| |
| |
|
Meditation Information |
|
|
|
Relax Into Health
I'd like to share a little secret about relaxation techniques for athletes (or health-minded people that workout) and anyone that wants to feel more focused, calm, healthy and peaceful. But first, let's define relaxation techniques, or more specifically, meditation. To begin, it's not necessary to be a Zen master to learn meditation. Anyone can jump-in at any time and start meditating. You should put any expectations aside; do not try to force the outcome; don't try to over-analyze "what meditation is"; and in general, just turn-off the brain and be in the moment. When meditating it is not necessary to blank out your mind or chase thoughts away. You'll learn that as you progress with meditation, your mind will become quieter. Sit comfortably, with your spine reasonably straight. You can rest against a chair, a wall or headboard. Your hands can rest comfortably at your side or on your lap. Your legs can also be in any comfortable position (crossing them or any complicated pretzel position is not necessary). Overall, allow your body to sit comfortably so your body-mind-spirit can be open to relax. There are different types of meditations that you can use in your daily practice. Here are a few: * Mindfulness - A process focusing on physical sensations and being present of the moment. It is being attentive to the sensory information entering your mind through your five senses. Beneficial to athletes, people in body pain or someone with a health challenge, dieters and overall for body awareness. * Visualization - This process creates in the mind specific places or situations, such as a green forest or the calming waves of the ocean. This can be used for goal setting or for quieting the mind. * Breath mediation - A process focusing on the rhythm of breathing. * Walking meditation - This Zen Buddhist form of meditation focuses on the sensation of the feet against the ground. Some people have discovered its benefits without realizing it was meditative. Pacing back and forth can be very calming on the mind. This next meditation I strongly recommend learning first. In fact, I do a "sandwich" - I start with grounding then one of the meditations listed above and end my meditation practice with grounding. Grounding - This process is being fully present mentally and emotionally and will help you feel more centered and focused. Practicing grounding will put you in control of your environment and focus your energies in your daily routine. Anyone learning meditation for the first time will gain great benefits by practicing grounding on a daily basis. The Tree Meditation is the simplest exercise to feel more relaxed and energized. Yes, you can actually experience both of these at the same time! Familiarize yourself with this meditation by reading it two or three times and then begin. If you want, you can set a timer for ten minutes. * Close your eyes and breathe in calmly. Each breath, imagine sipping air with a straw. * Breathe in --- slow --- and relaxed. * Imagine a beautiful, majestic tree. As you think of this tree, breathing in more relaxed, imagine YOU are the tree. With each calming breath your spine lengthens. See your body as the trunk of the tree; and as you continue breathing down from your head to your spine, down to your hips ---continue breathing down, feeling more relaxed and calm; down your legs --- your feet ---supporting you like the trunk of the tree. * As you continue breathing, imagine healthy strong roots extending from the bottom of your feet. Your roots extend deep into Mother Earth, anchoring your body. You're healthy-whole-and complete; fully supported as you breathe deep into the earth. You are a beautiful tree; you feel strong, solid and fully grounded where you are. * Continue relaxing and breathing. When you are ready, come back to the present --- alert, confident and fully energized. The last type of meditation is Transcendental. This is a specific type of meditation that must be learned from a certified teacher of the Transcendental Meditation program. Introduced in the late 1950s, this meditation focuses on a mantra (a sound, word or phrase that is repeated over and over, either aloud, as a chant or silently). Studies of relaxation techniques have shown overall improvements of the body-mind connection for athletes and many health benefits for individuals. Taking the time to meditate and quiet our mind gives us the time to pause in our daily lives. It is the greatest power we hold, to be in the moment, alive and aware of our surroundings and our body. Relaxation gives us time to better organize our day, focus our energy and work more efficiently. Start your meditation practice in the morning for ten to fifteen minutes. Many of the types of meditations - Grounding, Mindfulness, Visualization, Breath, Walking or Transcendental - can be done at home, work or out-and-about. There are hundreds of meditations to match the needs of the individual or to meet a specific purpose. You can find meditations online, in books, on CD and by taking a class. Over time you will have increased self-esteem and self-confidence; greater creativity; a greater ability to problem solve; and a more calming effect on your surroundings and the people you interact with. Copyright 2005 Wayne McDonald Wayne McDonald is the author of "Relax Into Health" - a comprehensive guide to completely relax your body in five minutes. He is the founder of http://www.HolisticWebDirectory.com - an on-line health directory of complementary health care professionals. For more health articles, signup for the monthly Health Newsletter. Send an email to submit-ezine@aweber.