Austin Meditation

Archive for the ‘Meditation’ Category

As you teach yourself focus and mindfulness by meditating, you begin to realize that the different objects or feelings you choose to focus on make you feel differently: relaxed, exhilarated, joyful, peaceful, pure. One of the most joyful forms of meditation is gratitude meditation. It doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving season for you to engage in and get the most out of this liberating exercise.

Find your meditation spot, the one where it is quiet, safe, and comfortable. Relax there. You can lie down, perhaps using a relaxation pose from yoga, or sit on the floor or in a comfortable chair. As with basic meditation, you will need to breathe deeply and let your mind withdraw from the cares of the outside world.

As you relax, turn your mind to things that you feel grateful for. You may want to imagine yourself in a helicopter or hot air balloon, looking down on the objects or events of your life. You could also imagine yourself unwrapping gifts.

Because you are focused on your body, you may feel like giving thanks for the health you have and the comfort you feel. However, your meditation need not be restricted at all. You can focus on the gratitude you feel for your family and friends, and think of good times you have spent together. Think of the things that make your life exciting or bring it stability. Express gratitude for the skills and gifts you have been given and the opportunities you have had to use them. Nature is another thing you can focus on. Pay attention to the feelings of gratitude and love that come and nurture them. If any negative thoughts or feelings intrude, bless them and let them go. Keep breathing peacefully.

At the end of your meditation, imagine yourself being given a gift, the essence of your meditation. Allowing yourself to take this feeling with you will help you to feel positive and energized. You will more easily be able to avoid feelings of depression or worthlessness as you train your mind to focus on your blessings.

Sitting meditation can help you practice focus, mindfulness and, if nothing else, good posture. But there are more active forms of meditation that allow you to develop the same level of awareness about yourself and your environment.

Walking meditation requires less withdrawal from the world. You are exposed to the sounds of nature, people, and traffic. However, it may afford you the opportunity to observe more intensely the relationship of your body to its surroundings and the relationship of the parts of your body to each other. Better yet, you can practice this active form of meditation anywhere because it does not require seclusion and silence. You can meditate as you walk into work, walk the dog, or take a walk on the beach. Before you have a lot of practice though, its better to stay in open outdoor spaces, like parks, where you can walk uninterrupted for long distances.

Begin by standing. Draw your attention to your posture and the balance of your weight. Lift yourself from the earth, pressing your feet into the ground. Notice how your weight is distributed and how this distribution is constantly in flux.

When you begin to walk, walk normally. Get yourself into the rhythm of walking at a fairly slow pace. Keep your attention on the soles of your feet, as you did while you were standing. Your foot goes through many adjustments and motions as it walks. It meets the earth at a certain angle. Your toes touch. Relax all of your joints as you move your attention up the leg. As you become aware of how your calf muscles are working, relax them and focus on the sensation of movement. Your knees, pelvis, belly, shoulders, and neck are all taking part in complex movements as they work. Pay attention to each of these in turn; notice how relaxing them changes the way you walk.

When you come to a stop, do it naturally. The sensation of stopping is its own phenomenon that deserves to be observed. Practice standing again. As your meditation ends, you should feel uplifted and focused.

Seasonal meditations can put you in harmony with the flux and flow of the earth’s rhythm and make the changing of the seasons a time for reflection and renewal. Find your meditation spot and get into the right posture. Begin to breathe slowly and deeply. Close your eyes. Seasonal meditations are generally designed to lead your focus toward the specific characteristics or phenomena of the season.

Winter Meditation

During the winter, there are several marvelous, nature-oriented phenomena that can draw your focus and bring variety to your meditation, especially if you live in a cold climate. Try a snow meditation. Imagine different kinds of snowflakes; they should all be unique. Notice as these imagined snowflakes begin to fall, and keep your focus on their distinct characteristics and, of course, their grace. As they start to fall thicker and faster, imagine yourself standing in a field, newly blanketed in snow. Allow the purity of the snow to represent positive energy that is being reflected inside of you.

