Different Types of Meditation

My intention with this blog is to provide information on meditation techniques that will help you in managing pain and over coming pain using the principles of yoga. Yoga uses simple techniques which can be performed by anyone and more importantly it is not time consuming. This method has been practiced for ages by so many cultures in order to relieve tension and as a healing technique. The technique of meditation is designed to bring harmony and balance inside you so that there is no more tension, just calmness.

Different techniques are available and may be performed with chants, meditation music or in absolute silence. You could focus on an external object like a painting or you could internalize it and focus on your posture or your breathing. You need to find a place where you won't be interrupted when you do this so never mind what technique you use, the place you are in is important. Once you have decided what it is you want to focus on and where you are going to practice it, make yourself comfortable- not too much so you fall asleep.

The main goal is to master a mindfulness state, where you are able to be completely aware of everything that is going on around you, but you are detached from all of your immediate surroundings, similar to a light state of trance. There are in total three states to learn and many manage to reach the primary or Alpha state, the second and the third state will make your mind even calmer.

In many religions, meditation is part of the spiritual practice. These include Judaism, Sufism and mystical Christian traditions. However, meditation is mostly associated and linked to Buddhism and yoga. In the Buddhist meditation context, the practice indicates the directing and controlling of the mind inwards, within oneself in the search for enlightenment. Although it can be performed in any position including standing, sitting, walking or lying down, the sitting position or 'zazen', is the most recommended.

In relationship to meditating, there are several psychological and physical benefits that have been documented, several of them arising out of a research project that was conducted by Professor Herbert Benson at the Harvard Medical School. All you need is as little as twenty minutes a day in order to feel the difference in your health - including your blood pressure, tension, breathing and heart performance.

If you are fortunate enough to reach deep states you will start seeing psychedelic colors, mental imagery and also hear your internal voice. Some of the follow-on studies have reflected that meditation can also help to relieve anxiety and stress, migraine, headaches, depression, fatigue, chronic pain, and insomnia. As this practice leads to happier, healthier and greater self-awareness, other advantages begin to ensue including, higher intuition, enhanced mental functioning, and access to 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. You can lead a stress free life if you combine yoga sessions with meditation.

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.

What is Meditation

Here in this article, you can take a look at how resorting to meditation and yoga can help you. The great thing is that they are not terribly difficult to do nor are they tough to pick up or to follow on a regular basis. Throughout the world, this has been an age old stress relieving and healing modality that has been practiced by almost all of the religions and cultures. You can focus on an object or thought and then turn your thoughts inwards so that you feel the calm flowing through you and helping you feel peaceful inside.

The path to meditation can be through music, through chants or even through silence. The focus of your concentration may be an object like a picture, the posture itself or even the rhythm of your breathing. The main thing here is the fact that you need to be undisturbed so finding a quiet place is necessary.

Choose the place, choose the chant or object you want to focus on and then find a comfortable position - not lying down which could have you falling asleep in that relaxed state. The aim of the exercise is to enter a state of 'mindfulness' in which one is aware of all around and at the same time is in a detached mental state from the immediate surroundings as in a trance. Generally people experience the limited Alpha State. In the two deeper states, however, the mind becomes progressively more tranquil and still.

Most religions including Christian mystical tradition, Judaism, Sufism and Buddhism consider meditation as one of the important aspects of spiritual practice - more so Buddhism of course. When it is used within the actual context of the teachings of Buddhism, it can be an indication of directing or controlling one's mind inward in an actual quest for 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.

In relationship to meditating, there are several psychological and physical benefits that have been documented, several of them arising out of a research project that was conducted by Professor Herbert Benson at the Harvard Medical School. 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. On attaining a deep state, mental pictures, swirls of color or a voice speaking internally may arise. There have been studies to show that meditation can relieve a whole lot of problems that arise from stress and tension as well as other health and pain problems.

Once you start attaining greater self-awareness, healthy body and happy mind you will start enjoying other benefits such as enhanced mental faculty endowed with greater intuition with access to internal resources buried deep within the unconscious. Traditionally, meditation has been a tool for spiritual improvement - however, it is becoming an effective tool for stress management, achieving internal peace, tranquility and relaxation in a ruthless and exacting fast-paced lifestyle. Overall, the combination of yoga classes and daily meditation is going to bring you a lot closer to a life that is completely free of stress.