Meditation Aids to Relax the Mind
In the recent flurry of health tips and self-help books styled around the average American and their busy and stressful lives, meditation has established itself as an attractive course of action for people, young and old, who wish to switch off from their buzzing anxieties to be ‘present,’ even for only ten minutes. With proven health benefits and widespread reports of a personal benefit to millions, meditation is certainly not without its gurus and advisors. Here are some top tips to help you get into the right state of mind for meditative relaxation.
Physical Comfort
Any meditation guru worth their salt will tell you that physical comfort is the name of the game for effective meditation. How can you meditate, after all, if you’re unable to take your mind off the pain in your knee or the knot in your back? While the seated position, with legs crossed and hands, rested gently on your knees, is seen as the ultimate traditional position in which to meditate, the truth is that we are not trained from a young age to sit like this, so it can cause pain quite quickly, disrupting meditation.
Some people instead choose to meditate on their knees, with cushions underneath their backside so that their spine is supported as their center of gravity. It’s equally okay to meditate from a hard-backed chair, or propped up in bed, or even lying on the floor. However, you will cease to be meditating if you fall asleep, so do try to avoid anything too comfortable and sleep-inducing! Once you have found your position of comfort, you’ll be able to take your mind away from any aches and pains to concentrate on your meditation practice.
Sensual Cues
Many who meditate enjoy some sensory cues that they associate with meditation. An example of this in Buddhist practice is the lighting of incense sticks, with their swirling and calming aroma coaxing you towards the mindset that’s fruitful for meditation. You may light candles and turn off the lights in your place of meditation for the visual stimuli of gently dancing flames, which cast soft and peaceful shadows on the world around you.
Perhaps the most interesting and important of the sensual sensory cues for meditation are those sensed by the ears, though. Whether it’s the sound of Buddhist chanting, chimes, gongs or bells, or some other sounds that can help your mind drift from stresses into the center of the present, aural stimuli are particularly effective in helping aid meditation. Many people interested in meditation are curious about alternative sounds, asking: do binaural beats work? Do your research on this proven aid to deep relaxation and meditation to find the right soundscape for you to enjoy as you meditate.
Group Meditation
If you’re a beginner in meditation, it’s a fabulous idea to head along to your local meditation center to meditate in a large group. Not only will you receive advice and tuition, but you’ll have a sense of discipline during the meditation itself due to your being surrounded by the sound of others breathing slowly and deeply, creating a surrounding atmosphere of peaceful tranquility. These meetups are also great for discussing meditation techniques with other beginners who will surely share with you their tips.
With someone leading the meditation, you’ll be guided into the trance-like state that facilitates the most effective forms of meditation. Your meditation leader may well give you a series of instructions, such as focusing on the feeling in your body, or on the sounds and sensations around you, or of visualizing some peaceful surrounds. All of these techniques takes the weight of performance off your shoulders as you simply follow instructions on your way to effective meditation.
Establish a Routine
Not quite a ritual, although many choose to turn it into such, making a routine to surround your meditation practice will help provide further cues to your brain that you are about to change your mindset to one of relaxation and patience, tuning your worries and into your spiritual core. Small acts like tidying your meditation space slowly, lighting candles and incense, or setting up some music or some comfortable cushions, should all prepare your mind for meditation.
Likewise, following your meditation, it is best to give yourself 5 to 10 minutes to fully come to, whether that’s simply sitting as you were but in a state of slowly increasing consciousness, or slowly arising to set your meditation area back to its normal state. It’s imperative not to rush back into racing thoughts or to jump up and make a cup of coffee following meditation. The time after a rewarding meditation is for reflection and enjoyment of the moment, and you should not feel the urge to leap straight back into life without allowing yourself the time to recalibrate.
Thought Techniques
These vary wildly from person to person and are therefore difficult to prescribe. You’ll find a host of fabulous meditation visualization ideas on the internet and in meditation groups and forums, all of which are slightly different but some of which will work directly with your own experience of meditation. Common thought techniques include ‘body-scanning’ which involves a full-body scan of your bodily sensations, from the tips of your toes to the top of your head. It helps bring you to the present.
Other techniques include the acceptance and removal of intrusive thoughts, picturing them as if wispy clouds passing by in a blue, clear sky. Natural images of nature and scenery work for some people, while others enjoy picturing nothing at all and instead concentrating entirely on the feeling of their breath as it passes in and out of their body, through their nostrils and into their lungs. Do experiment a little with these techniques as once you find one that seems to work particularly well, you’ll be able to use it for the rest of your life.
