Archive for the 'Meditation and Relaxation' Category

You’ve read the articles, watched Oprah, and heard it from friends: Meditation is good for you. Meditation is good for the body and soul, it is used as an aid to healing in hospitals across the world, is responsible for lowering stress and high blood pressure, increasing creativity, and a host of spiritual benefits as well. And while this all sounds great you may be wondering: How can I learn to meditate when I can’t keep my body or mind still for more than a few seconds?

The solution is Active Meditation. When most people think of meditation they picture someone dressed in loose, earth-toned clothing, sitting cross-legged on a mat in the middle of a forest while they chant vowel sounds for an hour. And while sitting in this manner and speaking a mantra is certainly a common method of meditation, known as transcendental meditation, it is certainly not the only method. Active meditation allows for body movement, in fact, it requires some movement as part of the meditation process.

Tai Chi, walking meditation, and GGGG a Japanese writing meditation are all samples of meditation practices that use simple body movements to bring about a meditative state. And while I personally have enjoyed walking meditations and Tai Chi, my preferred method of active meditation is coloring. Any art form that you are comfortable with can bring about relaxation and meditation.

I have a friend that is an amazing artist and she told me that when she paints she goes into a state of complete peace; she says everything around her becomes clearer, even the most mundane things like the colors of vase she may have had for years become bright and vibrant. Isn’t it worth giving active meditation a try knowing that such peace and happiness exists for you too?

The following is a coloring meditation reprinted from my latest book 30 Minute Celtic Mandalas Coloring Book: Easy Meditation through Coloring. If you wish to follow along you can download a free coloring page off my website www.30minutemandalas.com and give active meditation a try.

Following are the basic steps involved in coloring meditations. Even if you don’t adhere to these steps exactly, you will still enjoy the relaxation that coloring provides. So, set some time aside to experience the wonderful healing power of 30-Minute CELTIC Mandalas.

Step One: Gather your coloring pencils or markers and your 30-Minute CELTIC Mandalas Coloring Book; then choose a comfortable place where you can be quiet for approximately 30 minutes. (Note by adding details, shading, or even coloring outside of the design you can make this meditation stretch beyond 30 minutes. If you have the extra time, I highly recommend it.)

Step Two: Smile. Holding a light smile on your face will help put you in a receptive mood for the meditation. Don’t skip this step just because it sounds a little silly. Science has proven that smiling, even when you are not happy, can raise the level of endorphins (mood enhancing chemicals) in your brain. So, start smiling!

Step Three: Flip through your coloring book and pick the first design that peaks your interest. Don’t dwell on it, just accept your choice and move on.

Step Four: Choose your first pencil or marker and then begin to color. No need to over-think the colors, in fact I’m always amazed at the color combinations I come up with during a meditation and how wonderful they look together. I often find myself using colors I would normally ignore and then loving the end result. Whenever possible let the colors choose themselves.

Step Five: Watch the design take life with every stroke. Allow your self to experience the movements, hear the sounds of pencils on paper, or feel the markers as they glide across the page. As thoughts or pictures pop into your head (and they will) simply acknowledge them and then return your focus to the coloring. The coloring will always bring you back. With a little practice you will find it increasingly easy to get into a deeply relaxed, almost detached state.

 Post in Meditation and Relaxation    No Comments »

Meditation can be referred to as the science of paying utmost attention to a particular object that would help you to know the finer aspects of yourself that you were unaware of in the past.

The art of meditation was introduced into this world by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi during the sixties. During this period, he taught ‘The Beatles’ to meditate transcendentally.

The basic skill one requires in order to learn the technique of meditation is learning to focus, compress and condense your awareness. This further helps in making you totally focused on the topic you want to meditate on.

Once your total being gets absorbed in meditation, all the stress and strain you experience in your daily life will slip away from your shoulders. Within a few minutes, you would feel physically as well as mentally refreshed and rested.

The person who meditates will ultimately realize that all the different activities of the mind are diminished in to a simple activity.

Now, this is the instant benefit you achieve when you have meditated. However, you would not be able to see the deeper changes in you too soon via using the above mentioned meditation process.

However, if you exercise patience and keep meditating the same way on a daily basis, you would definitely see a positive transformation in your overall mental health and certain other areas you are looking for the improvement to happen.

