Introduction:
Anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression are the major problem these days. Meditation can be a solution to all these problems. It is essential to be calm and relaxed and then decide, not directly jump to a conclusion. Decisions are taken when angry can make a person repent later. This article deals with the types, elements, and health benefits of practicing meditation.
What Are the Types of Meditation?
Meditation is the best way to gain a relaxed mind and well-being. There are many meditation techniques with a primary focus on bringing inner peace. They are:
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Guided Meditation: This technique is also called guided imagery or visualization technique, wherein the individual forms images of situations or locations in their mind that they find relaxing. The individual can also use senses such as sights, smells, sounds, and textures for meditation. A teacher or a guide can lead this type of meditation.
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Mantra Meditation: This type of meditation involves the silent repetition of a phrase, word, or thought to prevent distracting thoughts.
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Mindfulness Meditation: This type of meditation deals with living at the present moment with conscious awareness. It involves focusing on the experience during meditation, such as the flow of thoughts, emotions, breathing, etc., without judging them.
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Transcendental Meditation: It is a natural meditation technique wherein you must repeat a mantra, word, or phrase in a specific way taught. This meditation does not require effort or concentration to achieve a state of relaxation and inner peace.
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Yoga: In this type of meditation, postures and breathing exercises are performed to develop a flexible body and a peaceful mind. This meditation helps you focus on poses and breathing and distracts you from the busy day.
What Are the Most Common Features in Meditation?
There are some common features in all types of meditation. They are:
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Focussing your attention on some image, mantra, or breathing helps to distract yourself from things that cause stress.
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Deep and relaxed breathing exercises help increase oxygen consumption, breathe efficiently, and reduce the effort of shoulder, neck, and chest muscles while breathing.
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Sitting in a quiet spot at the beginning of practicing meditation would help you feel calm. Then, as you get skilled in meditation, you can concentrate and meditate anywhere with few or many distractions.
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Meditation has to be practiced in your comfortable position.
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Focus on thoughts during meditation without being judgemental.
What Are the Ways to Practice Meditation Daily?
Do not stress yourself about meditating the right way. There are specific ways you can practice it on your own. And you can make meditation a part of your day. The ways you can choose to meditate are:
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Breathe deeply.
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Focus on breathing.
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Scan your body while breathing.
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Repeat a mantra.
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Walk and meditate.
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Engage in a prayer session.
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Read sacred texts and reflect their meaning in your mind.
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Be kind to others and feel connected.
What Are the Health Benefits of Meditation?
The health benefits of meditation are as follows:
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Promotes Sound Sleep: Everyone is so stressed with something or the other, from a nursery kid to a senior citizen. For example, a teenager might stress over a breakup, whereas a senior citizen might face stress due to severe loneliness because of their kids not visiting them. Stress is common in every age group, and it disrupts the sleep cycle of an individual. Practicing at least 10 minutes of meditation before bedtime might give you a nice and sound sleep if you have sleep problems. You can even practice meditation early in the morning after you wake up while concentrating on the sweet sound of chirping birds and filling your mind with positive thoughts.
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Makes You More Attentive and Improves Concentration Level: It is common for individuals to get distracted due to petty thoughts. Meditation helps an individual to focus better on things and builds concentration levels. We keep wandering over silly things, but by meditating, we learn to develop self-control and focus on the positive aspects of life. This helps in eradicating negativity from a person's life.
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Makes You Happier and Boosts Self-Esteem: According to many studies, it is seen that when a person practices meditation, the stress hormone cortisol levels go down, and the levels of endorphins increases, thus making an individual cheerful and happy. Always remember that we all have one life, so live your life to the fullest and do not let negative energy dominate you. You are in control of your mind, so do not let your mind control you. While meditating, tell yourself that you are beautiful, disease-free, fit, and healthy. See how smoothly your day progresses when you begin your day on a positive note.
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Impact on Diseases: According to many studies, meditation impacts disorders such as migraine headaches, hypertension, anxiety, depression, stress-related disorders, pain, and psoriasis. It improves the overall quality of ill individuals by making them physically and emotionally stable. Certain studies show they are as effective as medications in treating the above conditions.
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Breaks Bad Habits: Meditation is good at keeping you aware of your actions, which helps you break the bad habit.
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Reduces Inflammation: Chronic stress often creates inflammation in the body leading to disease of the heart, stroke, obesity, and diabetes. But meditation helps relieve stress, thereby reducing inflammation in the body. For example, meditation helps in relieving pain in individuals with arthritis.
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Promotes Mindful Eating: As we know, mindfulness is one feature we gain through meditation. This mindfulness helps in a conscious way of enjoying food when hungry and eating healthy, which maintains a healthy body.
Conclusion:
Do not compel yourself to sit for meditation. Instead, do it when you feel to, which eventually will start as a practice in your daily routine. And no matter your mind wanders during meditation, continue to focus and stay calm. There are no tricks to becoming expert in meditation. It all depends on your state of mind on that particular day. So keep practicing every day and reap its benefits.