
May I live in safety.
May I have mental happiness (peace, joy).
May I have physical happiness (health, freedom from pain).
May I live with ease.
Repeat the phrases with enough space and silence between so they fall into a rhythm that is pleasing to you. Direct your attention to one phrase at a time. After some time, visualize yourself in the center of a circle composed of those who have been kind to you, or have inspired you because of their love. As you visualize yourself in the center of it, experience yourself as the recipient of their love and attention. Keep gently repeating the phrases of loving-kindness for yourself.
To close the session, let go of the visualization, and simply keep repeating the phrases for a few more minutes. Each time you do so, you are transforming your old, hurtful relationship to yourself, and are moving forward, sustained by the force of kindness.Please see simple guided meditations in our audio/video sections.