Ways to Meditate

People seeking emotional and cognitive wellness know meditation as a helpful tool, but maximizing its impact depends on choosing the right one for your mental health and wellness goals.

By training skills like concentration, relaxation, awareness, and emotional regulation, meditation provides the support. Enhancing these skills is not simply achieved by sitting quietly, it comes from intentional techniques and from choosing the meditation form that delivers the specific benefits you are looking for.

In this guide, we will explore different types of meditation, how they work, and who they may be best suited for, so you can find a meditation style that fits your intentions and lifestyle.

General Meditation Guidelines

Even with all the different meditation types, there are tips that are consistent regardless of the form that will help maximize your chosen style’s effectiveness for your goals.

• Start small and work your way up: this applies to duration, frequency, prompts, etc.
• Be consistent: Sporadic meditating is a great way to casually incorporate some mindfulness into your life, but it won’t make a significant impact in your goals.
• Get comfortable: Finding the right environment, posture, seating, and even place in your routine can make a big difference.
• Don’t strive for perfection: Long term meditation success comes from patience, curiosity, and exploration, not from strictly adhering to guidelines.
• Reflect afterwards: Ask yourself what you learned, how you feel, what you would change, etc.

Checkpoint Questions

There are also standard prompts and questions you can ask yourself before or during your meditation depending on the type:

• What do I need right now?
• How do I feel physically, mentally, and emotionally?
• What sensations am I feeling?
• What tension can I release?
• Where is my attention?
• What am I taking away from this session?

Every meditation style has a cache of benefits that can be useful. While there will be one that you may find suits your needs the best, there is no “wrong” answer, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Different Types of Meditation Styles

Guided Meditation

A guided meditation entails an instructor talking you through with specific instructions/prompts. Beginners can benefit by familiarizing themselves with different questions and cadences, but so can people who have trouble staying focused and people with unpredictable routines as guided meditations can be found online and accessed anywhere. Take note of what aspects of the meditation resonated with you so you can incorporate them into your own session later on.

Mantra Meditation

Mantra meditation is when you will take a sound, world, or phrase that resonates with you called a mantra and silently repeat it over and over for about twenty minutes twice a day to reach a state of “restful alertness.” Instead of focusing on control, awareness, or present sensations, you are transcending your thoughts for a deep bodily rest and mental clarity. TIPS

Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental meditation falls under the umbrella of Mantra Meditation, but the difference is that the mantra that you are silently repeating is a specific sound curated for you by a certified instructor. This meditation form is highly personalized and requires specialized training as opposed to Mantra Meditation but both ultimately strive for relaxed mental clarity.

Mindfulness Meditation

Contrary to transcendental and mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation does involve intentional observations of your thoughts, feelings, and sensations. For people with specific mental health concerns like anxiety, stress, attention deficit, etc. this is a great way to reel in your thoughts and focus on direct feeling pathways. You can accept all of the feelings as they come and gently return to your body when you feel ready.

Loving-Kindness Meditation

Not unlike Mantra and Transcendental Meditation, Loving-Kindness Meditation involves mental repetition, but instead of a mantra you are silently voicing positive affirmations and intentions towards yourself or others with phrases like “May I be happy” or “May you be healthy.” This is a great practice for anyone battling with harboring anger, resentment, or other negative thoughts either inwardly or directed at others. Because this can feel unnatural at first, start with phrases you feel comfortable with and keep your sessions short, then work your way up from there.

Body-Scan Meditation

Body-Scan Meditation involves slowly bringing your attention to different parts of your body from your feet to your head or vice versa and taking note of sensations like warmth, tension, pain, etc. By exploring and creating a stronger mind-body connection, people who hold stress in their body or struggle with chronic pain or illness can benefit from this meditation form. Finding a comfortable sitting position is key and don’t worry about your mind wandering, you can always pick back up where you left off.

Breathwork Meditation

Similarly to Body-Scan Meditation, Breakwork Meditation’s goal is calming the mind through present sensational awareness, but instead of taking note of all internal stimuli you are using your own breathing as the focal point of your concentration. Because breathing is both consistent and easy to observe and feel, Breathwork Meditation is a great form for beginners, especially if you want to gradually expand to Body-Scan Meditation.

Somatic Meditation

Somatic Meditation is also similar to Body-Scan Meditation because it entails channeling mindfulness through internal bodily sensations, but the structure is more free and fluid as opposed to going through your body part by part and taking note of everything. This is a great form for people who want to have a deeper body awareness but don’t have specific concerns that would require the full Body-Scan.

Find the Right Meditation Style for You at Barn Life Recovery

Meditation is a powerful tool when used correctly. However, finding the right meditation form for you depends on a thorough understanding of what underlying problems you want to address. Learn more about joining Barn Life Recovery to enlist our team of professionals to help you incorporate meditation into your holistic wellness journey.