Easy Meditation Techniques
The following meditation techniques are for anyone who has
hesitated to learn how to meditate because of the perceived difficulty.
It's true that you can spend years to get to the deepest levels
of meditative practice. However, it also true that you can get
some benefit - and perhaps the motivation to go further - from
some simple and easy meditations you can do right now.
What are the benefits relative to brainpower? Reducing stress
is an important one. We think better when we're not stressed.
More than that though, recent research shows that constant stress
can actually cause physical brain damage.
Another benefit is that with a couple simple meditation techniques
we can train ourselves to focus better on whatever mental tasks
we are working on. We essentially learn to "tame" the
mind and make it more effective for our purposes. So let's get
started with a simple breath watching technique followed by an
even easier way to meditate.
Breath Watching
Sit quietly somewhere, close your eyes, relax and pay attention
to your breath for few minutes. How's that for a simple meditation?
The basic idea is to quiet your mind. That's easier said than
done of course, so here are some tips to help you out.
1. Find a quiet place.
Seasoned meditators can practice their meditation on a subway
or in the middle of a busy park, but you may want to start with
someplace quieter. At work this might be a bathroom stall or
an empty office. At home it may be the garage or basement.
2. Find a comfortable position.
Having your legs crossed is the most common meditation posture.
If you can remain awake, laying down works too. Standing is another
option (one of my favorites for outdoor meditation). Whatever
allows you to remain still comfortably without falling asleep
is fine.
3. Learn to release tension.
You can train yourself to let go of the tension. Just notice
where it is in your body (often it's in your shoulders and jaw),
then tense up those muscles and release the tension. Notice the
feeling of the tension draining away when you release. Repeat
this enough and you'll essentially train yourself how to relax.
4. Use your nose to breath.
Your diaphragm is more engaged when you breath through your
nose. Notice how your abdomen expands more with nose-breathing.
Doing this brings air deep into your lungs, so breath deeply
through your nose and let your chest expand too.
5. Watch your breathing.
It is normal for thoughts to intrude again and again while
you meditate. It isn't a problem. Just keep bringing your attention
back to the air coming and going through your nose. The thoughts
will begin to quiet in time if you do this.
Continue this for at least five minutes. You may want to work
up to twenty minutes or more in subsequent sessions. You'll find
that simple meditation techniques like this can really clear
your mind and prepare you to focus more fully on whatever you
are working on.
The Easiest Meditation Technique
If you want an even easier way to meditate, simply listen
to a meditation CD. Just be sure that it is one which uses brainwave
entrainment technology. They usually have background music or
other sounds in which "binaural beats" are embedded.
These affect your brainwaves, slowing them down to the Alpha
range or lower, which quickly brings you to a meditative state
with no real effort.
I have tried many different types of meditation CDs, so I
can report from experience that they are powerful tools. In addition
to using them for meditation, I use them as sleep-inducers too.
For that, just lay down while listening to the recording.
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