How to Do Meditation?
learn more about meditation
learn more about meditation How to Do Meditation?
There are different types of meditation. At the heart of all of these types lies concentration and breath control. By focusing on certain points accompanied by breath controls, the person moves away from everyday thoughts and takes a journey towards his inner world and gets into a positive mood. If meditation is done regularly, the positive mood becomes permanent and a spiritual inner discipline can be achieved.
The beauty and simplicity of relaxing with meditation is that you don't need any equipment. All it takes is a quiet space and a few minutes of time every day. At the initial stage, it may be enough to devote 10 minutes a day to meditation. You can even do it for five minutes twice a day during the habituation process. In terms of gaining a habit, it is recommended to meditate preferably at the same time every morning. What you will concentrate on during meditation and how you will do it depends on the type of meditation you choose, and there are hundreds of different meditation methods, but the basic steps that will help you get started can be listed as follows:
Choose a special place to meditate and create a calm atmosphere by placing candles, incense, flowers in this chosen area.
Sit comfortably on a chair or floor with your back straight.
Close your eyes or focus your gaze on an object located in the meditation area, such as a picture, any icon, or an object that gives you peace.
Breathe slowly, deeply and gently.
Focus your mind within yourself or on the object.
Know that the breaths you take will bring you peace and tranquility. Notice that the air that comes out when you exhale distracts your thoughts, just like the water moves away from the shore with a tide.
Many people prefer to sing aloud during meditation or sing the word "shanti", which means "peace" in Sanskrit. Instead, you can also repeat a word from your own traditions and beliefs. Singing a song or such words helps to distract from your thoughts.
After a week or two of regular meditation, you may feel a noticeable change in your mood and stress level.
What Health Problems Can Meditation Be Good For?
Meditation can be especially useful if you have a health problem that can worsen with stress. Some research suggests that meditation can help manage the symptoms of the following conditions:
Stress,
Asthma,
Cancer,
Chronic pain,
Depression,
Heart disease,
High blood pressure,
Irritable bowel syndrome,
Sleep problems,
Headaches caused by blood pressure.
If you have any of these problems or other health problems, you can make your own way by talking to your healthcare provider about practicing meditation. It should be remembered that meditation is not a substitute for traditional medical treatment. However, it can contribute to your current treatment.
Some Types of Meditation
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is when a person focuses on listening to himself, his feelings and thoughts, keeping his mind awake. After sitting upright in this meditation, a concentration process is experienced based on feeling the breathing and thoughts passing through your mind without hindering it in any way. You see the thoughts that come and go through your mind as a natural process, just like your breath, and you don't question anything, you let yourself flow. During this process, your thoughts should flow freely one after the other Decently, just like a river. In this way, you recognize yourself in your most natural state and always accept this person you meet with grace.
Transcendental Meditation
It is one of the simple and easy-to-apply meditation techniques. Therefore, it is widely used throughout the world. To practice transcendental meditation, you need a quiet and calm place. It is important that there are no stimuli in the environment. It is seated on the floor in a comfortable position, and the person begins to meditate, repeating the chosen words. These phrases, repeated in transcendental meditation, are called mantras. In some meditations, words like ‘om’ that everyone uses are repeated, while in transcendental meditation, a person uses words and groups of words that he chooses himself. With these repeated words, a person relaxes mentally, freeing himself. In the process of transcendental meditation, a person finds his own mantra over time.
Guided Meditation
In guided meditation, the session is usually conducted under the guidance of a guide. Many different methods are used in this type of meditation. Meditation can be done by watching an image without a guide, listening to music, following a recorded verbal guidance, or watching a video. The aim of guided meditation is to focus on the person himself with the guidance of a guide.
Vipassana Meditation
The foundations of Vippasana meditation were laid in India 2,500 years ago and its basis lies in gaining healing. The healing concept underlying this meditation does not only refer to diseases. In this type of meditation, which is seen as a kind of art of living, lies in being mentally cleansed, achieving happiness and freedom. In this way, a person becomes free by getting rid of human suffering. The person who practices Vipassana meditation aims to change himself by reaching the origin of mind and matter.
Loving Kindness Meditation (Metta Meditation)
In Metta meditation, a person sits in a comfortable position. Breathing exercises are performed first, focusing on the breath. The main purpose of meditation is to direct good wishes to other people. During meditation, the person first repeats some designated mantras to direct love and kindness to himself. Then he repeats the same mantras, thinking about his relatives, changing the subject in the sentences. The goal here is to direct love and kindness towards them.
Chakra Meditation
According to the belief in India and some Asian countries, there are different energy centers in the human body. These energy centers are called chakras. There are 7 chakras in our body and these chakras are arranged on our spine. Chakras have important effects on our lives. These chakras are responsible for the organs in our body and the emotions we feel. Each chakra is represented by a different color. In chakra meditation, a person focuses on the chakras. The main goal is to relax, bringing them balance and well-being.
Yoga Meditation
There are different styles of yoga that are done to calm thoughts and gain flexibility. In all of these, mind and body control are Decoupled. A person who practices yoga stands in different poses (asanas) on the one hand, accompanied by controlled breathing exercises, and on the other hand, empties his mind and relaxes. The state of being meditated, which is the purpose of yoga, should definitely be experienced at the end of each yoga session with the guided meditation method led by the yoga instructor.