Here are some of the great benefits you can enjoy if you meditate regularly:

a) You would be able to achieve a positive and charged up attitude towards everything around you. People around you will see you as a transformed person and even see the benefits of your meditating sessions.

b) You can make good decisions easily. You will see a great enhancement in your creativity.

c) Meditation will make it easier for you to manage your daily challenges.

d) The degree of self acceptance increases with meditation. Meditation has the power to enhance your social acceptance.

e) The chaos of stress seems to be in perfect order when you meditate regularly. You can enjoy a stress free life.

f) One tends to achieve enhanced clarity on practicing meditation on a daily basis.

g) You will feel close to the almighty.

h) You will see a great improvement in your health.

i) You will soon realize that you have answers to all the questions that hit your mind.

Meditation has a lot of benefits on the individual who practices it seriously and believe in it’s power. No wonder, thousands of people are meditating on a daily basis.

There are several other reasons why you must adopt the path of meditation in order to achieve happiness and keep stress at bay.

First, it is safe. It will not put any adverse effect on your health. Second, it is affordable. You need to spend so much money on practicing meditation.

Meditation teaches you the art of self decision and to love life.

Learn meditation and you would be able to meet your true self. It will also teach you focus and problem solving tricks.

 Post in Meditation and Relaxation    No Comments »

Now, with meditation chairs, you can easily enhance the experience of exploration. This unique chair gives you an opportunity to sit in a relaxed and comfortable position when you are engaged in a relaxation session.

A meditation chair will help you a lot in enhancing your knowledge related to meditation and also meditating in the right form. People with problems inflexibility or restricted flexibility, this chair provide a comfortable alternative to sitting on the floor.

People who have just begun with their meditation practice will definitely find this chair, a great way of increasing concentration level.

You can easily get different types of meditation chairs available on the market. You would find an amazing variety of meditation benches, inflatable cushiness and even ergonomically designed filt chairs.

With a meditation chair, you can easily sit straight and that too without putting too much pressure on your back.

A meditation chair lets you provide adequate support to the back and also helps you to remain in the best possible upright position.

Most companies have started providing quality meditation supplies. They are also manufacturing inflatable cushions, portable meditation chairs and folding benches. Now, with so much of variety, you can easily focus on meditation in any environment.

You must consider investing in a good portable meditation chair. This will help you in meditating even while you travel.

Meditation will be possible only when the mind and body is in harmony. When you face any sort of physical discomfort, you will not experience the best of meditation.

You need to be as comfortable as possible in order to expand your consciousness and obtain good clarity of mind. You also require to sit at a single position for a longer period of time. This usually causes a lot of distress and cramping in the body.

Meditation chairs are specially designed for adequate support and alignment one requires in order to obtain the maximum out of your meditation experience. Remember that an ordinary chair will never work towards providing you the same ease as a meditation chair.

If you are about to purchase a meditation chair for yourself, there are certain things you need to take in to consideration.

You need to focus on buying a meditation chair that has a slight forward angle. This will prevent you from slumping while you meditate.

Also take care that the chair is not too steeply angled. Too much of steel angle will result in over-arching. A good meditation chair will not angle more than just a few inches.

The best option for you would be to purchase a meditation chair that you can easily adjust as per your body weight, height and comfort level.

Try to take advice from an experienced person in this field. This will let your purchase the best.

If you are keen on practicing Zen meditation, then nothing would be better for you than a sitting device. You can find the best meditation chairs at your nearest furniture house with a little detailed research on your part.

Try to visit a few places prior to deciding on purchasing a meditation chair for you.

 Post in Meditation and Relaxation    No Comments »

Meditation, music and relaxation are the keys to attaining the power which can heal your body from various psychological and emotional imbalances. There are different relaxation techniques to experiment with and meditation music is one such technique, designed to treat those suffering from stress or fatigue.

Meditation music is a kind of music used for supporting the whole purpose of meditation and reviving the mind sensations. Relaxation is a way of refreshing the mind, body and soul by doing something peaceful, tranquil and enjoyable. Basic purpose of any relaxation technique is simply to take mind away from its stress and to pump up the weary body. Meditation music and relaxation have a synchronization that works best for bringing the tired and exhausted mind out of its gloominess.

Meditation has been a powerful source of relaxation and one of the most popular relaxation techniques. What meditation does is it treats the body of its emotional instability, adds to the health and makes a person strong in spiritual, physical and psychological way. To find out how meditation music and relaxation make a great pair for treating you, you need to know about the working and benefits of meditation and music individually.

For years people have been meditating, while it started as a way to way to become spiritually more active and to attain a way to connect to the inner self, today meditation has become a great way to attain a control over both the mind and body. With meditation having a power or ability to capture the mind, to motivate it and to revitalized it, people across the world have adopted meditation as a way to get over their stress, day long tiredness, to ease their anxiety and to balance their emotions. Similarly, music serves the same purpose of treating or heeling the inner disturbances of a person.