Autumn Meditation

A similar meditation can be used as the year wanes into autumn. This time, you’ll be focusing on leaves. This mediation will be more hands on. Take a walk in the crisp air, collecting fallen leaves of different colors and textures. During your meditation, focus on the warm colors of these tree-gifts. Focus on how the colors make you feel, and as you touch the leaves, notice the different sensations they produce. Imagine the leaves falling around you.

Spring and Summer Meditation

Spring and summer meditations help you focus on the life burgeoning around you. Imagine or focus on the feeling of the sun warming you. There are no clouds in the sky. Imagine yourself walking in a majestic grove of trees. They are towering over you, seeming almost to meet at the top. Notice how the sunlight creates changing, beautiful patterns on the ground. Notice the abundance around you: the flowers, trees, and wildlife. When you are ready to come out of meditation, turn around and take the path back to where you started, ending where you began.

Basic meditation will teach you how to focus, breathe deeply, and reach a higher level of consciousness about your body and feelings. Basic meditation may also inspire you to try other types of meditation, especially as you become more aware of your feelings and the state of your mind. Some kinds of meditation are designed to help you express and honor certain emotions.

We all carry the weight of unexpressed sadness. Crying or weeping meditations allow us to give vent to these emotions in a safe environment. While crying meditation can be done in groups, you may want to begin practicing in private. You will probably feel self-conscious at first. This is natural. We keep emotions like sadness inside because we believe it is inappropriate to honor and express them in public.

To experience the release of crying meditation, find a private place where you feel comfortable making noise. If you’d like, you can begin in a seated meditation pose, with closed eyes. As you breathe, imagine the breath drawing up all of the sadness in your core. As you exhale, make a sound of sadness, like a groan or a wail; the sound should originate down in diaphragm, not in your throat. If sad thoughts come, don’t dwell on them; let them go. Let yourself go too. Wail or howl and curl up, like a child would. Let yourself have access to your sadness, and let it be released.

Laughter meditation is easier to do in a group. You are still instructed to focus on the present and your feelings, but to express them, whether they lead you to laugh, cry, or do nothing. You shouldn’t force the laughter, but you can try exercises, like imagining your worst enemy laughing, to get yourself started. Stretch, make some funny faces, and then smile and begin to laugh slowly with a relaxed throat. The laughter from the other participants will be contagious. To end the meditation, stop laughing, close your eyes, and breathe deeply. Don’t dwell on any of the thoughts that come into your mind. You should feel revitalized and lively.

According the Princeton’s WordNet Search, the act of meditation is the “continuous and profound contemplation or musing on a subject or series of subjects of a deep or abstruse nature.” While meditation may seem more spiritual and, therefore, unappealing to some as a means of dealing with the struggles of life, there are actually many proven health benefits derived from the act of meditation.

According to HealthandYoga.com, meditation as seen an increase in use as a means of managing life threatening conditions, as well as aiding to cope with and even reverse mental illnesses. Meditation also assists individuals in accelerated learning programs as they work to improve mental capacity and retain information.

Due to the relaxing effect that meditation has, there are specific and proven health benefits that you may not know about:

•    Meditation slows your respiratory rate and decreases the amount of oxygen needed to function.
•    Meditation lowers your heart rate and increases blood flow throughout the body.
•    Meditation allows cardiac patients to tolerate exercise better, improving their health.
•    Meditation helps those with hypertension (high blood pressure) to gain better control of the condition.
•    Meditation decreases the number of anxiety attacks for individuals in high stress situations.
•    Meditation increases the production of serotonin in the body. Low levels of serotonin are associated with obesity, insomnia, headaches and depression, so an increase in production will help to improve both mood and health.
•    Meditation eases the affects of chronic diseases such as severe allergies or arthritis.
•    Meditation decreases the severity of symptoms associated with the Pre-menstrual Syndrome in women.
•    Meditation is effective in speeding recovery after an operation.
•    Meditation makes the immune system more active.

