A very productive habit that I have picked up during this lock down is the daily practice of meditation. Early morning, no matter what, that is one of the first thing I clock in, no matter what. It has been immensely satisfying and while it is tough to quantify the impact, I clear feel a lot more calm and composed, with a sense of clarity all day.
This interest piqued my curiosity to know more about the various techniques and the genesis behind this science. Below is my attempt to summarize my learnings, which I am hoping would help guide anyone seeking to start on this immensely rewarding journey.
While it is tough to have one single definition for meditation, it is summarized as – “..a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state” on Wikipedia.
What is the difference between meditation and mindlfulness? While meditation is like the training ground where we learn to focus on the present for a limited time, mindfulness is the quality of being present throughout the day as we conduct our various duties. Being fully engaged with what we do – being focused, or in the state of flow.
The discipline of meditation finds mention in ancient traditions across the world as the path towards enlightenment and self-realization. The fundamental belief behind all the various types of meditation remains the same – being mindful of the breath – the connector of the body and the mind. The various types of meditation can be classified as –
- Mindfulness meditation/Zen – originates from Buddhist teachings
- spiritual meditation – originates in eastern religions, trying to seek a deeper connection with God
- focused meditation – Involves concentration using any of the five senses
- movement meditation – while walking through the woods, gardening or other gentle forms of motion
- Mantra meditation – Using a repetitive sound (like Om)/Sound (Gongs, bowls, etc..) to clear the mind
While there are various ways in which the above types are defined by various sources, I believe the above mentioned types are the super sets of what it is. There forms known as Chakra meditation, Qigong meditation, vipassana meditation, etc.. which I find them all to be a part or combination of the above mentioned types.
How to meditate
While there are numerous resources on this on a simple online search, the basic principle is – “Focus on the breath, while breathing naturally”. No effort, comfortable posture and relaxed body. It is of course not that straight forward and requires mindful practice to be good at (like any other skill that you would learn). Gradual practice would help you increase the total time that you are able to focus without any distractions.
The benefits of regular meditation are plenty – ranging from better physical health to mental health, and one needs to get into the practice, and observe for himself/herself the positive effect on life.
There are various resources out there to get you started, and for those curious, I use the “headspace” app to guide my meditation practice.