Meditation

Many people shy away from the subject of meditation thinking it’s just a fleeting ‘new-age fad’, while others protest that although it sounds interesting they’re just too busy to fit such a time consuming, complex practice into their hectic lives. These views couldn’t be further from the truth. Meditation is a technique that anyone can learn. It doesn’t necessarily require lengthily sittings and does have proven effects in holistic therapy.

In today’s busy lifestyle our minds can get tired trying to filter out daily thoughts and anxieties, which often means we end up feeling run-down and listless. By learning how to mediate you can alleviate a lot of the burdens that plague your mind and lead a more relaxed and vitalised life.

When you meditate your aim is to ‘stay in the moment’, this means not thinking about the past or the future but focusing on the present, the ‘now’. There are a lot of different practices you can follow but here is a brief example:
Sit in a comfortable position either or the floor adopting the ‘lotus’ posture (cross-legged) or upright in a chair, ensuring that your spine is straight but relaxed. Focus your attention, this can be on a word, an object or your breathing. Breathe in and out, taking slow, rhythmic breathes, preferably out of the nose. Don’t expect your mind to suddenly become clear, you will have busy thoughts, allow them to come and go and keep focusing your mind on your breathing.

You can meditate for as long as you like, some people are happy with five minutes, others prefer ten, twenty or longer. It really is up to the individual. You know what works best for you.

There are a lot of different meditation methods in practice but they all aim to reach the same objective – peace, harmony, relaxation. Meditation also helps with your concentration, creativity and ability to focus.

Meditation does involve discipline, so don’t expect to master it immediately. It takes weeks, months and even years of practice to become proficient. So, the rule here is small steps.

You can join a meditation group and attend as often as you wish. You can find a class in your area – try your local library, newsagent window, local paper or Gumtree for local classes. But what many people do is learn how to meditate at home.

You can find out more about meditation by using a CD, DVD or further reading. Details below:

Meditation CDs

Meditation DVDs

Meditation Books