Meditation doesn’t have to be a series of yoga positions and breathy chants to be effective. While many people find yoga a great means of relaxation, meditation can also simply be a few moments each day where you sit comfortably, breathe deeply, relax and work to clear your mind of life’s stresses. That is the ultimate goal.

Life in our age today carries with it an implicit expending of energy against the odds which we encounter constantly everywhere around us. Stress today is considered today as a way of life for many achievers and has become a part of the lifestyle of many. The impending consequence of a stress filled life is irregular bodily and mental functions. Since Transcendental Meditation was introduced to the world, research has shown that this meditative technique stimulates specific key functions of the human anatomy, resulting in improved functioning of the body, mind and being.

When the brain has experienced prolonged stressful situations, it gives up rational thinking and turns towards primitive methods of responding. Sometimes, the stressed mind will allow strong emotions to take over, creating a snowballing effect, until something can be done about it. Signs of stress include impulsive behavior, poor memory, loss of attention, alcohol and diet abuse, sleep disorders, low self confidence and esteem, worries, anxieties and depression. The practice of Transcendental Meditation reduces stress, energizes the body and mind, and increases focus and willful control over the functions of life. Stress is also the reason for most heart illnesses. The symptoms mentioned above create and interact with heart functioning, causing faster heart rate, increased blood pressure, and other coronary illnesses. Transcendental Meditation, when relieving stress dilates blood vessels all over the body, reduces blood pressure, reduces thickening of the heart arteries, and normalizes other coronary functions. A normal functioning body and mind will reduce hospital visits, costs and ensure a prolonged and healthier life.

Transcendental Meditation has proved to have aided creative and intelligent minds in the search for the self and delve at arriving and inventing solutions and ideas of great value and admiration. Students introduced to this meditation technique have shown increased happiness and reduced anxiety in classrooms. Employees regularly practicing Transcendental Meditation have shown better leadership skills, improved work relationships, decreased stress and improved productivity at work. Transcendental Meditation practiced by social groups has known to have improved social functioning and consciousness to work towards world peace.

Transcendental Meditation is a meditation technique practiced by the individual to help rest his consciousness and regress into the innermost self of his/her being, thereby experiencing the silence and unified forces of his mind. This meditative technique is the easy version of the intensely practiced meditations developed by ancient sages in India. It was introduced to the world by the ‘Maharashi’ (leader of all Hindu sages), in the year 1958.

Transcendental Meditation is easy to perform by any individual. It is done by sitting in a meditative posture, preferably on a platform with legs folded, with the back and neck erect, eyes closed and in complete silence. During this period of silence, the individual lets go of his conscious thoughts and feelings, finds a deeper level of a comfortable position in his mind and stays indifferent that way. The idea is to let go of the subjective distractions, discover and nurture the real meaning and purpose of his/her life and prepare the body and mind to execute it. While the spirit being of the individual is being organized, coherence and control is retained in the physical being. It is suggested that this technique be practiced for 20 to 30 minutes, twice a day.

Transcendental Meditation is easy to practice and has no hard and fast rules of subjection. This technique is practiced by more than five million people worldwide, of all demography, religions and lifestyle, turning this technique to be the most popular meditative technique of all time. Research has proven Transcendental Meditation to give better results to those practicing this technique in terms of maintaining sound health, treat disorders and improve functions in school, profession and in society. Psychological, neurological, cardiovascular and other physiological functions reinforce with improvement when this technique is practiced regularly over a period of time. School students regularly practicing this technique are reported to show increased happiness and reduce classroom stress. Professionals practicing this meditative technique have experienced increased leadership behavior, reduced anxiety and impulsiveness and improved job performance. A great number of religious leaders also practice Transcendental Meditation and have found it useful.

