Meditation is something that has interested me for as long as I can remember and I had tried meditating various times in my life however I didn't properly start to meditate until around a year or two ago and since that point I have noticed many positive benefits. Meditation is something that can be done in many ways and I think prayer and similar activities are one in the same as meditation, I think that any form of constructive self reflection could be classed as meditation.
I don't remember when I first became interested in meditation but it was likely because of something I saw on TV. At first I thought that meditation was something I couldn't do because I thought to properly meditate you have to sit silent and still for hours on end and I feel this is a common misconception that many people have.
So I admired meditation but never really understood how to meditate or the full concept of meditation, I thought you only meditated to reach enlightenment a concept that I still don't think I entirely understand but I don't think anyone that isn't enlightened can truly understand what it is to be enlightened.
A few years back now I went to an acupuncturist who recommended that I meditate to help relax and take some of the stress off my back and she explained to me a few types of meditation, previously to this I thought meditation was just emptying your mind and there was nothing else to it, and she told me to research and try out different types of meditation to find out what works best for me.
When I got home I immediately went to look at different types of meditation and found there are tons of different types of meditation that all have differing methods, goals and origins.
Types of meditation & Time:
There are tons of different types of meditation out there which is why it can be hard to find a few types that work well for you and your goals so it really becomes a process of trial and error and it can take a while before you find the type of meditation that works best for you, personally I am still trying out different types and ways of meditation but I use two main types.
For me I found that mindfulness meditation works well. Mindfulness meditation is something I think comes naturally to a lot of people and is a good place to start because we all practice mindfulness to some extent in our day to day. Mindfulness helps you become more aware of your emotions and lets you understand your own emotional process of dealing with things and how to stop your emotions from completely controlling you.
To start with you find a comfortable spot to sit in a solid position and get comfortable, be aware of of your body starting wherever you feel and go through the different areas of your body and allow them to all relax comfortably.
Once you are settled and ready you can begin to close your eyes or just relax them and start to focus on breathing and feel the air entering your body, feel where it goes and settles before breathing out and feeling the breath leave your body, repeating this process throughout the meditation.
Then you let your mind flow and go to where it goes, but without focusing on your thought, let them be and let them constantly move, focus on breathing and let your mind go. The length of this process is entirely down to you and what you feel comfortable doing, some people will meditate for 5 minutes some for 5 hours it just depends on what is comfortable for you.
Then once you fell ready start to awaken from your meditative state and become aware of what is happening around you, feel the air blowing, the sounds around, be aware of your emotions and how your body feels and slowly stand, I like to take a few breaths before I carry on with my day.
The second main type of meditation I use is yoga which can be done in many different ways and I feel using meditation with any physical activity can work well depending on what you like to do from yoga to running or anything else.
Similarly to mindfulness meditation I start by standing in a comfortable position and begin to go through my usual breathing processes. While I go through the different poses and stretches I make sure to take a few deep breaths in each position to relax into it and to feel which parts of my body are stretching and how that feels.
During this meditation I try to constantly be aware of my body and how it feels during each stretch and position focusing on getting as deep into a stretch as is comfortable not worrying about how well I can do a stretch or position only how it makes my body feel. I make a conscious effort to move slowly and not rush through things.
Again the amount of time you spend doing any meditation is down to you and what you feel comfortable with and to end this meditation I use a similar method of becoming aware of my surrounding and taking a few breaths before carrying on with my day.
Benefits:
The benefits of meditation can depend on the type of meditation you use and on the type of person you are. For me I have found that mindfulness meditation has massively helped me become more in control of my emotions and aware of them as before I started meditating in any confrontational situation or when any disagreement arose I found myself having quite a short string that would snap easily and I would let anger, fear or whatever emotion it may be take control of the way I spoke and acted, whereas now I have much better control over my emotions and am able to stay calm and mindful in confrontational situations.
With Yoga meditation it has the obvious benefits of getting you into better physical shape but further than this it has helped me feel more at one with my body, more comfortable in my own skin and I have become able to better control any physical stress or anxiety.
Although I haven't been meditating seriously for a huge amount of time I feel that it has helped me in many ways and it has opened my eyes to how much of a difference such a seemingly simple thing can make and I would definitely recommend anyone that hasn't yet tried to give meditation a go and try out as many different types until you find what works best for you.