Learn How to Meditation

Once you learn how to meditation will become a part of your daily routine. Once you learn how to meditation will become as important as eating and breathing. Once you learn how to meditation will create a wonderful sense of well being and inner peace. Even before we talk about how to meditate, let’s quickly understand what Meditation is, how & why is it usefulness & important to us & then move on to understand how to meditate.

Many times, people mix Yoga with meditation. When they sit in a yoga posture, they think they are meditating. Meditation is actually the last & the highest stage of Yogic practice. While the preliminary yogic postures, breathing techniques etc. help to maintain a healthy body, meditation on the other hand has a multi-dimensional effect on our body, soul & mind. Meditation helps in calming the mind, energizing the body as well as touching your spiritual inner soul.

Having looked at the positive benefits of meditation, questions which naturally pop up in our mind are –

Which is the appropriate time for meditating?
For how long is a single sitting of meditation?
How does one meditate?
Which is the right method to meditate for me?
Which form of meditation (Dhyan or Transcendental Meditation) is suitable for myself?
Does one method have any advantage over other?
While meditating should one be sitting or standing?
What posture is correct when meditating?
Do I need to change, control or adjust my diet for practicing meditation?
When will I start seeing & feeling the benefits of meditation?

Let me answer these questions as follows:-

Choose a time when you are relatively fresh & free from tension. Early mornings or evenings are the most suitable & practiced timings across the world, however you can also meditate at night, just before going to sleep. Starting from a small time period of say 5 minutes every day & then gradually progressing to half an hour or more.

Before you start meditation, Stop all physical activities, take a comfortable posture, deep breath to relax yourself, close your eyes & slowly try to stop all thoughts from entering or taking place in your mind. Try to divert your focus inward & experience total silence within.

If you find difficulty in controlling your thoughts & stopping your mind from wandering, you can chant a mantra, visualize God’s image, repeat a sacred word or focus on a particular object, picture or phrase. All these actually help in channeling the mind in a particular direction & block other thoughts from entering our mind. Depending on ones belief & effectively of a method one can choose the method & stick to it. Deep slow breathing along with concentrating within helps in relaxing yourself & prepares your soul for the higher spiritual experience. 

No specific posture while meditating is necessary. One can meditate sitting on the floor with legs crossed & hands folded or standing still or lying on your back or sitting on a chair/sofa. The end objective of meditation is
(1) To relax the body by stopping all physical activities
(2) To calm the mind by removing clutter & unwanted thoughts from the mind
(3) Achieve a complete stillness & silence. After a period of practice, the end result of meditation is total silence & stillness within.

With practice, based on your own controls, mental powers & spiritual inclination, one can feel the strength that comes along with mental calmness as you meditate, while some people might be different. Each individual will feel the benefits at very different times.

There are some very important points to be remembered while practicing meditation but when you learn how to meditation will be your savior.

The regularity in routine (do not break the practice even for a single day)

A fixed timing & duration (as far as possible always try to maintain a scheduled time & duration)

A comfortable posture (make yourself physically comfortable)

Clothing (wearing loose, clean & lighter shaded cloths will have calm & relaxing effects on the mind & body)

Take help (gain as much knowledge about different approaches towards meditation, either from the net, books or by attending a class)

Once you learn how to meditation can create inner peace and bliss for life.

By Travis Mann