Meditation and its types

“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom 

-Gautam Buddha”

What is meditation?

Meditation refers to the practice, where an individual train their mind to focus on a particular activity, thought or object for achieving a better understanding of themselves. Meditating in the proper way will allow anyone to manifest a positive transformation of their weaknesses, stress, anxiety, memory and help in the rejuvenation of their soul physically, mentally, and emotionally. The art of meditation (dhyana) is not new, traces can be found within the ancient Hindu texts known as the Vedas and it plays a salient role in expressing thoughts and beliefs of Buddhism and Hinduism.

Types of meditation

Spiritual meditation

Spiritual meditation indicates the mindful practice of connecting to something which is deeper, greater, and vast than an individual self. This type of meditation will help in realizing the eternal truth and let go of the things that happened in the past or happen in future for improving their lifestyle in a healthy manner.

Benefits of spiritual meditation:

1. Relaxes one’s nervous system leading to helping oneself from unwinding stress

2. Spiritual meditation helps oneself to reach their higher self and empower themselves

3. Helps in gaining clarity and purpose of life

4. Increases self-acceptance, self-trust, and self-esteem

5. Improves sleep problem by eliminating unhealthy stress

Mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness meditation practices combine concentration with an awareness that strengthens one's capability to focus on objects along with observing any bodily feelings, thoughts, and sensations. This type of meditation originated from Buddhist teachings and is one of the popular types of medication practices in the West.

Benefits of mindfulness meditation:

1. Helps in suppressing distracting information and improves the process of focusing on a particular thing

2. Mindfulness meditation reduces rumination

3. It helps in responding well to the relationship stress and improving emotional communication with partners

4. Reduces anxiety, emotional reactivity, and negative effect

5. Increases cognitive flexibility and improve one’s health

Visualisation meditation

Visualisation meditation refers to the meditation technique focused on enhancing feelings of peace, calmness, and relaxation by visualizing positivity in the activities carried out. The visualization itself is a mindfulness technique of its own, however, can be used for obtaining the maximum benefits from regular meditation. Provided it should be noted that the perspectives of visualization vary from person to person, one should not try to overthink things during practice.

Benefits of visualisation meditation:

1. Increase self-confidence

2. Relief pain

3. Enriches physical and emotional wellness

4. Increases athletic performance

5. Helps in experiencing greater compassion for oneself and others

Mantra meditation

Mantra meditation is a different type of meditation technique as a word or a phrase is continuously repeated (or chanting) during the practice until its completion. The repetition of the word or phrase such as “OM”, “Om Namah Shivaya”, “Buddho” or “Lumen de Lumine” leads to increased concentration levels and boosts awareness within one’s soul.

Benefits of mantra meditation

1. It helps in improving verbal memory

2. Continuous repeating leads to improve control over breath

3. Improves one’s mood by reducing anxiety for a healthy lifestyle

4. Helps in relaxing body and mind

5. Leads to calming and relaxing of the nervous system