If you can think a thought,

                              You can meditate

What is meditation?

Meditation is a name given to the many techniques that have proven successful in turning your attention inward. 

The practice of meditation allows you to access a naturally-occurring rest state; and according to research it is actually different from sleep, the rest is much deeper, and at the same time, you are more alert.

When you set aside time each day to meditate then the benefits of meditation will naturally unfold. Even a few minutes of meditation here and there can help your day to be more full of grace and good humor.

With a regular practice of meditation you can cultivate this sense of inner peace and balance.  It is a proven tool that allows each person to fully experience the life that they were meant to live. And, while you are at it, and it is a way to create world peace, one person at a time. 

Why should I meditate?

During meditation you gain a deeper rest than in sleep, yet at the same time, your awareness expands.  You begin to cultivate a centeredness and sense of  balance that before might have seemed elusive when you were faced with stressful situations.

Even a few minutes of meditation can help you shift gears at the end of the day, from work mode to being with the family mode or play mode. In the morning, a few minutes of meditation can help you feel more alert and relaxed all day. Meditation is the perfect antidote for modern day stress. It has been proven to actually reduce stress in our nervous systems.

Since most disease is caused by or worsened by stress, meditation is really good for your health. It is also good for your relationships. Problems in relationships are often caused by one or both partners being under stress. Meditation really helps relationships by giving you a way to let off stress without dumping on your partner.

Meditation is a kind of social lubricant because fear and anxiety are no longer your constant companions. Meditation also helps you to become more attuned to your intuition, your feelings, your body, and the rhythms of nature. So you make better choices in life.  Also, because in meditation you give yourself a lot of attention, you’ll find you have more attention to give to other people. If you aren’t as needy, and you can give as well as receive, all your relationships go a bit easier.

What kinds of meditation are there?

   
There are many different types of meditation. Some examples are following the breath, repeating a mantra out loud or silently, chanting, walking meditations, or gazing at a candle. Each individual has a unique experience with each one.

Just for a few seconds, notice the way the breath is flowing into and out of your body. There are many little things to notice about the way breath feels, and if you start paying attention to it, you can settle into meditation.

Quieting the mind, or meditation in general, can seem impossible to do especially for a beginner. The mind is used to wandering and being focused outward, and focus inward might not come easily at first. Through the practice of meditation, the nervous system grows used to turning inward.

When and where should I meditate?

The best time of day for meditative practice is in the early morning upon rising (before eating) or in the evening just before dinner. Contrary to some ideas, meditation is not best practiced before bed, as it can increase alertness (although there are some sleeping meditations you can do.)

It is recommended that you meditate for at least ten to twenty minutes one or two times per day. If you are committed to your meditation practice, benefits will begin to present themselves in your daily life.

Meditation can be done anywhere. As long as you can sit down somewhere where you will be relatively undisturbed, and as long as you can think a thought, you can meditate.

Do I need to practice yoga to meditate?

Patanjali, a great sage from India, is considered the founder of yoga (which means union). He wrote about the union of mind, body, spirit, and environment in the Yoga Sutras. He shares that yoga poses, breathing exercises, and relaxation all contribute to the preparation of a more settled nervous system, one that is more conducive to meditation.  However, these exercises are not necessary to practice meditation, though they can enhance your experience.

There are several sitting postures the body can assume although the classic posture is sitting comfortably on a mat or a pillow with spine erect and legs folded, hands resting on the knees.

Sitting cross-legged works well for some people and it looks really cool. But this pose does nothing for meditation that can’t be done in other ways. The main virtue of the cross-legged posture is that it’s handy if you have no furniture, are homeless, or are outdoors.
 
I enjoy the cross-legged pose. I’ve used it about half the time in my eighteen years of meditation. If you can sit with total comfort that way for half an hour without your feet going to sleep or getting uncomfortable — even a little — then go ahead. Remember, though, hurting your knees or being uncomfortable has nothing to do with getting enlightened.
  

What kind of meditation experiences can I expect?

Some people talk about the experiences they have during meditation, and although they can be charming, insightful and exciting, we actually aren't meditating for the experience in meditation. In fact, we meditate for the experience outside of meditation. It is like taking a shower. The shower feels good, but really, we take a shower to have a better day. That is what meditation is for: to have a better day, or a better life.

That being said, experiences in meditation are infinitely varied: there are all kinds of subtle sensations, internal imagery, and sound effects. One moment you will be in the bliss of an inner vacation, then suddenly you will be thinking of your to do list. You will never have exactly the same experience twice. In general, your experience will probably orbit between:

– Sorting through lots of thoughts about your daily life.
– Reviewing the emotions you felt during the day and giving them a chance to resolve.
– Moments of deep quiet and inner peace.
– Near-sleep and dream-like images.
– Healing. Re-experiencing and then letting go of old hurts.
– Tuning up. Your nervous system fine-tuning itself to the optimal level of alertness.

You will probably find your body shifting between each of these moods or modes every half a minute or so.   There is often a lot of relaxation during all these phases, so the body will move around too. The aim of meditation is not relaxation. Meditation is an evolutionary instinct that works to make you more alert and balanced after meditation.

Why is meditation so healing?

Meditation helps with healing on a physical and emotional level.

– Meditation lets the body rest more deeply than sleep, even though you are sitting up and are awake.

– Meditation reduces emotional and physical stresses from the past. It is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress in the nervous system.

– After meditation, you are less likely to get stressed over little things, so you will tend to have less stress-related illness.

Rest is one of the most profound human needs. We all need to sleep and dream. We all know how rejuvenating sleep is. Meditation gives us access to that kind of renewal, only on a deeper level.

When we rest, the body (including the nervous system and brain) tunes up, repairs damage, gathers energy, and gets ready to go.

Life organizes itself in a rhythm of activity and rest, activity and rest. If we do not get rejuvenating rest, our performance degrades. Meditation gives the body a chance to reset its clocks and enter action and sleep in a more harmonious manner.

Think of a sound night's sleep, when you woke up, you were at a deep level of rest, which correlates to about an 8% reduction in oxygen consumption. Oxygen consumption is an indicator of how much work the body is doing.

During sleep, oxygen consumption gradually declines over a period of 4 - 5 hours, to eventually reach this 8% reduction. During meditation, oxygen consumption decreases by 10 - 17% within the first 3 - 5 minutes. This is a spontaneous side effect of paying attention in a meditative way, and is felt as a powerful sense of physical relaxation and ease. The body spontaneously goes into this state when you practice a meditation technique that suits you.

Meditation is paradoxical in that you are resting more deeply than sleep, yet you are wide-awake inside. Some people call this state restful alertness. It is similar in some ways to taking a nap but you don’t fall asleep, you fall awake.

There are so many ways meditation promotes a heightened awareness of the details of everyday life. Even a few minutes of meditation will help you move through the world with more relaxation and alertness.

Meditation is giving your awareness a chance to explore its full range, both inward and outward. This sounds simple, and it is.

Meditating daily has a powerful beneficial effect on your physical health, your ability to heal emotionally, and your ability to function at your best. These benefits are measurable, and scientists and doctors worldwide have been researching them for decades, by having people come into medical labs and meditate. Some of the research on meditation is featured on my resource page, with links to compilations of published meditation research.

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