Meditation and its many faces
I was feeling a little over meditation this week. Perhaps I shouldn’t be saying that on a meditation blog (particularly when my month-long Mindful in May meditation challenge is only halfway through), but it’s the truth. It’s not that I haven’t been enjoying meditating daily — I love the space it brings to my life — it’s just that some days I get a bit, well, bored.
So, I did some research into the different types of meditation that are out there. The core reason for meditating remains the same in each of the varieties I read about — to calm the mind — but the practice differs.
Whether you’re curious about meditation and want to discover all of its faces or, like me, you just want to inject a bit of pizzazz into your practice, here are five varieties for you to try.
1. Activity-based meditation. As you might guess from its name, this meditation technique involves performing an activity — but doing it with positive focus and maybe even experiencing “flow”, a state in which you’re fully immersed in and energised by whatever you’re doing. Your activity of choice might be gardening or drawing or running, but the idea is that you use it as a tool to bring your attention to the present moment and become fully aware of what is happening inside your body.
2. Breathing meditation. OK, this one is common and you’ve most likely heard of it, but I thought it worthwhile to include. Here, you sit or lie in a comfortable position and bring 200 per cent (yes, that much!) of your focus on your breath. You feel the sensations of the breath going into your nostrils, down your throat, into your lungs. You feel your belly and rib-cage and chest expand, and deflate as the warm breath leaves your nostrils. You can count your breaths if you like or you can focus on the sound of your breath, but the idea is to take slow, full breaths, starting with 10 and building up to longer periods.
3. Sound-based meditation. In this form of meditation, you focus on the sounds around you. So, rather than trying to block out the sounds of traffic or people or birds around you, you sit or lie in a relaxed position and focus on the noise. Some sounds will fade away and others will arise, some will be loud and others so soft you’ll have to strain to hear them. You might prefer to listen to a soothing or intricate piece of music, but either way just focus on the sounds and be in the moment.
4. Mantra meditation. This form of meditation involves repeating a word or saying to help you focus. The Sanskrit word “mantra” ostensibly translates as “to be liberated from thought”; the idea is that a mantra gives your mind something to do so it doesn’t keep running off into your past or vaulting over hedges into your future. Sitting in your meditation position, focus on your breathing and then start to recite the same words over and over. You can use a combination of words that is powerful for you or represent something you want to manifest in your life, or use the words “I am” or a more traditional mantra such as “aum”.
5. Laughter meditation. I’ve saved my favourite for last. The idea behind laughter meditation, like laughter yoga, is that most of us don’t laugh enough in our daily lives and yet laughing brings such positive physical and mental benefits. This form of meditation is a three-step process. In the first part, stretch your entire body like a cat and stretch your face as well, by yawning and making silly faces. The second part simply involves laughter. Think about something funny that’s happened to you or a friend, a funny picture or even a funny scene in a movie, and let it crack you up. Giggle, then laugh out loud, then let your laughter take over your body — you might even want to have a little roll around. Laugh as long as you want and keep on laughing until you come to a natural stop. Finally, sit in silence and stillness and focus on your breath.
Enjoy your week and enjoy the journey!
