If you want to start meditating, it can be a little overwhelming to know exactly how to begin. Is it simply a case of ‘clearing the mind’? Is it all about visualising clouds and repeating affirmations? Is there a technique that can actually help you get past the mind’s chatter and enter a state of feeling calmer, more focussed or happier? The good news is that, yes, there are actually a lot of meditation techniques that can help you get there. The challenge is in a actually doing the meditation techniques, and committing to the practice in the first place.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali say that yoga is chitta vritti nirodaha or the ‘cessation of the fluctuations of the mind’. In this sense, the word ‘yoga’ is referring to meditation rather than just physical postures, and it’s also hinting at the idea that yoga is a state of being, rather than something to focus on doing. Whilst meditation practices are hugely beneficial in calming the mind, decreasing stress and inflammation, developing a more positive outlook on life, and enhancing the ability to be present, we can’t actually control how we’re going to feel, or whether we’ll actually reach that ‘meditative state’. What we can influence however, are the various tools and meditation techniques we use to find that state of meditative awareness, ‘bliss’ or samadhi. If you want to start a meditation practice without the use of an app or YouTube video, try the following traditional and truly time-tested meditation techniques, and commit to sticking with the one that resonates the most with you. Perhaps try meditating with your chosen meditation technique for a month to really notice the effects begin to take shape!
Breath awareness
One of the traditional Buddhist meditation techniques, the meditation method of breath awareness simply involves observing the sensation of the breath moving in and out through the nose. It may sound simple, but it’s not easy! The idea is to focus your mind on the breath, and each time the mind wanders off to think about dinner, what you need to get done that day, or whether you remembered to reply to those work emails, to bring your focus back on to the breath. This method starts to ‘train’ the mind to focus on one thing at a time, and allows you to have more conscious awareness of how often your mind wanders off. Begin with 5-10 minutes of the practice, focussing on bringing your awareness back to the breath even if it tries to wander hundreds of times.
Mantra Meditation
Back in the 1960s, the Beatles travelled to India to deepen their understanding of Transcendental Meditation, or ‘TM’. Now, plenty of celebrities and wellness advocates practice this type of meditation techniques, and they seem to find big benefits in it. The TM method involves a mantra – a secret word or sound usually given to you personally – silently and ‘effortlessly’ repeated. The word ‘mantra’ can be translated as ‘that which transports the mind’, with ‘tra’ being an ancient root word for words like ‘travel’ and ‘transport’, and ‘man’ referring to ‘manas’ or ‘mind’. The TM organisation Meditation Trust say that “The mantra does not act as a focus for the mind as in other forms of meditation, but as a ‘vehicle’ upon which the attention gently and innocently rests. This allows the mind to settle into increasingly subtle levels of thinking, and finally the mantra itself is transcended and we settle into silence”. Rather than thinking about the meaning of your chosen word or mantra, the word provides a way for the mind’s attention to be loosely held, so it begins to relax. You can dive into the TM tradition created by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi by doing a course, or you can choose a mantra like the sacred sound ‘OM’ to guide your mind into meditative awareness.
Visualisation
A powerful way to practice the ‘Law of Attraction’, visualisation can work deep into the mind’s subconscious, not only leading to a meditative state of awareness, but bringing more clarity to your goals, and aligning you more with how you want to feel and where you want to go in life. Visualisation can be used as a relaxation technique, where you may visualise venturing off into a forest or standing on a beach, or you can set an intention and visualise your future-self living the life you want to live. This type of visualisation is much like manifestation, and it can really bring about changes when practiced regularly. To get started, create a clear understanding and image of how you want your future self and your future life to look and feel. Focus on these images and feelings for your practice; make the images bright and bold, and really try to feel the emotions you’d be experiencing as realistically as you can. When you reach the end of your practice, set an intention to go about your day as though you were already living that life. For example, if you want to feel more relaxed, make all your decisions from the perspective of what a relaxed person would do. If you want to focus more on self-care and loving yourself, respond to life from a place of self-love and compassion. This could look like changing your daily routines, saying ‘no’ more often, or saying ‘yes’ to things you previously would have been afraid to do so.
Yantra
Yantras are shapes imbued with sacred geometry, artistry, and often infused with specific energies in order to have an influence over whomever uses them for meditation. Just as everything in the universe is made up of vibration, so too are yantras, and so too are we. When we focus on a yantra, we connect to the vibration of the shapes and colours, which has an influence over how we feel. In the centre of a yantra is usually a dot where the eyes focus, which helps the gaze become softer, and more receptive of the yantra’s shape and energy. The idea is to allow the energy of the yantra to influence your mind and body, and there are many different types of yantra to choose from, depending upon your needs – the Sri Yantra is perhaps the most well known and potentially powerful. If you notice your mind wandering off, simply bring it back to focussing on the centra of the yantra.
Gratitude
When we really truly feel gratitude, we envelop ourselves with positive energy and endorphins. All of this can help enhance the immune system, repair cells, cultivate a positive mindset, balance mood levels and even improve longevity. To begin the practice of gratitude, it can be useful to firstly write a list of things you’re grateful for; your health, your home, your family and friends, or even challenges and lessons you’ve had to learn in order to become who you are today. Pause each time you write an aspect you’re grateful for, and really feel the emotion of gratitude – this is important in order to have a deep effect on the mind and body. Once you’ve practiced the gratitude lists, move to thinking of the things you’re grateful for in your mind, where you’ll be able to focus more intensely on the feeling and sensation of gratitude itself.