Types of Meditation: Which One Is The Best For You?
We focus a lot on keeping our body in perfect shape but hardly attend to our mind's health. A healthy mind is a key to peace and harmony in life, and for that, meditation is suggested and practiced by many. Meditation is a practice that encourages a state of awareness by practicing focus.
Meditation is a years-old practice that is still preferred by many to calm their mind and to feel relieved from the depressed and stressful life of today. The beauty of meditation is that it does not have any right or wrong move. Rather, it is all about choosing what works best for you.
Types of Meditation
Meditation techniques are categorized into different types based on their unique styles. Here are some of the most common ones.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness is a mental state of being completely conscious of yourself and your thoughts. So the mindfulness meditation helps the person to focus on their present. They concentrate on the pattern of thoughts that arise in their mind without judging or reacting to them. This practice is suitable to improve focus, memory and to reduce negative thoughts.
As this method is widely practiced; therefore, a lot of research has also been conducted on it. Mindfulness improves health and reduces emotional reactions as well.
Focused Meditation
If you are looking to improve your focus in real life, then this type is for you.
As the name suggests, it helps the practitioner to develop their focus using any of their senses. While meditating, you either focus on your breath, or you can focus on any external component. This might seem like a piece of cake, but it is quite tricky for beginners to focus on something for a longer time.
Spiritual Meditation
This deep meditation is the best way to seek and create a better connection with your inner-self, God, or the universe. This practice may also include chanting a silent or spoken prayer and is quite famous in Hinduism, Daoism, and Christianity. It can be practiced at home, at a place of worship, or in nature.
Spiritual meditation encourages self-reflection and self-growth. It is all about being a better person by creating self-awareness and self-realization.
Mantra Meditation
In Mantra meditation, a certain word or phrase is repeated several times like 'Om' to clear the mind. This method is preferred by those who find it difficult to focus on their breath, so they focus on the rhythm of words spoken. It helps to develop a deeper level of awareness and helps to experience one’s spiritual strength.
It is recommended to practice it with a qualified teacher. ‘Om' is not the only word used in this method.
Transcendental Meditation
Breathing slowly while sitting peacefully to rise above a person’s current state of mind is what we call transcendental meditation. It is a spiritual state of mind that best suits those who want to maintain a meditation practice. It is quite popular as it can be customized easily and is backed by many scientific studies.
Movement Meditation
This form of meditation is preferred by those who find it easier to concentrate when moving or changing positions. This is the active type of meditation that helps you to find peace and calm in motion. These movements may include walking through the woods, a stroll with your dog, gardening, etc.
Zen Meditation
This meditation type is similar to mindful meditation but demands more practice and concentration. Therefore it is practiced with a supervisor to better guide you for various meditation postures and steps. The primary goal here is to create a sense of alertness and being present at the moment.
This ancient Buddhist meditation practice encourages you to focus on your breath and let your thoughts wander peacefully and freely.
Loving-Kindness Meditation
This meditative mind technique focuses on loving yourself first and then encourages loving and admiring others as well. It promotes compassion and tolerance for everyone, including yourself. This is a great way to create a positive attitude towards people's character and love and respect them to have a better and peaceful mind.
It is best suited for people with depression, anger, and frustration issues. Individuals repeat and concentrate on the message of love and then spread that love to others.
Visualization Meditation
Imagine you are at an extremely quiet, peaceful lake when, in reality, you are sitting in the city chaos.
Visualization meditation is all about creating an image in your mind that creates the feeling of calmness and relaxation, using all five senses. You can also imagine achieving specific goals, and that, in reality, will help you achieve your goals by focus and motivation. You can practice it to lift your mood, reduce stress, and attain peace of mind.
Reflective Meditation
This form of meditation is practiced to establish a deep understanding of the philosophy of life, death, and your conscience. It encourages disciplined thinking. You ask yourself a question or focus on a specific theme or topic and contemplate your thoughts and analysis on it. If the thoughts wander off from the matter, you bring them gently back on it.
Progressive Relaxation
This technique is all about the relaxation of mind and body muscles. It is also known as body scan meditation, as in this method, a group of muscles of the body are slowly tightened and relaxed one by one. A gentle wave is imagined being flown through the body, which releases the tension and stress from your body.
Final Words About Types Of Meditation
Meditation is a simple but time taking process for a healthier and happier lifestyle. It takes time to master it, but if you are willing to experiment with different meditation styles, you will surely find the one that suits you the best.
If you want to get into a meditative mind, now you know precisely which meditation type will do best for you.