Six Types Of Meditation
There are so many different types of meditation. How many? Who
knows, but enough so that you can find the one that's right for
you. To get your search started, here are six types of
meditation you can try.
1. Breath watching. Can meditating be as simple as paying
attention to your breath for a few minutes? You bet. Relax in
whatever position works best for you, close your eyes and start
to pay attention to your breathing. Breathing through your nose
gets your diaphragm involved and gets oxygen all the way to the
bottom of your lungs. As your mind wanders, just re-focus your
attention on the air going in and out of your nose. Just do this
for several minutes, or longer as you get used to it.
2. An empty mind meditation. Meditating can create a kind of
"awareness without object," an emptying of all thoughts from
your mind. The techniques for doing this involve sitting still,
often in a "full lotus" or cross-legged position, and letting
the mind go silent on its own. It can be difficult, particularly
since any effort seems to just cause more business in the mind.
3. Walking meditations. This one gets the body involved. It can
be outside or simply as a back and forth pacing in a room. Pay
attention to the movement of your legs and breathing and body as
you walk, and to the feeling of your feet contacting the ground.
When your mind wanders, just keep bringing it back to the
process of walking and breathing. Meditating outside in this way
can be difficult because of the distractions. If you do it
outside, find a quiet place with level ground.
4. Mindfulness meditation. A practice Buddhists call vipassana
or insight meditation, mindfulness is the art of becoming deeply
aware of what is here right now. You focus on what's happening
in and around you at this very moment, and become aware of all
the thoughts and feelings that are taking your energy from
moment to moment. You can start by watching your breath, and
then move your attention to the thoughts going through your
mind, the feelings in your body, and even the sounds and sights
around you. The key is to watch without judging or analyzing.
5. Simple mantra meditation. Many people find it easier to keep
their mind from wandering if they concentrate on something
specific. A mantra can help. This is a word or phrase you repeat
as you sit in meditation, and is chosen for you by an
experienced master in some traditions. If you are working on
this alone, you can use any word or phrase that works for you,
and can choose to either repeat it aloud or in your head as you
meditate.
6. Meditating on a concept. Some meditative practices involve
contemplation of an idea or scenario. An example is the
"meditation on impermanence," in which you focus on the
impermanent nature of all things, starting with your thoughts
and feelings as they come and go. In the Buddhist "meditation on
the corpse," you think about a body in the ground, as it slowly
rots away and is fed on by worms. The technique is used to guide
you to an understanding that your rationalizing mind might not
bring you to.
There are many other meditations you can try, such as the
"meditation on loving-kindness" or "object" meditation, and even
meditating using brain wave entrainment products. Each type has
its own advantages and effects. For this reason, you may find
that at different times and for different purposes you want to
use several different types of meditation.