Years ago, throughout a tough patch in life, We started viewing a behavioral psychologist to deal with some anxiety issues and insomnia. Component of his sessions often contains a guided meditation, where he would talk with me in soft tones while I lay on the sofa, breathing deeply. The meditations had been probably an excellent 20 minutes roughly, and frankly, I wondered only if these sessions were simply a method for my therapist to obtain a break from hearing my life non-sense, but I came across them extremely relaxing and left afterwards feeling relaxed and refreshed, two feelings that didn't come normally to me.
After one session, my therapist complimented me on my breathing. He mentioned that I could slow my breath down and consider lengthy, deep breaths that helped me reach a different state. Higher consciousness? Probably. Calm and relaxed? Definitely, at least during and for a bit following the meditation. He asked easily had learned this somewhere. I informed him about the years I acquired spent acquiring Kundalini Yoga exercises from a prominent LA instructor. It wasn't daily training, just a course or two weekly with a couple of other learners in a studio or in the instructor's living room.
"Breath of Fire" (very rapid in and away breath through the nasal area and controlled by the diaphragm) and methods that included filling your lungs with as much air as feasible (or blowing ALL the air away of your lungs and keeping them empty - generally much harder), and then doing yoga while holding the air in or out is definitely the type of training that can improve breathing technique. There were also gong meditations, lying on your back, eyes closed, and breathing deeply as the instructor bangs on a big gong, which you hear in addition to feel (sound waves) throughout the meditation.
My therapist after that suggested, that simply because a therapeutic massage therapist and therapeutic massage instructor, I would also train people how to breathe. So, with that in mind, here are some thoughts for anybody who want to add a meditation practice into your life to reap its tested positive benefits, including:
· When to meditate and how often
· Creating an excellent mediation environment
· What you should meditate
· Mantra or no mantra?
· Deep breathing techniques
· Clearing the mind (what to consider... or not)
· Benefits of Mediation
· "Mindfulness." What will it really mean?
1. SELECT A GOOD TIME AND BEGIN SMALL
Did you know that the Buddha sat beneath the Bodhi tree (ficus religiosa in Latin, which sounds like a Hermoine spell from Harry Potter) with the intention of remaining there until he achieved enlightenment? How long he actually sat is not entirely clear, but may have been weeks. Without food.
Good current information: you don't need to do that.
Start small. Most people who meditate "religiously" (it really is spiritual, sometimes, but not necessarily religious, although also the Big 3 religions refer to silent or personal prayer as "meditation") do so each morning upon waking (and some do, in truth, get right up at 4:30 for "sadna," a pre-dawn meditation practiced by some Sikhs, when the spiritual energy is meant to b especially strong), and again in the past due afternoon or early night (before or after supper is great).
Yoga breathing before bed is a good method to relax, but a complete meditation right before bed is not advisable because that might trick the body and brain into pondering you've slept enough currently. And while early morning meditation appear to be fantastic for many, be practical about yourself. Don't make yourself get right up at 5 or 6 to meditate if you hate waking up early. Do it if it is convenient and easy for you, and then you'll be more likely to maintain doing it!
As for meditating for weekly (or more) without food and water like the Buddha, this isn't recommended for beginners or even the experienced. For most people, 15-20 moments is a great session, but even five minutes is beneficial, and some long-time practitioners can do longer mediations. Getting started, five a few minutes is an excellent number because it's simple to accomplish and can also provide a novice a taste of the positive benefits. Try that for some days, or a week, then move to 10 minutes, 15 minutes and lastly 20 mins. For me, & most meditators, 20 moments seems to be the nice spot.
2. BEST PLACES TO MEDITATE
Experienced meditators can meditate in an airport, a subway station, or a Trump marketing campaign rally. But most prefer a noiseless, not-too-bright location. Light isn't an issue, but many find a darkened or candlight room (candlelight is great) more calming. Of program, the Buddha meditated outside, and many enjoy doing so on a stump in the woods or a rock on a mountain best or the sand on the beach. Whatever the locale, complete quiet (or soothing music or character sounds) is best.
