Powerful Tips for Successful Meditation

Meditation Tips

It is nice to live for the moment without worrying about the mistakes from the past and possible difficulties in the future. The reality is that it is quite difficult to simply live for the moment as you wish.

We cannot simply isolate the fact that in order to live a promising life today, some sacrifices must be made. Often times those sacrifices contribute a lot in amplifying our anxiety, stress, and worries.

Is there a way to eliminate or reduce stress?

Rejoice, because there is a way!

What is Meditation

Meditation is an effective way to reduce your anxiety, stress, and worries. It can you neutralize the mind's stress producing activities without sacrificing your efficiency and alertness. Meditation can help you feel happier, alleviate chronic pain, combat stress, promote health, gain better sleep, and achieve the needed serenity.

Here are the simple yet powerful tips

Always Follow the Right Posture

You can meditate while cross-legged on the floor or sitting on a chair, just make sure that your back is straight. Keeping your back straight can help you maintain your focus and not let your mind drift somewhere else

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Open your Eyes and Keep yourFocus

Some people find it more comfortable to close their eyes while meditating, but doing so might make your thoughts drift somewhere and you will be lost. Keep your eyes open and lower it for a bit to soften your gaze. However, if you are confident that you can empty your thoughts and stay focused while your eyes are closed then you can shut your eyes, especially when you find it more comfortable.

Count your Breath

When you meditate, it is important to pay attention to your breathing that can help anchor you in the present moment. Breathe in and out naturally. As you breathe out, silently count 1, the next time you breathe out count 2, and up to count 4 then go back to 1. When your thoughts start to go astray, start to bother you so much, or suddenly you find yourself counting twenty, immediately re-start counting from 1 and only up to 4. You can only start counting all over again once you've counted 4.

Honor your Emotions but Avoid Being Swayed

It is only natural to experience different emotions, but you need to prevent yourself from being manipulated by your emotions. There is a need for you to acknowledge your strong emotions such, as anger and shame, but don't give it a chance to take the best of you. It would be difficult for you to remain focused if you succumb to the strong emotions that would like to invade your mind, spirit, and body.

Choose the Proper Place andTime

There are people who can concentrate more when they hear calming music, but nothing beats the sound of silence when meditating. When you hear utter silence, you can actually experience what your mind is doing. You feel calm and steady. A soothing sensation shrouds you and you feel peaceful.

You can choose other venue for your meditation, and make sure that you won't be disturbed. Choose the most convenient time for your meditation, it could be early in the morning or late at night. You can meditate in the afternoon when no one is around. You can meditate for a few minutes or go longer than an hour. Do what you feel is right.

Take Utmost Pleasure

It is important that you find meditation enjoyable and pleasurable. Make sure that you have the correct posture, nothing affects your focus, and it is the right time and place.

You don't need an hour to meditate. You can start for a few minutes and add just a little each day with an allusion of smile on your lips.

As your Soul Coach and Mentor, I am here to simply help you to know and understand yourself and others better and assist with deep transformation healing to help you get connecting with your Divine Core Center.

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What is Vipassana meditation, and what are the benefits?

 

Vipassana meditation, or insight meditation, focuses on seeing things as they are. It comes from Theravada, which is Buddhism’s oldest school of thought.

Vipassana practitioners seek to understand things as they truly are, observing the world from a state of tranquility, awareness, and mindfulness. Instead of focusing on a specific object or mantra, Vipassana meditation involves using consciousness to remove distractions.

The ultimate goal, through years of practice, is to remove the distractions that prevent a person from seeing reality. In so doing, a person can achieve liberation, which is a shared goal of all Buddhist philosophies.

As with other types of meditation, Vipassana meditation may offer health benefits, including reduced depression and anxiety.

In this article, learn more about what Vipassana meditation is, what it involves, and how to try it.

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What is Vipassana meditation?

The word Vipassana means “insight.” As such, Vipassana meditation focuses on seeing things for what they really are by turning inward to the mind, body, or both. Practitioners consciously focus on removing distractions from their thought process, consistently sharpening their attention.

The goal is the eventual removal of all distractions, making it possible to attain a state of liberation or enlightenment.

Origins of Vipassana meditation

Although Vipassana comes from Theravada, which is a Buddhist tradition that is thousands of years oldTrusted Source, this meditation technique is fairly new.

In the early 20th century, Myanmar was under the rule of the British. As a colonized country, its local culture and traditions were under threat. In response, Buddhist leaders decided to revive many Buddhist traditions and teach them to the general public.

Previously, the main practitioners of meditation in Southeast Asia had been monks and nuns. During the Vipassana movement, though, laypeople began to learn. The technique they used became known as Vipassana meditation.

Over time, instructors taught Vipassana meditation further afield, and the technique spread throughout Asia and to the United States.

Benefits of Vipassana meditation

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative HealthTrusted Source reports that meditation, in general, may offer several benefits, including:

• easing some symptoms of anxiety
• reducing blood pressure, in some cases
• helping with some menopause symptoms
• improving quality of life and mental health for people living with cancer

Researchers have also tested Vipassana meditation specifically and identified some potential health benefits. However, many of the studies are small and only include a low number of participants.

Larger-scale studies are necessary to confirm all of the possible benefits of Vipassana meditation.

Cognitive performance

A small 2019 study found that skilled Vipassana practitioners who meditated prior to a task showed a difference in brain waves compared with novices. This finding suggests that the practice may change the way the brain functions, potentially helping improve cognitive performance.

