You must have heard a thing or two about meditation as more people are practicing it lately.
So, what is meditation?
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness as well as achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.
Meditation is an exercise that involves relaxing the body and the mind. It can give you a sense of calmness and peace which is beneficial for your emotional well-being. The relaxation response helps decrease metabolism, lowers blood pressure, and improves heart rate, breathing, and brain waves.
Furthermore, the practice of meditation strengthens areas of your brain responsible for memory, learning, attention and self-awareness.
Are there different kinds of meditation?
Yes. If you google it, you'll find different websites and blogs telling you all sorts of things about meditation. Some will claim that there are 10 types of meditation, others will tell you that there are 16 of them and in some cases you'll even find some bloggers giving you a list of 23 types of meditation.
If you're a beginner, let me tell you about the most practiced and most researched types of meditation:
Mindfulness, body-scan, breath-awareness and movement meditation.
Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the fundamental human ability to be fully present and to consciously pay attention to the present moment and experience. Without distraction and without judgment.
Body-scan: Body scan meditation (BSM) is the practice of mindfully scanning your body and bringing attention to sensations occurring in different parts of the body, like feelings of tension, tightness, or pain.
Breath-awareness: You concentrate your attention on the many physical sensations that accompany each breath; the flow of air through your nostrils, the expansion of your chest cavity, the movement of your diaphragm.
Movement: This type of meditation refers to exercises that energize the body and mind through calm and purposeful breathing and movement. It involves being mindful of the sensations that occur during movements. The most common movement meditation practices are yoga, walking meditation, and tai chi.
I suggest starting with basic meditation and testing your body and mind first, before searching all different types of meditation that you'll find on the web.
Miss Raviv - Coach & Counselor
Certified Life Coach
Stress & Burnout Coach
MBA - Trainer/Educator