meditation technique – Wandering Baba

Meditation Techniques

You will be bewildered and baffled by the various techniques of meditation. All traditions have some for meditation. There are many gurus who will claim that their technique is superior. Meditation at the core level is just dhyan. You meditate on something. You meditate on a problem or a situation. So, isn’t Pranayama also a form of meditation? After all, it requires you to focus on your breathing. But meditation in true sense is much more than that. This practice should help you transcend the boundaries of physical world. In other words, meditation is a spiritual practice. The commonest thing about all techniques of meditation is that they require you to close your eyes. This is easy and everyone can do it. But what do you do after that? Here comes the technique part. There are concentration-based meditation techniques and awareness-based meditation techniques.

Concentration-based meditation technique

Here we concentrate our mind on a sound. Hindus recommend concentrating on the sound of ‘Om’. There can be other sounds in different traditions. But the whole idea is to concentrate on the sound.

Mantra Meditation – This is the most common concentration-based meditation technique. Repeating the mantra again and again helps you focus your mind.

Awareness based meditation technique

Here we make no effort at all. We let the thoughts come and go. This is also called mindfulness. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist meditation guru, has recommended mindfulness.

Vipassana Meditation – Vipassana is a type of awareness-based meditation. In this, you have to maintain silence for a period of time. In silence, we have to observe the thoughts that are coming to us.

Who can benefit from meditation?

While most spiritual gurus do meditation, everyone can benefit from it. Here are some benefits of meditating.

Students – There are a lot of distractions. They have easy access to smartphones. Focusing on one’s mind is not easy. But, with meditation, students can focus their attention on what they are doing.
Professionals – They are under a lot of stress. Their performance is getting appraised regularly. The workplace is often full of politics. Meditation is like a daily detox for professionals. A 40-minute meditation can help them handle stress in a better way. Meditation is one of the best relaxation techniques.

How does it affect our body?

Brain

Our brain has much more potential than we believe. In fact, we are using just 4% of our brain’s capacity. Meditation has a profound effect on how our brain functions.

Increases our brain capacity – When you are tense, the brain waves have a higher frequency. And this is the case when you don’t meditate. Regular meditation reduces the frequency. Theta wave pattern is seen among people who meditate regularly. This will increase the percentage of brain you use.
Produces a calming effect – When the wave pattern of the brain slows down, you will experience a state of calmness.

Hypertension

Blood vessels of our body work constantly. And therefore, it is always under strain. Meditation will reduce the strain on them. Here is how it can help you.

Blood Pressure – If you are a patient with Blood Pressure, meditation will certainly help you. This is because by meditating, the blood vessel tension can be controlled in a better way.
Heart disease – Hypertension is the most common cause of heart-related health problems. With meditation, you can stay away from heart-related health problems.

Final Words

At its core, meditation, or dhyan, involves focusing. While Pranayama, also involves focusing on breath, true meditation extends beyond this. It helps individuals transcend physical boundaries and get a deep spiritual experience. Meditation benefits various groups. Students gain improved focus amidst distractions, while professionals can handle workplace stress. Meditation enhances brain function by reducing stress-related brainwave activity and increasing mental capacity. It also helps manage hypertension by reducing strain on blood vessels, thus contributing to better cardiovascular health.