Learning Meditation Techniques

There are techniques in yoga and meditation that will help get rid of pain and we show you how here. Yoga uses simple techniques which can be performed by anyone and more importantly it is not time consuming. This is one of the most widely accepted and practiced methods to heal and relieve stress by all cultures and religions. Meditation can also be viewed as a contemplative technique that can be used for focusing your mind on a certain thought or object, for spiritual, religious or relaxation purposes and it often leads to feelings of peace and calmness within the soul and body.

The path to meditation can be through music, through chants or even through silence. You can also focus on a picture or concentrate on your own breathing cycle and posture. The main thing here is the fact that you need to be undisturbed so finding a quiet place is necessary. Identify your object of focus - it can be a mantra (word or phrase), your breathing cycle or a physical object and attain a comfortable posture (do not lie down as it would induce sleep). The ultimate aim is to reach a state of a mild trance, a state where you are aware of your surroundings yet detached from it. Generally people experience the limited Alpha State. In the two deeper states, however, the mind becomes progressively more tranquil and still.

Though it is Buddhism that comes to mind when we think of meditation, most religions include it as a part of their religious practices in some form or the other. Among Buddhists, it is used as a means to get to the highest mental state - the state of enlightenment. Even though it can be performed while standing, walking, lying down or sitting, there is normally an emphasis on the sitting position, which is also referred to as zazen.

Harvard Medical School Professor Herbert Benson's research, documents the psychological and physical advantages of various meditation techniques. Studies have demonstrated that as little as 20 minutes a day aids in the reduction of blood pressure, muscular tension, heart and breathing rates and in lowering metabolism. Entering into the deeper states sometimes bring on colorful swirls and pictures as well as hearing voices inside of you. It has been proved by follow-on studies that meditation also relieves stress, headaches, anxiety, fatigue, migraine, chronic pain and insomnia. As you become happier, healthier and you being to realize that you possess a much greater self-awareness, all of the other benefits are going to start to naturally follow: for example, an improved mental functioning is going to mean a greater intuition as well as a much greater access to the unconscious abilities and resources. Meditation has been used through the ages as a means to attain better spiritual planes but today it is finding a great use to manage the stress and tensions that abound in the modern world. When you combine yoga and meditation, you will find it a perfect recipe to help you to a life without stress and tension.