Thich Nhat Hanh famously says he does walking meditations in airports and on crowded city streets to the bemusement of the locals. Some meditation designs say to keep carefully the eyes slightly open up and focus on a space a few inches before your eye. I'm of the "eye's wide shut," school. Experiment for yourself.
3. EQUIPMENT FOR MEDITATION
No special equipment is needed. All you need is normally you and a spot to sit or lay down. Many meditate seated up with a good, grounded posture. Lying down is fine, though it is normally easy to fall asleep this way, and sleeping is not meditating. Deep breathing isn't a nap. Not really that there's anything wrong with a nap.
You might just like a pillow to take a seat on. Some meditators prefer to sit up direct with an excellent posture, while others lean against a wall or cushion in it, and might actually meditate in a chair or couch. Some Buddhists use a flat, cushioned mat, and on that another pillow that's shaped similar to a chocolate coating cake, maybe 8-10 inches across. Sitting on this cushion, with hip and legs crossed on the mat or in a kneeling can feel very stable, position and comfortable.
Some sit in lotus or half lotus (cross legged with one ankle on the contrary knee for half lotus or both ankles on the opposite knee for full lotus). This is simply not possible for many, and also those who can sit this way will find that after a few minutes the foot gets uncomfortable or falls asleep. The primary things to achieve in seated position are comfort, which means you are not distracted by pain, and good posture. Whatever placement allows this, including prone, is fine.
Candles, incense and music can enhance meditation. If you want music, it is advisable to listen to something non-melodic, like chimes or bells or random flute and nature sounds. Or nothing at all. Music with phrases or melody or rhythm is usually distracting and really should be avoided. Nature sounds, like the ocean or a stream or rainfall can be wonderful, especially if you live in an urban area with traffic sounds, sirens, people's music, garbage trucks, etc., since the sounds might help mute environmentally friendly aural clutter.
A great expenditure is a kitchen timer. You can also use a timer on your own smart phone (or actually your dumb phone unless you have a good one). I use a kitchen timer that I got before smart cell phones were a thing. I punch in the quantity of time I would like to meditate (usually 20 minutes, although I add a minute to permit myself time to stay in), and that is it. Why a timer? You then won't need to check the clock. So when you start out, you'll want to check on the clock a lot, and when you do, after sense like you've meditated for a half-hour and appearance to see it has been under four mins, you'll see what's therefore great in regards to a timer.
4. MANTRA OR NO MANTRA?
Good question. I've attempted both. Kundalini practitioners make use of, among additional mantras, "ong namo gurudev namo," which means "I bow to the instructor within me." I like that since it feels nonreligious. And you will find loads of others. You don't need to know what they mean, because it's really about the saying or thinking of the mantra. The sound. The repetition. It can help you obtain in the proper mindset. Not knowing this is is most likely better. Those reared on praying in Hebrew or Latin might agree.
Remember: if you are a spiritual person and don't feel comfortable getting involved in religious ceremonies apart from your own, mantras are not prayers. Some do appear to be prayers, however. If this is an issue for you, either find a mantra that's completely secular, or do it again a short prayer from your own religious practice.
Some orgainized meditation movements or groups have already been around for many years and cost a great deal of cash. One had gone up to almost $2,500 (to get your customized mantra and training), but now is more like $1000. I know people who have done this for 40 years and swear because of it. Howard Stern, King of All Mass media, is a life-very long practitioner (following his parents' lead) and says it's among the best things he ever do and he practices every day. If you have the money and want to go that route, great. If not, execute a Google search and I'm guessing you can simply find a mantra hack you can use, http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action=click&contentCollection®ion=TopBar&WT.nav=searchWidget&module=SearchSubmit&pgtype=Homepage#/psychic for free. Don't inform anyone I told you this.
