Simple Meditation Technique - Count Your Breath

Here's another component of a great, healthy attitude.

If you've never meditated before, or have tried it and given up, this method may be for you. The technique involves focusing on, and counting, deep inhalations and exhalations. Five minutes in the beginning is a great start. Work your way up from there as you begin to feel the mental and physical benefits and enjoy it more. Use a timer or just have a clock or watch close by. Soon, you should be able to do at least 15 minutes.

First, find a quiet and peaceful location. You want to be able to avoid distractions. Try to make it the same place every time. Make sure it's a pleasant location that you will enjoy coming back to each and every time. It's like your sanctuary.

Prepare yourself mentally by freeing the mind of sounds and other distractions. Some people play background noise like gently falling rain, waves from the ocean, or even forest sounds. If that's too distracting you could try the 'white noise' from a fan set on low.

Find a comfortable position that will allow the flow of your body's energy to be free and natural. If it's comfortable for you to kneel on a cushion or to sit cross-legged on the floor try that. I prefer a chair with my feet flat on the floor, sitting upright, with my hands folded together across my abdomen, or my lower dan-tien as its called.

Sit straight up with your spine extended. Visualize a string attached through your skull to your spine and that the string is being pulled straight up, or that you're balancing a bowl of water on your head. Move your body just enough to find your most comfortable position.

Relax any tightened muscles. Do a quick scan of your muscles and relax any that feel clenched or tight. You may need to do this more than once when you first start out. If you notice any tightened muscles while breathing and counting that means you've been distracted enough to notice. As you practice more you will feel the muscles are relaxed and won't have to be concerned about it. Everything is new at the beginning and may take some getting used to.

You may close your eyes or keep them slightly open and relaxed. Don't focus on any object. Keep the mouth closed, lips and teeth together. The tongue should be at the roof of your mouth directly touching the front teeth.

Slow down everything. Slow down your mind and thoughts. Slow down your body. Slow you're your breathing. Take 6 long, slow relaxing breaths as everything else relaxes and slows down.

Then, begin the meditation. As you inhale, say "And..." As you exhale, say "One." As you begin the next inhalation say, "And..." As you exhale say "Two." And so on up to ten. Then start over again.

When you experience outer and inner distractions don't allow yourself to become annoyed. Accept the inconvenience and just let them flow through you and back out. Come right back to focusing on your breathing and counting. If you lose track of your number start back at number one or at the last number you can remember counting. The mind is going to do what it does naturally--think. Just focus on your breath and the counting. Your mind will settle down.

Try giving your breath a color, like blue, and follow the blue as it enters your nostrils and starts to fill your toes, your legs, torso, arms, and all the way into your lungs. Exhale first from the lungs, arms, etc. and the last air on its way out comes from the toes. Stay awake and relaxed. Maintain good posture.

When you finish the meditation don't jump right back into activity. Take a few moments to return to the regular world before you go back to your normal routine. Think about the meditation period. Was it relaxing? What was it like before you started the meditation? What is it like now?

Do this every day. Start a routine and try to do this at the same time and for the same length of time. You should know within two or three weeks if this is right for you. If not, there's always another method. Life goes on.

Personal fitness, health issues, nutrition, and the connection of our mind and body are the things I've taken a great interest in for at least the last 30 years so I think I know of whence I speak.
I am not a physician, therapist, or any other kind of so-called expert and am not giving anyone any medical advice. I know what works for me and have spent a lot of time, money, and effort constantly learning as much as I could about all of those subjects. But I strongly advise anyone to consult their own physician before making any changes in their own life. Visit my blog for other interesting articles, video recipes featuring Chef Dog, books that I authored, and some truly free downloads--no opt-in required http://www.healthisanattitude.com/

Original article

A Simple Meditation Practice

Meditation is a practice that is growing in popularity for people who seek a simple, non-intrusive method of releasing stress, and provide them with their desired sense of wellness. People who have undergone this mode of therapy have been shown to be happier, less stressed, deal better with pain and are generally more productive in their work - all leading to a better lifestyle.

The practice of meditation does not require any equipment, and can be as easily performed in a group class or at home alone. But a common question that troubles many who start out is 'whether they are doing it right? This article will outline a method of how to perform simple meditation, so beginners receive the maximum value from the process - as they are not questioning their technique.

When starting out in meditation, body posture is the first element to explore. The best posture is one that you can remain in comfortably for 10 minutes or more, enabling you to find the peace of mind that you desire. Although many people perform meditation in a seated position on the floor with their legs crossed over, it is not necessary. If possible, you should also ensure that your head and spine are aligned and lengthened. Lying flat, or sitting tall are the best methods to achieve this. Comfortable posture ensures that your mind stays focused on the meditating so that you can work at clearing your conscience. If you try meditating when you are slouched or uncomfortable, you will realize that your mind will drift away far more easily.

Your eyes are another element to work on. They can be slightly open, with a soft focus, open with a focus on a particular item (like a candle flame), or closed completely too all external stimulation. If you find your gaze being regularly distracted and you cannot free your mind of the thoughts that you have, either close your eyes or try the candle.

You then need to free your mind of all thoughts and simply let it be. This will enable you to experience the beauty of meditation stillness.
One focus technique of meditation is to use your rhythmical breath to ensure that your concentration does not wander. Observing the breath, or counting the breath is all that is required.