Memory

A small 2020 study found that Vipassana meditators had different patterns of memory consolidation while sleeping. The researchers found that regular meditators had a lower density of sleep spindles in the occipital region of the brain. Sleep spindles are a type of brain wave that occurs during non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep.

The authors speculate that this may mean that meditation serves a similar function to sleep when it comes to memory.

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Coping with cancer

As with other types of meditation, Vipassana meditation may offer some benefits during cancer treatment.

A small 2020 study looked at the effects of practicing Vipassana meditation for 1 month after 1 month of training. Over the course of the trial, the participants in the practice group saw significantly greater improvements in measures of stress and psychosocial functioning than the participants who received no intervention.

These results indicate that Vipassana meditation may increase quality of life or reduce stress in people living with cancer.

Risks of Vipassana meditation

Vipassana meditation is a low risk activity that is unlikely to cause physical harm. The only exception to this is when a person uses meditation as a substitute for medical care.

However, any form of meditation can have mental health side effects. These effects may occur because preexisting mental health conditions can become more apparent when someone sits quietly with their thoughts.

In a 2017 studyTrusted Source involving 342 people, 87 reported experiencing negative effects of meditation. These effects included:

• worsened anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or psychosis
• manic symptoms
• dizziness
• consciousness

The effects ranged in severity, but in most cases, they were temporary and did not cause people to stop meditating or seek medical attention.

How to practice Vipassana meditation 

Achieving liberation via Vipassana meditation takes years or even decades. The goal is not immediate perfection, but rather practice and steady improvement.

Many meditation centers offer classes on Vipassana meditation. A person can also try it at home by following these steps:

1. Set aside 10–15 minutes.
2. Find a comfortable, quiet place to practice with few distractions.
3. Sit comfortably on the ground. Breathe normally, but be mindful of each breath. There is no need to count the breaths, envision anything, or think specific thoughts.
4. Be mindful of sensations that occur around the body and thoughts that enter the mind. When they arise, notice them and allow them to pass without trying to judge or analyze them.
5. Continue this practice, focusing on inner consciousness, for the rest of the meditation. If a distraction appears, calmly notice the distraction but then refocus the attention on the breath.

Meditation may feel difficult at first, but a person will start to find it easier if they maintain a consistent practice every day.

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Comparison with other types of meditation 

A person can practice many different types of meditation. Although it will not work to do two types of meditation simultaneously, a person can practice different meditation techniques at different times. Some other meditation techniques include:

• Mindfulness meditation: As with Vipassana, this technique focuses on mindfulness and awareness in the present moment and does not require a person to use any specific mantras. However, Vipassana focuses more on drawing the attention inward.
• Loving kindness meditation: Loving kindness meditation encourages people to contemplate kind, loving thoughts toward others and themselves. Vipassana does not encourage any specific thought process.
• Zen meditation: Similar to Vipassana, Zen meditation focuses on creating generalized awareness and minimizing distractions. However, unlike during Vipassana practice, a person keeps their eyes partially open during Zen sessions.
• Transcendental meditation: This meditation requires a person to repeat a specific mantra that an instructor has given them throughout each session. Like Vipassana meditation, the goal is enlightenment, but a key difference is that transcendental meditation requires someone to get lessons.
• Movement-based meditation: Several types of meditation, such as qigong and yoga, use movement to cultivate awareness, control breathing, and help a person turn their focus inward. Vipassana is a quiet, still meditation that does not involve specific postures or thoughts.

Source : Medical News Today

YOGA FOR EVERY ONE - CHAPTER 10

 

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Chapter 10:

Possible Side Effects Of Yoga

 

As with most things there are bound to be side effects if one does not take the time to understand the endeavor embarked upon. Yoga is no different, though it is known for its grace and gentleness, it should be taken for granted and certainly should be deviated until and unless one understands the possible consequences of the deviation.

 

What You Should Know

 

Some yoga movements consist of really hard to do maneuvers though it may look easy to start with, therefore it is very important to start the yoga adventure under supervision of an experiences yoga practitioner.

 

If wrongly executed, these poses can result in serious injury or simply be useless in terms of what the individual is trying to get from it.

Consulting a physician is also a good idea before thinking of embarking on any yoga program. Some people do so without this vital doctor’s input and even wrongfully decide not to continue with the ongoing treatments and medications and replace it with yoga. This elimination is only advised and possible when some positive results are forthcoming.

 

Besides experiencing pain in the wrist, neck, and back areas, some people have experienced ligament tears and tendons and muscles pull. There are even cases recorded stating the side effects of vertigo though this is indeed rare.

 

There have also been cases of gastric problems that may occur upon commencing a yoga series of classes. One of the possible explanations given for this gastric condition is that the given set of poses is not executed in the proper sequence and thus causing the discomfort. There are also instances of nausea, sour stomach, and vomiting.

 

When the yoga exercise is taken too seriously and the warning signs of discomfort are ignored and allowed to continue unaddressed, then some frighteningly serious consequences may occur such as internal bleeding, severe muscle strains, and ruptures. In these cases immediate medical helps needs to be sought.

 

Wrapping Up

 

The Yogic way of life includes a code of ethics, rules, discipline and more, combined with prayer and meditation.

 

Even a discussion of these matters helps one alleviate mental tensions and alter mental attitude. Simple Asanas help to stretch and unwind the whole body and neutralize stresses.

 

The earnest practice of Yoga postures advantages all levels of experience.

 

From the return of balance, flexibility, poise, health and well-being to the body, to the cultivation of mental equanimity, emotional balance, and interior strength.

 

On a physical level Yoga postures energize the glands, organs, muscles and nerves in ways that traditional exercise can't.

 

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