Is there anyone who doesn’t desire to be happier and have more peace of mind? In today’s world, there’s a lot of emphasis put on obtaining status, money, power, results and achievements, but those things don’t bring true happiness. On the flip side, there are many that in the midst of all of it all instead search for quiet moments, relaxation, and inner peace through meditation. A lot of people have found through practicing meditation that happiness does not depend on our outer circumstances, but has more to do with our inner attitude instead. Meditation has been known to help individuals reflect and relax and in turn reduce stress, but it also has many more benefits to offer.
There are studies showing that doing meditation can provide many health benefits. Meditation can help a person reduce the stress in their life by teaching them how to switch their minds off from the everyday worries that come. A lot of the benefits that are seen are directly related to helping a person decrease their stress level and results like lower blood pressure, pain relief, and decreased anxiety as well as many others are noticed. This doesn’t mean that doing meditation will give you a guarantee of good health, but many believe there’s a link between your mind and your physical health.
Being able to have control over you thoughts is a phenomenal thing. Often people find themselves a victim of their own negative thoughts. Some people even think that it is pretty much impossible to be able to control their thoughts. The art of meditation not only teaches you that it is possible to do that, but that you can even learn to stop them completely using the right techniques. Meditation can help you clear your mind and bring it more under control which in turn helps you keep things in perspective and creates more peace of mind. It makes it easier to obtain more happiness in your life and gives you the ability to achieve whatever you want to.
Start practicing meditation today and see what benefits you will find!

The world around you moves at a very fast pace and it is hard to keep up with all of it constantly. You are bombarded by so many things coming from all different directions that require your attention throughout the day making it hard to maintain a sense of balance, peace and order in your life. If you go through each day and just add to the stress and chaos and don’t do anything to decrease it, it can leave you with very negative feelings and conditions that are harmful to you and those around you.

Meditation, yoga and exercising are things you can take part in to give you a much needed break from your everyday life – time away from your job, your spouse, your kids, your worries and concerns and so on and so forth. A specific time when you can turn off the outside world around you and truly focus on yourself without all the distractions flying at you through your cell phone, computer, emails, or even facebook / myspace. Those things can all wait. Giving yourself that precious time to help reduce the stress and craziness in your life can make such a difference for you!

As an example, there have been quite a few studies performed recently that have shown that by spending time (about 10 minutes per session) twice a day practicing meditation techniques the stress level of a person can be significantly reduce as well as many other negative side effects that result due to a hectic life style such as bad moods and high blood pressure.

Unfortunately, if you don’t provide yourself with ways to help alleviate the stress that pops up in your life that stress will just build up more and more and after some time can begin to cause actual physical damage to your body. So it really is a good idea to take the time out of our daily lives regularly to breathe properly, clear our minds and do things that will help our body and mind revive itself through such practices as meditation, yoga and exercise.

Sometimes it is hard to begin learning something new because you don’t know very much about it or you have a lot of questions about how to go about doing it. It can be beneficial to have someone give you the basics about it so you have something to build on. Regarding practicing meditation, there are many things you can learn about to help before you begin making it a part of your life.

First of all, you need to figure out where you will meditate. Finding a quiet and secluded place is so important. Also, make sure to let those around you know that this is where you will be spending time meditating and would like not to be interrupted while doing it. You can also choose to go to a place that offers group sessions for meditation and is dedicated to providing an atmosphere conducive to effectively practicing meditation.

Additionally, people wonder how they should sit while doing meditation. Traditionally, you sit with legs folded and hands rested on your knees or lap. However, in order to do meditation effectively you need to find a balance between a position you are comfortable with and one where you can adequately concentrate. If you focus on concentrating but are uncomfortable, it won’t work out well. On the flip side, if you are too comfortable you could fall asleep which isn’t good. Remember, this is about you – there is no right or wrong way on how to sit to practice meditation. It may take time to figure out what works best for you personally.

Lastly, many question how long they should meditate. Many people agree that you should meditate twice a day for 10-20 minutes. Again this is am individual decision. Some are able to meditate for 5 minutes and get the results they want while others desire to meditate for 20 minutes. Another aspect of meditation that is totally up to you to find out what you are comfortable with and what works for you.

The important thing is to start doing meditation today and make a positive change in your life!