In my previous posts, I have briefly mentioned different types of meditation. Some people might think that there is only one way to meditate, such as sitting still and trying not to think about anything. However, there are actually many different styles and techniques for meditation. I think exploring the different options and methods is a great way to figure out what kind of meditation feels the most natural and provides the most benefits for you!
An article from Healthline outlines 9 different types of meditation, including the following:
1. Mindfulness Meditation
2. Spiritual Meditation
3. Focused Meditation
4. Movement Meditation
5. Mantra Meditation
6. Transcendental Meditation
7. Progressive Relaxation
8. Loving-Kindness Meditation
9. Visualization Meditation
Which Type of Meditation is Right for me? www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/types-of-meditation
From this list, I am most familiar with mindfulness, mantra, progressed relaxation, movement, and focused meditation. Counting breaths, a technique I’ve described myself using in previous posts, is a form of focused meditation. Focused meditation involves concentrating on or simply paying attention to one of the five senses.
There are many different ways of doing moving meditation but I have the most experience with yoga as a form of meditation through movement. I find it is most effective when someone else is cueing the sequence and poses so I only focus on my movements, otherwise I think too hard about what to do next. More spiritual yoga practices often employ mantra, spoken in Sanskrit, which is conducive to meditative states. I have also experienced progressed relaxation in yoga classes through Yoga Nidra, which involves drawing attention to and relaxing parts of your body in incremental succession.
I find mindfulness meditation is interesting because there is no intention of completely clearing your mind of any though, but rather letting thoughts pass through your mind as you sit in quiet contemplation. As thoughts form in your mind, instead of trying to push them away, you gently observe your thoughts and refrain from passing any judgement.
One type of meditation from the article that I have less experience with is visualization meditation. It is not a method I have practiced much on my own as I often feel the need for external guidance. This is less accessible than other methods because someone well versed in guiding visual meditation may not be present or the required technology to access pre-recorded meditations may not be readily available.
You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.
Pema Chodron
