Take a Minute to Breathe With These 5 Meditation Types

When you hear the word “meditation,” what do you think of? Many people don’t know that there are different types of meditation, and if one type doesn’t work for you, there may be another type that does.

Free from the distractions of cell phones or conversation, our minds can flood with the subconscious worries, longings, and concerns of day-to-day life. But it’s by sitting with those thoughts and watching them come—and eventually go—that we can calm our bodies and minds and find peace.

The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all meditation—it comes in just about as many variations as you can imagine. This is good news, since meditation offers amazing benefits, including:

• Lower blood pressure
• Boost your immune system
• Improve concentration
• Ease Stress
• Decrease anxiety and depression
• Improve memory

Here, we cover five main types of meditation. Find the one that’s best for you! 

1. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Meditation 

What it is: Made popular by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979, MBSR, or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, is about breath awareness and a “body scan.” Breath awareness is simply the act of calmly noticing each inhale and exhale so your breath is the main focus. A body scan is a technique used to focus on physical sensations in the body. Starting at your toes and working your way up, you focus on specific parts of your body at a time; this heightened awareness has the potential to release and relax tension in different areas.

MBSR has gained increasing popularity over the past few decades and is now offered in over 200 hospitals and medical centers around the world. Kabat-Zinn even leads workshops where his students practice walking meditations, noticing each step mindfully and harkening back to the ancient expression: “When you’re walking, just walk. When you’re eating, just eat.” Kabat-Zinn believes each activity can be done mindfully, and in doing so, you can adopt a more meditative state in your day-to-day life.

Pose:  Seated, lying down, or walking

Try if: You want to live more mindfully during each moment of your life, whether when enjoying your meals or walking through the park.

2. Transcendental Meditation

What it is: You may have heard of Transcendental Meditation (TM) because it was made popular by some famous followers (the Beatles, for example), but it’s a thousands-of-year-old tradition initially brought to America by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1950s. Transcendental meditation asks that you sit still for twenty minutes twice a day and utilize a mantra to find focus during meditation.

Twenty minutes may sound like a lot at first, but the length of time is designed to help you access a deeper level of calm that exists beyond your everyday emotions and the stress of life. If you choose to enroll in a TM class, your instructor or teacher can give you a mantra, which you can repeat throughout your meditation.

Pose: Seated

Try if: You feel restless, overly stressed, or mentally fatigued and want to experience a deeper sense of inner calm.

3. Loving-Kindness Meditation

What it is: The cultivation of compassion for others is a popular form of meditation in Buddhism, although loving-kindness meditation itself is not tied to any one religion or philosophy. It’s also sometimes referred to as Metta Meditation. You begin by taking two or three deep breaths with slow, long exhalations, feeling the breath moving through the center of your chest—your heart chakra. You then repeat the following or similar phrase directed at yourself:

May I be happy. May I be well. May I be safe. May I be peaceful and at ease.

After a period of directing loving-kindness to yourself, bring to mind a friend or someone in your life who has cared for you. Then slowly repeat the phrases toward them.

May you be happy. May you be well. May you be safe. May you be peaceful and at ease.

Then direct your attention to the universe—ask that all its beings are happy, well, safe, peaceful and at ease. Connect with any feelings of warmth and unity you experience.

Pose: Seated

Try if: You want to cultivate greater compassion for yourself and others.

4. Zazen Meditation 

 

What it is: Zazen meditation is the practice at the heart of Zen Buddhism, and its main focus is on the relationship between the breath and the mind. Practitioners are encouraged to turn their attention to each inhalation and exhalation, counting their breaths at times to achieve greater mental focus. As you inhale, count to one; the exhale is two. Your next inhale is three; the following exhale is four, and so on. Try to focus on counting each breath, and let that be your mind’s solitary task. Zen meditation can be practiced in groups, and sometimes chanting is involved.

Pose: There are several variations of Zazen meditation poses:

• Both legs crossed so each leg rests on the opposite thigh (full lotus)
• One leg resting over the opposite calf (half-lotus)
• On your knees with legs folded under you
• Sit in a straight-back chair

Try if: You want to experience deep relaxation through your breath.

5. Vipassana Meditation 

What it is: This Sanskrit word means “to see things as they really are” and is also referred to as “insight meditation.” It is part of a 2,500-year-old Buddhist tradition designed to help you tap into a deeper level of consciousness. In Vipassana, you are instructed to label thoughts and experiences as they arise, noting objects that grab your attention. Each time you identify a label in your mind, you are then encouraged to bring your awareness back to your primary object: your breath. Focus on your breath from moment to moment. Any time a thought, feeling, or sensation comes into your mind, note it as “dog barking,” “knee pain,” or “thinking,” and then return your focus to your breath. This allows you to become the observer of your thoughts, helping you see them more objectively.

Pose: Cross-legged on a cushion on the floor.

Try if: You want to release harmful thoughts and expand your consciousness.

• Category: Fitness, Health, Wellness