Contents Overview
Understanding Meditation
Meditation is the simple practice of focusing your mind on a single point, such as your breath, mantra or visualization, to achieve inner peace and calm. While the definition might sound simple, for some, it’s the hardest thing to do.
I remember when I learned yoga, my teacher never started or ended the yoga sessions abruptly. She would first ask us to sit in silence with our eyes closed for three minutes or more and then begin the yoga session with a prayer and intention. The yoga session would end with us lying in Shavasana, a pose where you lie flat on your back with your arms and legs relaxed on the side. My teacher would then guide us through a 15-minute visualization in this relaxed pose, concluding the session there.
It was honestly so deeply relaxing that I sometimes dozed off on my mat in that position for a few minutes. The quality of my day after that was always incredibly good.
At first, I saw meditation as an add-on activity I hadn’t signed up for, but since it was part of my yoga practice, I followed it, and I guess within 5 days of obeying my teacher’s instructions to the T, I understood the deeper impact it carried.
Since then, meditation has been a part of my routine. I have no hard and fast rules for practicing yoga; I just follow my gut and intuition and do whatever feels right in the moment. Some sessions are short, some are long but all of them are worthwhile.
The beauty of meditation lies in its many forms. You can enjoy the silence in meditation, focus on a particular sound in the background, visualize a happy picture or concentrate on your breath- there’s no limit to how you can practice it.
What Is Mindfulness?
In simple terms, mindfulness is the art of living in the moment – ‘to be present in the NOW’.
While the ideal way to live life is to live in the moment, it is not as easy to process every day with full awareness, because our mind, often referred to as the “monkey mind,” loves to jump between the past and the future. Taming this monkey mind requires constant practice, reminding ourselves to let go of worries about the past and future and focus on the present moment.
Just like any other habit, once we build the practice of mindfulness, it becomes easier to navigate life’s events with complete awareness. Of course, the mind will still wander, but if you’ve trained it well, you will easily switch from daydreaming to living in your current reality.
The Role Of Mindfulness In Meditation
Mindfulness and meditation are closely connected and go hand-in-hand, as the aim of both is to connect with your inner, true self. Meditation is meaningful when done in the present moment, which means that consciously you should be connected to the present moment while meditating.
The best and easiest way to begin the journey is by finding a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed for about 15 minutes. Just close your eyes, sit with your back and spine straight and aligned, signaling the mind to stay alert.
You can sit cross-legged or on a chair with your feet flat on the ground. The palms can either be facing up or down on your lap- whichever feels more comfortable. Just make sure you sit in this posture with as little movement as possible.
For those who feel meditation is sitting in silence with a thoughtless or blank mind, are completely wrong. The goal of meditation is not to empty your mind of thoughts but to detach from them effortlessly.
Our mind naturally keeps thinking of something or the other- constantly generating thoughts. Even the most experienced meditators do not reach a state of zero thoughts, which in yogic terms is known as shunya or moksha, meaning liberation.
Our unconscious reaction is to indulge in thoughts as soon as they come, but meditation helps you distance yourself from these continuous streams of thoughts, allowing them to come and go without engaging with them.
Many people give up on meditation saying that when they sit for practice they only think of thoughts. Well, if this happens then take it as a sign that you’re on the correct path, as experiencing thoughts is completely natural.
Let’s say you’re standing at your gate, watching cars pass by on the two roads in front of you- on one, you can see cars coming, and the other is where the cars are going in the opposite direction. Look at them. How do you feel? You’d say, “What a silly question- why would I feel anything for the traffic on the road?” That’s exactly how you need to feel for the thoughts coming into your mind too.
There’s always a crazy cocktail of thoughts going on in our head- some good, some negative, some sad, some happy, some adventurous, some fearful. Let them all come. The intention is to not engage with any of them as when you indulge in any thought, you put all your focus on it and start expanding it but when you detach and show no reaction, it will pass on its own. No one likes being ignored, right?
Think about it, when you see the cars on the road, there might be a few fancy-looking cars that catch your attention, but you just notice them; you don’t start running or chasing the car. First, you will not be able to catch it; second, even if you do, what will happen? You’ll admire it, but after a point, you will have to let go of the thought.
The same goes for the clouds in the sky. You observe them and let them pass. You don’t think, “Oh, let me search for the eagle-looking cloud I saw three days back. Where must it be? I must spot another one like that.” All these unnecessary speculations ruin the beauty of things.
When we detach, we let go of all the negative programming we’ve carried for all this time. We stop judging and indulging and stay in the present moment- this moment where everything is happy, healthy and safe.
I know it’s not as easy as it sounds. I have tried it and know how it feels, which is why I’m making it easier by sharing the steps you need to take and the mistakes you should avoid, which consumed my time and energy.
Whenever a thought comes, just notice it and gently shift your focus on observing your breath. Concentrate on your inhale and exhale; you’ll realize the thought will be gone in a few seconds. As an alternative, you can also start counting. The idea is to shift the focus, so even if you get consumed by a thought, don’t be harsh on yourself- just acknowledge it and change your focus in that very moment.
Meditation is a powerful form of healing practice. If you are experiencing pain in your body, take your attention to that part and deeply inhale and exhale. You’ll notice that the pain will start dissolving in a few minutes and will be completely gone with constant practice.
