Meditation: A simple explanation

You have heard of meditation many times before and might have tried it too. Webster’s dictionary defines meditation as contemplation or reflection. In other words, it is looking thoughtfully at something for a long time. However, meditation is a practice that has been in practice for thousands of years in various forms. People from all across the globe know the value of meditation as a stress buster but try to dismiss the importance of the practice because they don’t understand how to practice and fail to see its benefits.

What is meditation?

Meditation or dhyana in yoga is a process of stilling or calming the mind to achieve a sense of deep calmness and serenity. Dhyana was practised to achieve that heightened sense of awareness and to intensify your spiritual growth. According to the Patanjali yoga sutra, pranayama precedes meditation to prepare your mind and body for what is ahead—a journey towards peace and calmness of the mind where you are free from every stress and anxiety. In the practice of meditation, it involves the practice of focusing on your breath, an image of a deity or a mantra.

The primary stage of meditation revolves around finding or focusing on a single focus point so that you can focus on that single point and avoid distractions. It could be anything like breath, where you have to focus entirely on your breath, how it feels inside your body and how it travels inside your body. In many ways, yoga has created a way to prepare the body and mind of the practitioner for meditation. Next time you are in Savasana, sit comfortably, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. Observe your thought; let them leave one by

Meditation for beginners

IF you are a beginner it is very difficult to sit for hours in a meditative state without any thought. However, one can also join meditation yoga retreats in Rishikesh to get accustomed to this practice and learn more advanced meditative techniques. However here we are sharing some of the easiest way of meditations.

• Concentration meditation: : In the concentration meditation the practitioner has to focus on a single point. That could be your breath, or a flame of a candle, a mantra, or even counting beads of a mala. it can be overwhelming for a beginners so it is recommended to start for a few minutes and then go for a longer duration. If your focus starts to deviate bring it back to the object of your focus that will help your brain to stop wandering.
• Mindful meditation: This is the advanced approach towards the mediation in which one does not have to focus on single object but rather have to observe their passing thoughts, emotions, sensation without reacting them. In this meditation as you proceed you will see how your thoughts flow and move in pattern. You let them flow and become aware of them that wether they are good or bad one. Let them float and leave; this will help you to achieve inner balance.

It is proven that practicing meditation has many benefits that include lower blood pressure, improve cardiovascular health, less stress and anxiety and deeper sense of relaxation. So start imbibing the practice of mediation.