There are lots of ways to meditate. The trick is to find the way that works for you.
New ways to meditate
For some people, that’s through a regular yoga or Tai Chi practice. Or even walking while allowing your thoughts to deepen and wander. (Walking is a great way to access your intuition.)
For others, they find a meditative state while doing repetitive tasks, like folding laundry, vacuuming or showering. Or coloring. It allows you to get into a relaxed state of mind where enough of your brain is focused on the task at hand that you let go of all the other things you usually think about.
These types of meditation are called physical and active meditation.
Mindfulness meditation
Mindfulness meditation falls along the lines of what we traditionally think of as meditation, although, with practice, it can be done pretty much anywhere.
The goal of mindfulness meditation is to help you focus on the present and live in each present moment. It does this by helping you focus on your breath. By becoming more present with yourself, as you are right now, you’re able to participate more fully in each moment of your life. It can also help you learn to focus your mind as you gently bring it back (over and over and over again) to the present moment each time it wanders off.
An important thing to know about mindfulness meditation is that its goal isn’t to stop thinking or to be able to sit with an empty mind. Its point is for you to learn to notice what is at the focus of your attention and to be able to move that point of focus, without judgment, to what you want it to be (in this case, your breath). Mindfulness is about accepting yourself where you are in each present moment.
Within mindfulness meditation, there is a range of techniques. You can meditate with your eyes open or closed, for instance. Try out different things and find out what works best for you (I like to close my eyes).
Here’s one mindfulness meditation technique:
- As you sit, breathe in and out, deeply and gently.
- Don’t force your breath. Notice your breath.
- Notice how your breath enters your body and how it leaves it.
- Notice how your breath feels at the first moment of your inhalation, at the fullness of your inhalation, at the first moment of your exhalation and at the end of your exhale.
- As your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your body and your breath.
- As thoughts continue to come into your mind (which they will do, it’s just the way of thoughts), bring your attention back to your breath. Release any judgment you have of yourself for having thoughts. They’re OK and natural. Just notice, without judgement, that you’ve been thinking and move your attention back to your breath.
- Each time a thought comes up, you can say/think to yourself “thought” then go back to paying attention to your breath.
You can practice this mindfulness meditation for 1 minute or for 30 minutes, it’s up to you. And there are lots of other mindfulness techniques, this is just one of them.
Other mindfulness methods
Once you become comfortable with this method, you can try mindful eating, where you slowly eat a bite of food and focus on the flavors and sensations in your body. Or you can have someone ring a bell or sound a chime in a quiet room and listen for the very edges of the sound — the moment at which you can no longer hear the sound vibrations in the air.
All of these methods are meant to bring you into the present moment, which is where you are able to access your intuition and deeper wisdom.
Photo credit: Jackiebabe