Top 3 Meditation Practices for Inner Peace
Here are my top three meditation practices that have guided me toward becoming a better version of myself. Begin your transformation with these powerful methods and experience the beautiful changes that will naturally follow.
Mindfulness meditation
As simple as it sounds and as we’ve discussed above, mindfulness meditation means being fully aware of the present moment without any judgment or bias towards the past or future. It involves the practice of closing your eyes and grounding yourself by taking a few deep breaths. Once you sit in a straight and comfortable posture with your hands on your lap, all you need to do is observe your breath.
In a few seconds, you will notice thoughts entering your mind; sometimes, there will be a wave of these thoughts. Let them come and go on their own. Don’t resist or indulge, as doing so would mean reacting, and involvement is something we want to avoid.
It will take a few days of practice to understand the true power behind mindfulness meditation.
If, for some reason, you find sitting in silence overwhelming, then try visualizing a happy scene in your head where you’re living a beautiful, healthy life. See yourself celebrating things, traveling, enjoying with friends, shopping and helping other people. The more you do this, the more you train your mind to become familiar with your needs.
Yog Nidra/ Body Scan Meditation
Yog Nidra has been a total game-changer for me in every way possible. It’s the most rewarding thing I learned from my yoga teacher, apart from her wisdom and warmth.
When I was introduced to Yog Nidra, also known as body scan meditation, I never thought I’d be unlocking the key to embracing the best quality of sleep ever.
All you need to do is lie on your back with your arms and legs open and relaxed, palms facing up, a little wide apart. Then, starting from your toes to your head, you need to scan your body by taking your attention to each body part and relaxing it as you move along.
Focus on your natural breathing, without changing it. Notice the rise and fall of your abdomen or your breath through your nostrils. In this relaxed state, you can either breathe into the tension or stress you’re feeling and mentally repeat your intentions or affirmations related to each body part, or you can tense up the muscles in each body part and then relax them.
You can even visualize a divine light flowing from your feet to your head and then from your head to your feet, filling you with its healing power. While you can do this at any time of the day, it’s best to do it at night when you’re in your bed, relaxed and ready to sleep. It’s incredibly relaxing and rejuvenating.
I noticed a change in my energy levels from the get-go. I remember when I first did it, I slept so peacefully. I even experienced a deeper sleep and woke up feeling refreshed, happier and lighter.
Do give it a try.
Forgiveness And Embracing Meditation
I recommend starting this practice from today. In this meditation, you sit with your eyes closed and imagine yourself standing in a room, under a white spotlight. In front of you is a person who you may not like. This could be someone you’ve had an argument with or someone who has wronged you.
At times, your mind will come up with a few names and faces instantly, and other times, your mind will surprise you by recalling people you thought you’d forgotten, such as people from your childhood, some relative or colleagues.
The task here is to choose one person at a time and see them standing in front of you in the room. They too have a spotlight over them, but this time the color of the spotlight is red.
Look at them and let the memories and thoughts come naturally – let them come and pass.
Don’t indulge in any thought. After a minute, look at the person and say, “In this moment, I forgive you. I let go of all the negative emotions and feelings I have linked with you. I release all the anger, resentment, judgment and bias. I let go of all the bad memories I have with you. We both have grown now, and because of you, I am a wiser, more aware and kinder version of myself. I am sorry if I have ever hurt you in the past. It was never my intention. Thank you for all the experiences- good and bad. But now, I disconnect with you emotionally. I wish the best for you in every area of your life and bless you with perfect health, wealth and happiness.”
Once you say this, you visualize the other person reciprocating in a similar way. As they stop speaking, see the light on their head turning white from red. The same light on your head is now on theirs. You both share the same loving, divine energy now.
There are two ways to end this meditation practice- either you visualize both of you stepping close to each other and hugging, with the person walking away from you with a huge smile on their face, or you can choose to stay where you are and just shut the spotlight on them- making them invisible in the dark room, leaving only you standing and smiling.
Both ways are equally powerful and imply the same thing: to forgive the other person and letting them go gracefully. Don’t think that shutting the spotlight on them is rude or negative; it simply means you’ve decided to cut the emotional connect with them on a peaceful note. Choose the option that feels most comfortable for you and trust your intuition.
You’ll notice that once you do this meditation, you will naturally stop thinking about the person, and even if a thought of them crosses your mind, you will think of them in a detached way. Some memories are stronger than we think and may need a few rounds of repeating this practice to fully forgive the person.
Don’t let your ego come in the way and stop you from forgiving, seeking forgiveness or embracing the person. Always be gracious enough to consider the other person’s point of view and acknowledge that you might be at fault too. Even if not, there’s no harm in apologizing and being the bigger person.
It’s up to you if you want to let go of the person entirely or mend the relationship. What I can guarantee is that by practicing this meditation properly, you will no longer be disturbed by the thoughts of the person.
Forgiveness is more essential for your own soul’s happiness than for the other person. When you hold onto grudges, you unconsciously invite negativity into your life, but when you forgive, you release the burden of negativity that you’ve been carrying unnecessarily for years. At times, it may feel childish, but this forgiveness and embracing meditation works wonders in clearing your inner world, manifesting an improved outer reality.
No matter which one of these three meditation practices you choose to add to your daily routine, they will all work beautifully in raising your vibration.
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