5 Common Meditation Techniques Explained

I often hear people suggest meditation as a cure for something that pains them. Today, meditation is being practiced in a wide variety of settings including schools, the workplace and even hospitals. Let me just say, while this trend has many positive benefits, meditation is not a magic spell or religious prayer. We should view it as a tool or an exercise to help your mind reconnect with your body and spirit. When we think of meditation in this way, the concept seems simple on its surface. But as we delve a little deeper you will find there is much more than meets the eye.

Like many other skills today, you can learn to meditate on your own, but it can be helpful to learn through a teacher, instructor or coach. That can be through an app or a dedicated meditation class or even a blog post like this one. Once you dive into the world of meditation, you will soon realize that not all meditation is the same. Some techniques will work better than others because each individual may have different goals and intentions. When used properly, any form of meditation will have some benefits.

Just remember, there’s no “right way” to meditate.

Metta Meditation

The idea behind this type of concentrated meditation is for you to invite and foster an attitude of loving kindness, while then emanating the same positive energy outward to all beings, without prejudice. You can do this by silently replaying specific mantras in your mind. The steps of this technique begin by first, mentally directing love and kindness inward to yourself. Then gradually, you begin to radiate this loving kindness outward towards a loved one. Soon after, you will send this same intention outward, but now towards someone you are indifferent to and finally out to a person(s) who may have been a challenge in your life. Our well-being is by nature, intertwined with the well-being of others. As a result, when you practice Metta meditation to help yourself, you will inevitably help others. Here’s a medical study on Metta Meditation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18954193

Buddha has listed the benefits of loving-friendliness as:

• Better quality sleep
• Visibly more relaxed
• Your energy may attract animals
• Spiritual protection
• A happy and calm mind
• Your complexion will be rejuvenated
• You will die with a clear mind
• You will die peacefully

Mindfulness Meditation

As you may notice, the concept of mindfulness can be found in some form in most kinds of meditation. This practice helps you to be more present and in the moment as opposed to dwelling on the past or stressing about the future. It is about awareness and focus on your experience living in the present moment. You can practice this type of meditation anywhere and at anytime and just a few minutes a day can make a noticeable difference in your life. Mindfulness meditation involves awareness of your breath and acknowledgement of your passing thoughts without judgement.

Mindfulness Meditation benefits are:

• Improved focus
• Improved memory
• Stabilized emotions
• Improved relationship satisfaction

Kundalini Meditation yoga

Kundalini meditation is an active form that incorporates breathing, mantras and movement in the form of yoga. Your Kundalini also known as Chi, Ki or the life force of all things, is at the center of this practice. The Kundalini energy is raise from the root chakra up through each energy center to emerge at the crown when practicing this form of meditation. Furthermore, the physical component of this meditation form provides additional benefits beyond stress reduction and mental clarity. Chronic pain reduction and increased energy have been reported by practitioners of Kundalini meditation yoga.

Common Benefits:

• Helps to eliminate toxins
• Heightens physical senses
• Promotes healthy self esteem
• Improved focus
• Increased intimate connection
• Increased intimate connection

Zen Meditation

Zen Meditation, sometimes referred to as Zazen, is similar to Mindfulness meditation in that it requires the practitioner to actively observe one’s thoughts in the present without judging them right or wrong. One difference with Zen Meditation is that it requires more disciplined practice. This lends itself to be a more spiritual form of meditation. For this reason, most people will learn the detailed steps and postures from an experienced teacher. 

Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation is another popular spiritual meditation form which centers around focused breathing and specific mantras. It is from the Vedic tradition and as the name implies, the idea of this technique for you to transcend thought itself using a series of repeated words or mantras. A unique aspect of this technique is that it requires a multi-step instructional set provided by a licensed instructor. The initial course of instruction and practice is given over a period of a few days with the general information, meditation instruction and your personal mantra provided on the 1st day. The next few days usually entail a deeper dive into the technique along with corrections to your own practice. Finally, periodic check meetings are used to ensure proper technique.

As you can see, each style of meditation has a slightly different approach. In general, meditation can have a positive affect on your overall well-being. For that reason, it has increasingly been recommended by medical professionals to support conventional medical treatments. But ultimately the goal is to find your inner peace in a frantic world of distractions.