Meditations Styles? Explore Different Forms to Find Yours. This Guide Will Help You.

There are some meditation styles practices that may be appropriate for your personality and stage in life.

Meditations styles? Explore different forms.

Meditations styles: In our first long-format podcast, we talked about how and what to do to easily start your meditation journey. Today, we’ll explore some different meditation styles. 

When we decide to meditate, what we actually do is practice the art of sitting in silence using some tools and techniques to help us do just that. They are tools and techniques designed to harness and direct the potential of the often-scattered mind. It is not an easy task, it requires commitment and dedication. The ultimate goal is the union of your superficial “I” with your higher self.

You really need to believe that you will get there, even when you feel that it’s not working. Nobody started meditating with a clear mind. We all started with a fast racing mind. We all started, then stopped, then started again, but if you know that those patterns are normal, they are part of the way, you will keep moving forward. You will keep trying, knowing that one day it will just click.

From there, we just might reach what we call a meditative state. This is not something you work towards. Like I said, you work towards learning to sit in silence, and from that space of silence, maybe we are graced by this meditative state. Where time and space stop. 

Despite appearances, the act of meditation is more than just sitting for a period of time, even if that is what many people think. It is hard work. It is about training our psyche, unlearning past experiences and recreating new ones. It is about cleansing our physical, mental, and emotional bodies. It’s about learning to listen to ourselves, far from all the mental clutter and all the inner voices. 

There are so many different techniques that help us dive within, and they all lead us to the depths of our being. It is through the exploration of these depths that we start to know ourselves. We develop an understanding of who we are, what our purpose is, and what unique talents and gifts we can bring to the world. For the sake of habit, let’s just call these techniques meditations.

The Gift of Meditation

As human beings, we are constantly in flux, as is everything around us. Change is our only constant. When we are well rooted, the wind of change will not destabilise and break us, our roots will teach us to dance with it. We will learn to bend. 

There is no one-size-fits-all meditation. They all have distinct advantages, which will be felt differently by each individual. In this blog, we are going to talk about a few different meditation styles, giving you some variety.

A Morning Self-Assessment

This is when you tune in to yourselves before getting out of bed. Begin your day by posing a few questions to yourself.

What’s your mood like this morning? What is the state of your body? Is there anything in your life that makes you feel weighed down or stuck?

Are you well-rested, physically and mentally? What is your breath telling you about all this? Is it deep and long or short and fast?

What is your mental state? Do you have a lot on your mind at the moment? Is your heart beating fast? Do you feel in a hurry, or are you more relaxed and enjoying the moment?

What would you need today, to make this day the best day of your life?

How do you want to feel today? Nourished, connected, invigorated, and purposeful, to name a few adjectives.

Don’t limit yourself to these questions. If you want to add more questions to the list of questions you ask yourself every morning, go ahead and do it. Just make sure that when you answer, you answer from your heart. As if your answers were already there, live them!

Meditations styles

• Guided Meditation

Guided meditations are great for people who are just starting. The ultimate goal indeed is to find silence, and when you are guided, your mind is always alert to what someone else is saying, but it can be a great start. Nowadays, finding a guided meditation that matches you is simple.

• Mindfulness-based meditation

Mindfulness is a lifelong practice that helps you accept all that arises without judgement. It is a kind of Zazen meditation. It teaches you to bring your awareness to the here and now and to address what is going on in the moment.

Mindfulness may be practised in a variety of ways, including just taking a few moments during the day to observe how you’re feeling and what’s going on around you. Take, for example, this simple approach known as “S.T.OP.”

You can set an alarm a few times a day and then STOP when it rings.

• Stop what you’re doing.
• Take a breath and pause.
• Observe thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations
• Proceed mindfully.
• Mantra-based meditation

This is a popular and well-liked kind of meditation that is more structured. The term “mantra” refers to a mental vehicle or instrument that may be employed in a variety of ways.

Mantras are sounds, words, or phrases that are often repeated for the duration of meditation, helping keep the mind focused. 

During mantra chanting, there is an increase in alpha activity in the brain, which affects the subconscious mind. Negative impressions can be eliminated, and positive impressions can be implanted in the subconscious.

Repeating the mantra out loud 

• Removes thoughts
• Easy conceptualization of thoughts
• Makes meditation easy

Repeating the mantra silently

• A subtle form of chanting
• Commonly used by advanced practitioners
• This leads to higher states of awareness
• Meditation using the Breath

“Breathing meditation has physiological effects in addition to helping you be more present and, like all other meditations, bringing you closer to your higher self, such as slowing down your heart rate or activating your parasympathetic nervous system (the system that will help you calm down), amongst many other impacts. The body relaxes when the mind relaxes, and vice versa.

• Mediation that is focused

During this meditation, the senses are emphasized. It is about focusing on one sense intently and tuning down the rest as a way of staying in the present moment and slowing down the inner dialogue. 

For example, concentrating on an object’s mental image of the object itself, like a candle or a flower, or focusing on a certain sound and turning down the volume on all the rest of the sounds.

• Vipassana meditation

Vipassana, which means “to see things as they are,” is one of the oldest meditation practices. It’s even said to be the meditation method given by Buddha himself. Vipassana meditation is a self-observation-based practice of self-transformation.

Ten-day silent retreats (where you can learn and develop the technique of Vipassana meditation) have become popular recently. During these activities, all forms of communication are generally tightly forbidden, and all your attention is focused on inwards.

• Zen meditation

Zen meditation simply helps us notice the thoughts without judging them or adding any salt or pepper to them. Zen meditation practices come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Zazen (seated meditation), Kinhin (mindful walking), and Koans are only a few examples (contemplations).

The bottom line

There is a meditation practice for everyone, whether you want to alleviate stress or discover spiritual enlightenment.

Don’t be scared to attempt new things and move outside of your comfort zone. It often takes a little trial and error until you find the one that fits.

Use this as a guide to help you decide which type of meditation to attempt. There are many different types of meditation, but the ones listed here are wonderful places to start if you want to learn more about this vital daily practice. Keep things basic and have fun with it! When you’ve discovered a style that speaks to you, you’ll know it.