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.
