In the previous lesson, you learned the difference between mindfulness and meditation, and the goal of each.
In this lesson, you will learn about many of the types of meditations that there are so that you can find one that is right for you. Again, I am likely to mispronounce some of these, so please excuse me if I do.
I will provide an overview as much as possible, but let's be real, given the various amount of types, I could not possibly cover all of them in this course, nor will I be able to go into great detail. In fact, if I did, I would probably lose your attention because there is just SO much information.
That being said, I will cover variety for you with the goal being that you have an understanding that meditation is not a one size fits all type of thing. There are so many options available so if one doesn't work for you, try another and then keep trying until you find one that best suits your needs, lifestyle, and personality.
When I first started to meditate, I found it difficult to focus as well. And make no mistake of it, meditation can be very difficult in that sense. But if you are willing to try several "on for size" so to speak, and find the option that works best for you, it will be much easier to settle into a good routine.
As we covered in the last lesson, meditation has many benefits. Besides the focus of attention, meditation also involves mental calmness and introspection or "looking within".
This translates into benefits such as:
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Keeping you healthy.
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Helping to prevent multiple diseases.
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Making you emotionally well.
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Improving your performance in basically any task, physical or mental.
You will experience some of these benefits in as little as 8 weeks of daily practice. Other benefits, however, take longer to mature, and will depend on your intensity of practice.
Considering this, meditation IS best practiced on a daily basis for full benefits. Of course, you can also practice when you need a moment to decompress or destress, as I often do.
So let's discuss some types of meditation.
First, there is a fabulous website that I recommend called liveanddare.com from which I have pulled much of the information around the many of types of meditation. Therefore, if you would like more detailed information after this lesson. Please visit liveanddare.com.
It's important to note that scientists usually classify meditation based on the way the specific type focuses your attention. There are two main categories: the Focused Attention Category and the Open Monitoring Category.
Now, depending on where you look, you will get a variety of answers as to which is the MOST popular. But for the purposes of this course, I will provide you with the most popular types according to healthline.com.
According to their website, there are 6 popular types of meditation practice. They are:
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Mindfulness meditation.
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Spiritual meditation.
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Focused meditation.
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Movement meditation.
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Mantra meditation.
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Transcendental meditation.
There are also a variety of types within the categories which I just stated.
Some of the various types are:
Buddhist meditation techniques such as Zen Meditation, also called Zazen, and Vipassana.
Zen Meditation (Zazen) is a very sober meditation style. It is generally practiced seated on the floor or in a chair with the back straight and focusing all of your attention on the movement of your breath going in and out through your nose. Correct posture is what is stressed in this meditation as it is considered the aid used to focus.
The objective of Vipassana Meditation is to help you ground yourself in your body, and understand how the processes of your mind work. This is a meditation style very closely linked to mindfulness meditation, as mentioned in the previous lesson.
Then you have Hindu Meditation techniques such as Vedic and Yogic.
Vedic breaks further down into mantra meditation, or what you may know as "OM" type of meditation, and Transcendental Meditation.
When it comes to Yogic Meditation – there is actually not one type here. The most common and universal Yoga meditation is the "third eye meditation" which is meant to focus the attention on the "spot between the eyebrows" (aka the third eye). The attention is constantly redirected to this point, as a means to silence the mind.
Toaist could be great for you if you are more connected with your body and nature, or if you are into martial arts. However, Taoist centers and teachers are not as easy to find.
Qigong is an active meditation. It may be suitable for you if you like to integrate a more active body and energy work into the practice. If seated meditation is not your thing, and you prefer something a bit more active, try some of the more dynamic forms of this meditation style.
Guided Meditation is an easier way to start into meditation, and also more commonly known and practiced. It is useful in today's modern world because distractions are everywhere, and it does not require as much commitment. There are also several forms of guided meditation such as guided imagery, relaxation and body scans, and binaural beats.
My personal favorite type of meditation is a combination of binaural beats with subliminal messaging, which is essentially a form of hypnosis style meditations.
The reason that subliminal binaural beats meditation is my favorite is because of 2 reasons. First – I find the music and beats are very calming to me, and second – this form works on my subconscious at the same time.
The greatest pathway to any change is through the subconscious mind, which is essentially the foundation to your entire wiring, in other words, mental blocks such as self-sabotage and negative thought patterns stem from the subconscious mind.
Therefore, it is in the rewiring of the subconscious, where transformation can truly take shape.
If you would like more information on subliminal with binaural beats meditation, then check out brainsync.com. This is my go-to resource for all of the meditations which have made the biggest positive impact on my life.
You can also locate free 10-minute meditations from brain sync on Youtube.com.
YOUR TASK: Select a meditation style that you believe will work best for you and write it down. Once you have completed this course, then try it out everyday for a week for at least 7-10 minutes.
Given that this practice can be somewhat difficult in terms of focus. I would encourage you to stick with one style of meditation for a month before trying another type. It will take at least this long before you start to really notice if it is working.
In the next lesson, we will practice some mindfulness together and discuss some tools to support your meditation and mindfulness journey.