Have you ever tried listening to a favorite song of yours when feeling sadness, tiredness or irritability? Music acts has heeling properties that makes a person feel calm, composed and relaxed. The very reason makes music equally powerful and when combined or synchronized together, they prove out to be perfect way to relax and to treat a person in may areas.

Meditation music works by soothing the turbulence inside a mind using soft or inspirational sounds or rhymes that are bound to touch the emotions. If the question is why meditation and music together, then answer is simple meditation music works deeper and it has been proven that meditating with words or sound generates or create a powerful and emotionally strong environment or atmosphere. Meditation music also act as a tool that guides a person for attaining the calmness, for relaxing the mind and body when meditation and for helping them in focusing when meditating.

The basic principle on which meditation music and relaxation works is to push a person in to deeper sense of calmness, relaxation and to make him or her revive and retain the right frame of mind and body, thus the best way to treat your depression or exhaustion is to choose a good music track and meditate by playing it in background. Another reason why this new avatar of meditation has become so popular and is so amazing is the fact that, music without a doubt is a universal language and caters to need of all kind of people. From classical, western, jazz to instrumental there are hundreds of music categories one can choose from based on their preferences and begin with a meditation.

Some of health benefits of meditation music and relaxation include good and sound sleep, lower cholesterol, strengthening of immune system and more. Things you can work on or treat using the combination of meditation music and relaxation are anxiety, depression, fear, emotional imbalance, anger, mood change, mind and body fatigue, headache, sleeplessness, irritability, breathlessness and lack of concentration or inability to think.

The biggest misconception about meditation, music and relaxation is that one needs to be spiritual and should know mediation postures. But the truth is that meditation music is a simple way to relax and all it requires you to do is close your eyes (lie down or sit straight), breathe easy and concentrate on the music being played in the background. To practice meditation music you need not be a guru or spiritual guide or a yoga expert, as meditation music is all about exercising ones mind to refresh it, revitalize it and strengthen it.

 Post in Meditation and Relaxation    No Comments »

Many people have asked about different techniques how to meditate. There are a variety of different ways, but the basic principles are universal.

Meditation in some form or another seems to be a part of most cultures. The methods and techniques are different, of course, but the practice of meditation in some form is found almost everywhere

The most common techniques of meditation as a formal practice most likely developed somewhere in the East. India is the most probable birthplace of formal meditation techniques, although various forms of meditation were very common in places like China and Japan.

Transcendental Meditation was introduced to the West in 1958 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a spiritual guru from India. This popular technique of meditation first gained mass exposure in the 1960’s when Maharishi was visited by the Beatles. This method of meditation employs the use of a mantra or “sacred sound” that is given by a guru or teacher.

The practice of meditation usually involves sitting quietly in an environment where you will not be disturbed or distracted. Most people begin by closing their eyes and focusing on their breathing while allowing their body to relax.

Many people associate meditation with sitting on the ground in the “lotus” position with their legs crossed. The most important thing, however, is to be comfortable. Many people like to sit in a chair with their feet on the floor. Most experts think that it’s important to be sitting erect while meditating. Lying down to meditate can often result in falling asleep instead and missing out on the true benefits that meditation offers.

It’s important to allow enough time for your mind and body to relax when first beginning to meditate. At first, you simply follow the rhythm of your breathing. Don’t try to force anything. As you are “watching” your breath your attention is on the process of inhaling and exhaling.

When distracting thoughts enter your mind – and it is “when,” not “if” these distracting thoughts come – it is best to just observe and accept them without judgment. Allow them to move through your conscious mind without focusing on them or allowing them to pull you away from your meditation practice. Trying to “resist” these kinds of thoughts will only give them more power and draw your attention away from the central purpose of the meditation.

Meditation can last from a few minutes to many hours. It is best to keep your meditation times short at first. It is seldom beneficial to meditate for more than an hour, even after years of experience. You should focus on quality, not quantity.

Many people experience an increased sense of awareness or “mindfulness” during and after meditating. They also often experience a greater sense of peace and wellbeing as distractions fall away. The results of meditation can be quite dramatic.

The benefits of meditation are well substantiated by modern science. Over six hundred academic and scientific studies have been done at more than two hundred independent research institutions in thirty-five countries. All attest to the physical, spiritual and psychological benefits of regular meditation.

Although the techniques how to meditate vary slightly from one culture to the next, the basic principles of relaxation and mindfulness are universal. Meditation is an excellent way to handle the stress of modern life and to regain the balance that many of us are missing.

Although meditation does not require formal training or education, the more you study the different methods and techniques available to you, the more you can benefit from this amazing tool.

 Post in Meditation and Relaxation    No Comments »