Meditation is growing increasingly popular, though it requires a certain level of dedication and patience to practice properly. Use these tips to improve and hone your own practice so that you reap the benefits of meditation in your day-to-day life.
Any meditation guru worth their salt will tell you that physical comfort is the name of the game for effective meditation. How can you meditate, after all, if you’re unable to take your mind off the pain in your knee or the knot in your back? While the seated position, with legs crossed and hands, rested gently on your knees, is seen as the ultimate traditional position in which to meditate, the truth is that we are not trained from a young age to sit like this, so it can cause pain quite quickly, disrupting meditation.
Some people instead choose to meditate on their knees, with cushions underneath their backside so that their spine is supported as their center of gravity. It’s equally okay to meditate from a hard-backed chair, or propped up in bed, or even lying on the floor. However, you will cease to be meditating if you fall asleep, so do try to avoid anything too comfortable and sleep-inducing! Once you have found your position of comfort, you’ll be able to take your mind away from any aches and pains to concentrate on your meditation practice.
Sensual Cues
Many who meditate enjoy some sensory cues that they associate with meditation. An example of this in Buddhist practice is the lighting of incense sticks, with their swirling and calming aroma coaxing you towards the mindset that’s fruitful for meditation. You may light candles and turn off the lights in your place of meditation for the visual stimuli of gently dancing flames, which cast soft and peaceful shadows on the world around you.
Perhaps the most interesting and important of the sensual sensory cues for meditation are those sensed by the ears, though. Whether it’s the sound of Buddhist chanting, chimes, gongs or bells, or some other sounds that can help your mind drift from stresses into the center of the present, aural stimuli are particularly effective in helping aid meditation. Many people interested in meditation are curious about alternative sounds, asking: do binaural beats work? Do your research on this proven aid to deep relaxation and meditation to find the right soundscape for you to enjoy as you meditate.
Group Meditation
If you’re a beginner in meditation, it’s a fabulous idea to head along to your local meditation center to meditate in a large group. Not only will you receive advice and tuition, but you’ll have a sense of discipline during the meditation itself due to your being surrounded by the sound of others breathing slowly and deeply, creating a surrounding atmosphere of peaceful tranquility. These meetups are also great for discussing meditation techniques with other beginners who will surely share with you their tips.
With someone leading the meditation, you’ll be guided into the trance-like state that facilitates the most effective forms of meditation. Your meditation leader may well give you a series of instructions, such as focusing on the feeling in your body, or on the sounds and sensations around you, or of visualizing some peaceful surrounds. All of these techniques takes the weight of performance off your shoulders as you simply follow instructions on your way to effective meditation.
Establish a Routine
Not quite a ritual, although many choose to turn it into such, making a routine to surround your meditation practice will help provide further cues to your brain that you are about to change your mindset to one of relaxation and patience, tuning your worries and into your spiritual core. Small acts like tidying your meditation space slowly, lighting candles and incense, or setting up some music or some comfortable cushions, should all prepare your mind for meditation.
Likewise, following your meditation, it is best to give yourself 5 to 10 minutes to fully come to, whether that’s simply sitting as you were but in a state of slowly increasing consciousness, or slowly arising to set your meditation area back to its normal state. It’s imperative not to rush back into racing thoughts or to jump up and make a cup of coffee following meditation. The time after a rewarding meditation is for reflection and enjoyment of the moment, and you should not feel the urge to leap straight back into life without allowing yourself the time to recalibrate.
Thought Techniques
These vary wildly from person to person and are therefore difficult to prescribe. You’ll find a host of fabulous meditation visualization ideas on the internet and in meditation groups and forums, all of which are slightly different but some of which will work directly with your own experience of meditation. Common thought techniques include ‘body-scanning’ which involves a full-body scan of your bodily sensations, from the tips of your toes to the top of your head. It helps bring you to the present.
Other techniques include the acceptance and removal of intrusive thoughts, picturing them as if wispy clouds passing by in a blue, clear sky. Natural images of nature and scenery work for some people, while others enjoy picturing nothing at all and instead concentrating entirely on the feeling of their breath as it passes in and out of their body, through their nostrils and into their lungs. Do experiment a little with these techniques as once you find one that seems to work particularly well, you’ll be able to use it for the rest of your life.
Meditation is growing increasingly popular, though it requires a certain level of dedication and patience to practice properly. Use these tips to improve and hone your own practice so that you reap the benefits of meditation in your day-to-day life.