I never payed for a mantra. I have chanted with people of the Buddhist Church of America (associated with the Buddhist Church of Japan), and they chant through the whole meditation (the well-known "nam-myoho-renge-kyo"). It had been a good experience, sitting in a room with 20 people at someone's house, chanting, nonetheless it wasn't my glass of green tea. I found it too much work to keep up the chanting and it didn't help me focus just how I liked. So I never went back, even though the people were wonderful and the after-meditation refreshments had been delicious.
But you don't need to be Buddhist to meditate, and many Buddhist organizations genuine spiritual readings welcome practitioners of all faiths. While I occasionally use a mantra to begin with, my main mantra is my breath, that i will describe following. If you prefer a mantra, the books of the fantastic Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh are full of what he calls "gathas" or little poems that work well. Many were written in Vietnamese, but he provides translated them to French and English. The best also uses breathing, and goes like this:
Breathing in, I calm my own body
Breathing out, I smile
Breathing in, I dwell in today's moment
Breathing out, I understand it is a wonderful moment
Nice, right? Not a prayer. You do this with in-breath and out-breath for some minutes. You don't need to state (or think) this through the whole meditation. Eventually, you can shorten it to "In - relaxed, out - smile, in - present moment, out- wonderful instant." And follow the breath and smile when you state it.
Actually, Thich Nhat Hanh points out that most renditions of the Buddha display him smiling in meditation, and that you need to always smile when meditating. Not only does this unwind the muscles in your face, but it also enables you to feel good. Yes, smiling even though you feel bad enables you to feel good. He also says meditation is normally wonderful so you should smile. If you can't smile when meditating, when can you?
5. BREATHING TECHNIQUE
This brings us to the most crucial thing, breathing. Meditation can be breathing; breathing is certainly meditation. Breathing is consuming air and then allowing it to out. You breathe in by contracting your diaphragm. Outbreath happens when your diaphragm relaxes. The elasticity of your lungs and diaphragm provides them back to an at-rest placement, pushing out the air. Your body does this alone (so that you can keep breathing in your sleep), nevertheless, you can control it to an extent. What you want to do in meditation or deep breathing is gradual the breath down and take in as much air as feasible without straining. You will want deep breath, not a strained breath.
Sitting (or lying) comfortably, take slow, long breaths, but don't press it. Keep it relaxed. Breathe just through your nasal area (of course, for those who have a frosty, mouth-breathing is fine, plus some meditation techniques demand exhalation through the mouth area). Use your usual breath to start, and keep raising the distance of each breath by taking the air in just a little much deeper with each inhale. When exhaling, do the same. Decelerate the exhale and make an effort to let out most of your breath before inhaling once again. Remember, don't press or stress or control. Just deepen and lengthen the breath.
This could be done while stating a mantra if you work with one (breathe in and exhale the mantra), or simply while thinking the mantra, or gatha, in your mind. Eventually, you will just be breathing and not even thinking about the mantra, or about anything.
The best thing to accomplish (which also helps clear your brain) is to concentrate on two things: your abdomen pushing out with each inhale and attracting with the exhale (right around and slightly below your navel, the region referred to as "dan-tien" in a few Eastern teachings, which also simply happens to be the anatomical center of the body), and also concentrate on the cool feeling of air entering your nostrils near the tip of your nose.
Focusing on these two physical sensations will keep you from holding on too much time to thoughts which come and go through the meditation. Thoughts like, "do I remember to get milk" (or soy milk if you're a Vegan). And speaking of thoughts...
6. CLEARING THE MIND
We are creatures of thought. We think on a regular basis. Even asleep. Even though performing something absorbing (like viewing a movie or speaking with a friend), we may suddenly remember we left the stove on. That is part of being human.
Contrary to well-known perception, meditation or yoga breathing doesn't require an empty mind. Thoughts and tips will come to you while meditating. Some could even be inspirational. You could get an idea for popular song, in which particular case, stop meditating, write down the song, and start again. Don't give up a top-40 hit single because you're a disciplined meditator!