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Meditation - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How To Meditate? We are surrounded by negative forces like jealousy, hatred, fear, doubt, worry, despair, guilt, resentment, anger, pride hatred and anxiety. These are the dominating forces of the universe. How You Can Unite Meditation, Divine Essence, And Personal Tenacity to Serve Your Highest Purpose 1. Meditation:Meditation is a sacred practice. Meditate with Mindful Breathing Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. How To Meditate Without Even Trying I remember when I started trying to meditate. I would sit down, close my eyes, and try to be really calm (my definition of meditation at the time). Meditation also Gave Me Something else Some of the greatest benefits for me have been my ability to tap into 'my well of inner peace' whenever I need to, my connection with, and to, spirit, achievement of greater clarity and balance at the end of each session, and overall wellbeing. Meditation also gave me something else. How to Use White Noise White noise is: A sound containing a blend of all the audible frequencies distributed equally over the range of the frequency band. White noise is analogous to white light which contains all the colors of the rainbow together. Active Meditation / Visualization Part OneChoose a nature scene. For instance scenery of mountain, meadow or ocean to picture and imagine during your session. Yoga Meditation For Pain Relief The purpose of this article is to provide information on methods and techniques on how to cope with pain, or in some instances, possibly even overcoming pain with the use of techniques derived from Yoga meditation.Chronic pain sufferers spend millions of dollars to find ways of relieving their pain. Quieting the Mind Opening the Heart To put it simply, the act of meditation involves quieting the mind so you can open the heart. That's it in a nutshell. Relaxation Magic - Hypnosis, Meditation, Visualization Hypnosis, meditation and visualization are three similar processes for accessing a creative area of the sub-conscious mind. Relaxation Magic lessons use a combination of all three therapies for maximum results. How to Train Your Brain to Keep You Healthy and Happy When you are unhappy what do you do? Do you go out for a meal? Go to the cinema? The theatre, perhaps? Do you go shopping? Perhaps you like a drink to overcome your unhappiness. Or do you get a buzz from jogging or going to the gym?Whatever it is scientist are in the process of proving that internal change is the only thing that can give you health and happiness. Tips for Better Meditation Meditation students often come to me and ask what they can do to improve their meditation. Success in meditation is not the result of any one single factor but depends on sustained and systematic effort over a period of time. A Hypnosis Cd - Getting the Most from Them You should treat the use of a hypnosis cd just like you use a tool. In other words, any tool has the potential to do a great job as long as it is used for its intended purpose. Active Meditation For Surges In Energy Levels! When I first started learning about deep breathing exercises and meditation I had this pre-conceived notion of sitting very still for long periods of time, my body like a statue, my breathing hardly discernable to an onlooker.Little did I know that this was not the only way to achieve a meditative experience. How to Record Meditation Scripts to Audio Equipment If you're someone who loves to meditate (or wants to start) and has loads of meditation CD's why not try something novel? Record your voice using meditation scripts. Imagine this, each visually guided session personalised through using your voice. Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe, With Which Meditation Should I Go? There are many different styles of meditation, so which one is right for you?You can choose from:1. A writing meditation - using either the dominant or non-dominant hand2. Meditate to Unlock Your Hidden Potential - Part 1 Meditation is often misunderstood by those who do not practice it. Very often, I hear meditation referred to as, "altered states of consciousness. What Does Meditation Music Do To You? Personally I belief that it is possible for anyone to live a life of happiness,inner peace, and outward success, no matter what their present or past circumstances. There are very real methods anyone can use to achieve these things-if they are willing to make the necessary changes in how they see themselves and their relationship to the rest of the world, and take the necessary actions. An Algorithm to Remove "Hurt" from Pain The behavior of pain was enigmatic. Its responses were strange. Meditation - Easy Tools for Success Do you want to learn how to meditate? Have you tried to meditate but you keep falling asleep? Or you're not sure you are doing it right? Do you keep thinking about other things while you are trying to "clear your mind"?First you need to decide what type of meditation you want to do. There are basically two types of meditation - active and passive.
|
| home | site map |
| Web Site Development - Search Engine Marketing: Dream Team Media |
