Different Types of Meditation Today and Their Benefits

Why meditate

There are various types of meditation depending on the motive and purpose of meditation. Reading this article will give leeway on deciding which types of meditation are best for your spiritual, mental, and physical needs.

The Different Types of Meditation

There are many benefits of meditation derived from the various practices and techniques of meditation. The most popular types include the following:

Mindfulness Meditation

This is the most common and practiced of the types of meditation. Mindfulness meditation takes place while you are very much aware of the activities taking place around you. The mind does focus on a specified thought but it keeps flowing from one to the other. In this case, you create an image that your mind is converted to a fluid and it should keep the flow in different thoughts.

This is one of the types of meditation that does not require a silent environment. It takes place in a noisy environment and the sounds can be heard. Here you don’t allow your mind to become seriously focused.

Mindful meditation got derived from Buddhist and Vipassana types of meditation. The main purpose for the originating of this style of meditation was to create focused attention to all the events taking place while at the same time flowing through a stream of thoughts.

Mindfulness trains the mind to write off any form of disturbance and concentrate on meditation. This will leave you a perfect person who can focus on thoughts and your feelings without any frustration or losing your focus. This type of meditation is suitable for everyone of all ages and gender. Meditation beginners may find this very interesting and easy to cope with. Mindfulness helps in relieving pain, anxiety, and depression.

Types of meditation
Types of meditation

Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental meditation is a form of Mantra meditation. It was developed by a yoga guru regarded as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and got introduced in the western countries around 1958 by the same yogi. This style is easy and simple to master for beginners. The benefits are immense and fascinating. It is the most preferred of all the types of meditation the relieving of stress and the body and mind tiredness.

It does not involve much and therefore practiced by many people. The duration for this meditation ranges from 10 to 15 minutes and is effective when done two times a day. Transcendental meditation can be done anywhere with no disturbances and you only need to close your eyes and listen to your breathing.

Zen Meditation and How to practice

This style of meditation was developed from the Buddhism culture. It was created with a view of the integration of the wind with the body hence realizing the real potential in human beings. While seated in a lotus position one is required to focus on the surroundings by making use of the senses. Everything happening in the environs continues taking place and you are not required to keep of whether they cause disturbance or not.

The thoughts are at the same time allowed to flow. This allows clear mind dissipation and the creation of the channels that make the energy flow systematically within the mind.

Walking Meditation and its Benefits

This is a unique style of the types of meditation. This is due to the fact that meditation takes place while someone is walking, contrary to sitting as in other types of meditations. This makes it have some advantageous features that miss in other styles. Some of the benefits of walking meditation include the following:

The body tends to develop stronger and fit due to longer walking made. The heart conditions and other ailments like blood pressure risks are likely to be reduced and avoided through this type of meditation. Those who are in the event of losing bodyweight should try this at least 30 minutes a day and they will not regret it.

The body systems are stimulated to function effectively. For instance the digestive and transport systems. This narrows the chances of complications arising within the body systems. Those who meditate in this style always get an upper hand in better focusing when it comes to meditation while seated.

How is walking Meditation done?

This involves making walks along with a short interval of about 10 meters repetitively. While performing these types of meditation you should make yourself aware of your posture and how your feet are touching the ground. There is deep breathing accompanied by the movements. In most cases, the walking is done with the bare feet to create a real feeling of the ground surface.

While meditating keenly observe the steps and the lifting of the feet from the ground to make a stride. This brings the sensational feeling of the feet to connect with the mind and the body as a whole. Sometimes someone may experience some anxiety and start to wander. This is most common with beginners and it is very normal. All you have to do is to ignore and keep on with the practice.

Why meditate
Why meditate

Vipassana Meditation

Of the types of meditation, vipassana was developed for the purpose of healing by the Indians. This is where the body is harmonized with the mind in various aspects. While the mind and the body are detached, the thoughts and sensational aspects are left to run as normal. Vipassana meditation reduces the risks of some illnesses like heart conditions and blood pressure imbalances.

Reflective Meditation

This is an analytical thinking technique that requires the practitioner to focus and reflect on a specific chosen topic or event. Some of the focus themes are to do with what life is all about, the self, the universe, and its composition. A question can be developed and meditation will therefore provide the solutions.

These types of meditations create energy and ability that transforms someone’s perception of life in the world. You will get to answer queries as to why do you exist and what is the purpose of your living.

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Heart-Centered Meditation

Heart meditation revolves around the improvement and the development of the Chakras. There is the evolvement of energy that strengthens some values like love, kindness, and other positive attributes defining human dignity. The heart is cured of negative life aspects like sadness and anxiety.

This meditation is best done in a quiet place while seated in a lotus posture. The eyes are closed and the hand’s palms are placed somewhere at the center of the chest. The mind is let to focus on that area around the heart and imagination a wave of energy rising from the heart through the palms to the world. This energy is believed to have some superior healing power going to touch anyone you might have thought about.

Visualization Meditation

Visualization helps in the development of human attributes that shape the personality as well as the mind. These qualities are greatly strengthened and integrated with the general body of the human. Examples include patience, humility, empathy, joy, and many more. This is where someone reflects deep down inside the qualities that define him or her.

Guided Meditation

All types of meditation can be practiced through guidance. A teacher or a recorded video tutorial can be used. Especially during the initial stages where the practitioner is a beginner. As the practice continues the guiding reduces until an individual becomes independent and can do it on their own.

Guided meditation is mostly applicable in the health fields such as surgery for preparations and during healing. This practice became so popular in the west due to this reason. Various meditation techniques are also employed in this type. Both the concentration and open awareness can be employed at a go or a combination of both.

Concentrative Meditation

This style of meditation focuses on breathing techniques and thoughts by pointing at a specified point within the meditation environment. In most cases, some objects or specific sounds are used to achieve this objective. Lit candle flame or meditating music sound are commonly used for this case.

The main purpose of this type of meditation is to construct and develop a calm mind that is stable. It is can be practiced by everyone and is popular in the west. The beginners are tough at their initial stages on how to go about this and later they can practice on their own after acquiring what it entails.

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Movement Meditation

This style of meditation involves the flow of thoughts rather than focusing or pointing at a particular thought or sound. It is best done while the eyes are closed while sitting in a lotus posture. There is much focus on the breath as the mind is gently moved in a streamlined East and West flow. You can also imagine a circular flow of thoughts. Some people claim to be comfortable with the up and down movements.  It causes body relaxation and removal of tension.

Mantra Meditation

This type of meditation involves loud chanting of the focused ideas. The sound is verbally produced and is known to be the loudest meditation. The sounds help in causing vibration of the mind hence promoting more concentration on a specified sound. It is commonly employed during yoga sessions.

Spiritual Meditation

The main purpose of these types of meditation is to create spiritual tranquility between the soul and the Supreme Being. Prayers are the common use style. The practitioner is able to communicate to God and all the desires are presented to be met by the creator. There is a sense of satisfaction and rewarding after this style of meditation. By faith, people have been healed and problems miraculously solved.

While carrying out spiritual meditation, either a quiet or noisy place can be used. The main objective is to focus the mind on whatever you are meditating about.

There are many different types of meditation practiced both in the East and West. Try to choose a particular specified style depending on what you want to achieve.

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