When a thought like "probably I'll have Chinese meals tonight" or "My coworker Michael is this a-hole" enters, that's fine. Acknowledge the thought, keep it to your heart, and let it go. Back again to your breath. To the sensation of your tummy rising and dropping, the cool air entering your nostrils. The thought will go away as surely as it came. And another will get into to become acknowledged and released. This is part of the process. If you get stuck on a thought, go back to your breath. If it's very difficult, try counting your breaths, 1 to 10, and going in reverse. If you're doing a good job, you may never get completely to 10. That's great. Just start again.
Once you've been doing this for a while, you will see that the mind does very clear, that thoughts come less often and so are of shorter duration. You might be able to have that connection with "leaving the body," where you feel exactly as if you are outside of yourself, searching down from above or from over the area at yourself meditating. Another experience is of going deep within yourself, to feel the center of your brain. It's almost just like a control center, deep within the mind, where your awareness resides. Is definitely this a real place? Probably not. Nonetheless it feels as though it. It's like riding in a space capsule in the universe of your consciousness. Whoa.
7. BENEFITS OF MEDITATION AND YOGA BREATHING
There have been many reports worldwide that show meditation and yoga breathing to be very beneficial. The effects and benefits become more pronounced and profound cumulatively, as the practice builds on itself. Just know that the benefits have already been shown to greatly help with hypertension, insomnia, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, discomfort management, and even side-effects of cancer remedies, rehabilitation and as well as addiction. And that's an extremely short list.
Some meditation teachers including Thich Nhat Hanh encourage people to form a sangha or community of a few people who may meditate together. Guided meditation classes are available around. Yoga studios frequently have yoga exercises classes or guided periods, as do many academic institutions and houses of worship. For newbies, meditating with a group can be instructive, enjoyable, and much easier than starting alone.
Another strategy to use is guided meditation applications or CDs or DVDs or downloads. There are great (instructive and guided) on YouTube. Please see Resources, below, for one example.
Remember, there is nobody way to meditate. Perform what feels right to you. You'll just do it frequently if it makes sense for you and feels great. Where you perform it, only or with people, the time of day time or evening, music or no music, mantra or no mantra, sitting or prone -- go with your instincts and emotions. Whatever is most effective, is best.
8. MINDFULNESS
Presently, the most over-used term in the "full being" world is "mindfulness." Everything is mindful these days, from purchasing to uncoupling. Or can be that conscious? No matter. It's a bit much. There's even a "mindful dating" sight. Aaaauuugghhh! I first heard the term in the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh (a long time ago), and that for me may be the real meaning. It means being present. Right here. Now. Aware. Centered on what you're doing.
If you're eating an orange, be mindful of your skin as you peel it, the consistency of the fruit, the juiciness, the sweetness as you bite, the experience of the tiny sacs of juice on your own tongue. Chew slowly and for a long period to completely grind the fruit and taste it before swallowing.
Thich Nhat Hanh says, if you're washing the dishes, WASH THE DISHES. Concentrate on what you're performing, what it feels like, and doing it well. Don't clean the dishes and consider what's on TV later. Just wash the laundry. This is mindfulness. And in case you are mindful enough, you can meditate WHILE cleaning the dishes or eating the orange. This is actually the accurate meaning of mindfulness.
This is simply not work. It really is said to be enjoyable. It really is supposed to feel great. It is not a chore. It isn't like "oh I better workout today or I'll obtain fat," or something that we need to do rather than want to do. So smile when you perform it, and make an effort to do it each day, or twice a day.
You will need not spend too much time. And you may find after a brief time period (it varies with the individual, but I'd say within per month) that it's easy to do and you do not desire to miss it. So when that happens, you will understand why a lot of people world-wide have made meditation part of their daily routine, and why therefore many doctors, therapists and others involved in physical and emotional health believe that meditation is among the best ways to achieve accurate wellness and peace.