Everyone needs a little bit of zen in their life whether this be journalling, listening to relaxing music, doing some yoga but have you ever tried meditation before to get you into a relaxed state of mind?
There are so many different types of meditation as well as meditation benefitting you in so many different ways.
So today I wanted to share with you what meditation is, the different types of meditation, the benefits of practicing meditation and how you can build meditation into a habit as well as some helpful resources.
What is Meditation?
"Meditation is where the mind is trained to be aware and achieve a mentally clear and stable state." Therefore there is no right or wrong when it comes to what time of day you should be practicing meditation.
Types of Meditation:
When I was doing my research for this blog post, I didn't realise just how many different types of meditation there are! Below I have listed the different types of meditation along with some ideas of activities you could do to practice each different type.
Mindfulness - this type of meditation is to just let your thoughts flow and to not pass judgement or get involved with your thoughts.
Spiritual - you can practice spiritual meditation by listening to the silence around you. Some people support this type of meditation with essential oils for a really relaxing environment.
Focused - often we go through life and don't pay much attention to our senses. This form of meditation allows you to concentrate on your 5 senses and make your mind more aware of them.
Movement - you can meditate whilst you're doing exercise! Some forms of movement meditation are walking or yoga. I have found through personal experience that running helps me get into a meditative state of mind.
Mantra - if you like to listen to sounds, try doing some mantra meditation where you listen to a sound repetitively.
Transcendental - this meditation is focusing on a series of words that link to you. So it could be 'happy', 'loving', 'joyful' etc.
Visualisation - if you're already doing visualisation then you are already doing one type of meditation. Visualisation allows you to imagine yourself succeeding and it also increases focus and motivation.
Progressive - this might be quite a nice one to do before bed. This type of meditation enables the body to relax, one muscle at a time until your whole body becomes relaxed. Start from the top and work your way down to your toes.
Loving - ideal for practicing self love as well as sending well wishes to others.
Benefits:
There are so many benefits that meditating can have on you. Here I have listed just a few to give you an understanding of how impactful meditating can be:
- Gain a new perspective
- Reduces stress
- Increases self awareness
- Focus on the present
- Reduces negative emotions
- Increases creativity
- Increases patience
Making Meditation a Habit:
To summarise so far, you have a clear understanding of what meditation is, you know the different types of meditation and you are familiar with the benefits that practicing meditation can have. Now, let's get into how you can make meditation a habit that you will stick to:
- Start with your why - by having a clear understanding as to why you are wishing to meditate will make things a lot easier when you start making excuses as you can refer back to your why.
- Commit - say to yourself I am going to meditate for 10 minutes every morning before work or I will meditate before I go to sleep tonight. By giving yourself that commitment you are more likely to keep to it.
- Make Yourself Accountable - mention to a friend or family member that you are going to start meditating or commit to a Calm subscription. Give yourself something that will make you accountable and less likely to not do it.
- Set Yourself a Challenge - everyone loves a good challenge therefore why not set up a challenge and say that you will be meditating every day for a month - see how you get on!
Resources:
Below, I have also included some resources that might help in your meditation journey...
- Calm app
- YouTube - a helpful resource to find a range of different meditation music and guided meditations if you're just started out
- A Quiet Space - make sure your environment is a quiet as possible. If you're struggling to find a peaceful space try putting on some noise cancelling headphones
I really hope that this blog post has helped you in understanding a bit more about meditation and how it can help your mental health in particular. If you are looking to practice meditation then try downloading this template (link here) where you can pick the type of meditation you want to do as well as make a list of how you will practice that particular type of meditation.
This blog post is Day 29 out of the January Series where I will be uploading 31 blog posts to help you kick start your 2021 in the right way and to help you become the best version of you.
Leave a comment below if you have any blog post ideas that you would like me to do in the future
See you tomorrow for another blog post! :)
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