As you are meditating, it is recommended that you just let whatever thoughts that pass through your mind pass with ease. This helps you in relieving the stress that is normally caused by many of the thoughts that trouble us each day. If you have emotions that are troubling you when meditating, it is recommended that you embrace the emotion in your meditation, however strong they may be. This has been shown to help you deal better with the emotion as it can be released once it is recognized.

It is important that you make sure that the meditation procedure is carried out in an environment that is safe and free of distractions or noise. If you desire to carry out your meditation in a noisy place that hinders your meditation, then soothing music can be played for you to realize the desired concentration.

Following the above guidelines will assist your meditation practice, so that you can enjoy the many benefits that it provides.

Nigel Coates is moderator of the Explore Meditation blog, which offers free Meditation Downloads to assist you walk your spiritual path with confidence. The simple Chakra Meditation is a great place for beginners to start.

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Simple Ways to Practice Meditation

Many people are turning to meditation in order to cope with their hectic lifestyles. This just makes sense as obtaining peace at least in some part of our days is helpful in order to deal with the everyday anxieties. There are many ways to start but always focusing on the basics first will typically result in the best outcome. Just learning some of the basic meditation techniques can really help you to start your journey into being physically relaxed and more spiritually aware.

The first simple meditation technique is to sit comfortably in a chair. Ideally it would be helpful if this chair did not have arms or a headrest. If you can figure how much time you wish to spend meditating beforehand that would be great. But I would recommend not actually timing yourself. Your body will do this for you, and you will be surprised how accurate it can be. Just think consciously about how much time you want to spend before you begin and you will see that you will only take that much time meditating without any alarm.

When you have a mantra to repeat it is helpful if this comes from deep within you. Think about the thought and not the word associated with the thought. It must come from deep within your being in order to have the best effect. Let the mantra rise slowly as you breathe deeply in and out. If your body feels like sagging then let it do so. Do not fight yourself. Be relaxed. Let the thoughts come and go while you observe them. Do not beat yourself up if you do not do this perfectly each time. That will simply make you tense and be contrary to your main goal.

The second meditation technique is actually mediating while standing up. This technique is actually Chinese in origin and is based upon Chi Gong. There are numerous health benefits to this meditation technique and you will definitely feel much better and stronger after practicing it for several weeks.

To start stand up with your knees slightly bent. Do not put too much pressure on the knees but rather just be relaxed. Next make you're back flat as it were flat against a wall. Raise your arms as if you were holding a 12 inch ball with the elbows slightly bent. This is how you start this meditation technique.

The next step is to breathe slowly into your mouth and let the energy of your breath slowly sink down into your body. It is not uncommon that after a while you will feel heat in your hands and arms. This is the result of the pure Chi energy flowing through you. The trick with this technique is to imagine yourself as either a tree firmly planted or that you are underneath a waterfall and the energy of the water is flowing over you. You may feel the energy washing away every bit of stress. You can use whatever mental picture that would be the most helpful for you to get the most benefit.

With these two basic techniques you can start to really relax and obtain a better sense of self and awareness of your surroundings and thoughts. The point however is to practice at least some of these techniques on a daily basis so that you can become really proficient at them.

If you want to learn about mindfulness exercises and how to practice meditation find out more at http://www.meditationgeneration.com/ and read more of the meditation articles found there. If you have experience feel free to leave your thoughts for others to learn from.

Original article

Learning To Meditate the Simple Way

With all of the secrecy and religious dogma that often surrounds meditation, it can be very intimidating for someone just learning to meditate. I'm here to tell you that it doesn't need to be that way. When you strip away the layers of dogma, what you have is something that is literally as simple as learning to breathe.

Just Sit - Most of us cannot twist ourselves into a full lotus position without needing to call for assistance to un-twist us when we are done. Half lotus is fine or, if you cannot sit comfortably on the ground with your legs crossed, then kneel. If you are unable to kneel then sit in a straight-backed chair. If you're unable to sit in a chair then, as a last resort lay down.

Learning to meditate does not require a specific posture though sitting is better than lying down so that you are less likely to fall asleep.

Just Breathe - Nearly all of us go about our day without giving regard to our breath. We assume, since we are still living and moving around, we must be breathing properly. But we breathe too shallow, most of the time. For the person learning to meditate, a simple technique can be to sit in a chair and imagine breathing from the top of your head through your feet on the inhale. This visualization helps to elongated the lungs so that you are using more of them to breathe.

Pick a Mantra - Sometimes concentrating on a word or short phrase, called a mantra, can be the simplest and most relaxing when you're learning to meditate. Mantras are typically spoken silently in your head, over and over at whatever pace feels natural to you.

The most common mantra people use when learning to meditate is "Om," or, alternatively "Aum."

Another helpful mantra to use is what is called the peace mantra, "Om Shanti."

Keep in mind, when learning to meditate, you only need to use one mantra during a meditation session.

And as far as how long to meditate for, choose what is right for you at the beginning. A few minutes meditating is better than none at all, but ideally, you should try to work your way up to twenty-one minutes a day.

Learning to meditate doesn't have to be overwhelming or confusing, you just need to take the initiative and simply observe whatever experience occurs. With these simple tips in mind, you have everything you need to begin your meditation practice.

If you're interested in learning the secrets to creating a Simple Life, living more authentically visit my website where I share my experience with the best techniques and products that I personally use for the best results.

Visit my website at: http://www.charlieforness.com/

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