What is meditation?

Why meditate?

How meditation affects the brain

Four basic approaches to meditation

How to sit when meditating

8 tips for optimizing your meditation

How to deepen your practice

How to make sure you're doing it right

Meditation checklist

What is meditation?

Meditation is simply the practice of resting your awareness on a particular object. Most of the time your awareness is moving indiscriminately from one thing to another?from memories of conversations you had last week to worries about what you?re going to do tomorrow to the demands of the situation in front of you. Your mind swings from topic to topic, limb to limb, like a wild monkey, and you don't have much control over where it goes.

In meditation you practice returning your attention again and again to the present moment - whether it's to the sensations of your breath, or to a short word of phrase, or to an inner visual image. As you gradually cultivate awareness in this way, your mind begins to settle down and become less agitated and confused, and you expand your ability to concentrate and be present for everything life offers. In meditation you're setting aside some time to shift from constant doing, the hallmark of 21st-century life, to simply being, open and attentive.

Once your present awareness deepens, you can then apply it to a variety of purposes and activities, from getting the job done more effectively at work to improving your relationships, from managing your stress and enhancing your well-being to healing from illness and cultivating compassion for others. The uses and applications of meditation are literally too numerous to mention.

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Why meditate?

If calming your mind and relaxing your body doesn’t seem like reason enough to learn to meditate, here’s a list of the many benefits the practice confers. Extensive research has consistently shown that people who meditate:

1. Live longer
2. Feel happier and enjoy life more
3. Experience less stress and greater relaxation
4. Have lower blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol levels
5. Function more effectively at work and sports
6. Feel more loving and compassionate
7. Have easier access to spiritual insights and mind-states
8. Experience enhanced creativity
9. Feel more centered, grounded, and balanced

For most of us, the promise of realizing even just one of these benefits would be ample motivation to meditate.

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How meditation affects the brain

Studies of meditation and the brain find that regular practice increases the number of alpha waves, which are associated with a relaxed, peaceful state of mind. Increased alpha activity lowers blood pressure and heart rate, lowers the level of stress hormones in the body, and calms the mind.

As meditation deepens, theta waves also increase, bringing even deeper relaxation, more creative thinking and intuition, enhanced problem solving abilities, and an openness to spiritual insight and illumination. The delta waves that occur with the deepest meditation allow experienced practitioners to access the unconscious mind.

Experienced meditators may also show an increase in gamma waves, associated with intense focus and concentration, particularly in the prefrontal area of the brain where positive emotions are generated.

Other studies have found that meditation:

1. Increases thickness in parts of the brain associated with cognitive and emotional processing and well-being
2. Increases activity in the brain regions used for paying attention and making decisions.
3. Calms the area of the brain associated with emotional reactivity
4. Increases overall blood flow to the brain
5. Prevents the loss of gray matter that usually accompanies aging

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Four basic approaches to meditation

1. Mindfulness

   When you focus your awareness from moment to moment on your constantly changing sensory experience, you’re practicing mindfulness meditation. Developed to a high art by Buddhist monastics, this approach usually involves mindful awareness of the breath and then, as the student advances, of the full range of sensation, both inner and outer—hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, seeing. Recent research indicates that regular practice makes people happier and enhances immune system function.

 

2. Mantra

   When you focus your awareness on the repetition of a particular word or phrase, repeated either softly to yourself or silently in the mind, you’re doing mantra meditation. Popularized in the ‘70s by Transcendental Meditation and Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson’s bestselling guidebook The Relaxation Response, mantra has a proven track record of reducing stress and its physiological markers, such as blood pressure and heart rate.

 

3. Visualization

   When you focus your awareness on an internal image or series of images, you’re practicing visualization. In recent decades, Western researchers have documented the healing and transformative power of imagery, and pioneers in the field have elaborated the use of guided imagery for a range of applications, from quitting smoking and healing diseases like cancer to enhancing performance in sports or business.

 

4. Contemplation

   When you focus your awareness on a particular thought, idea, issue, or pattern in order to understand it fully, you’re practicing contemplation. Traditionally used in the East to comprehend spiritual concepts or inquire into the nature of reality, contemplation can also be applied to resolving challenging life problems, working with difficult emotions, brainstorming at work, or understanding the people in your life.

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How to sit when meditating

Mention meditation, and most people picture cross-legged yogis or monks in the classical lotus position. But the truth is, any comfortable position that allows you to sit quietly with your back straight is appropriate for meditation (and if back pain makes sitting difficult, lying down is a perfectly legitimate alternative—as long as you don’t fall asleep!).

To straighten your back without rigidity, imagine that you’re being pulled toward the sky by a string attached to the crown of your head. Feel the string pulling you higher as your back naturally falls into alignment. Or visualize yourself firmly rooted in the earth yet rising up toward the heavens like a great tree or mountain. Whatever technique you use, don’t struggle or strain — just allow your back to take its natural, upright position.

Here are a few of the most popular meditation positions:

1. Cross-Legged: Choose a firm cushion that gives you good support and sit with legs crossed one in front of the other. Ideally, your knees should touch the floor while your back remains straight. If you find it difficult to do both simultaneously, try using a thicker cushion—but, if you have to choose, best to keep your back straight and put some pillows under your knees to support them. With time they’ll gradually touch terra firma—or you can speed the process by practicing stretches that open the hips. If you’re really limber, of course, you can experiment with half- or even full-lotus.

 

2. Kneeling: Some people find comfort in kneeling on the floor with a cushion or meditation bench tucked beneath their buttocks. This classical meditation posture has also traditionally been the sitting position of choice for people in certain Asian countries, like Japan, though chair-sitting is rapidly taking its place. Again, be sure to keep your back straight yet relaxed, without effort or strain.

 

3. Chair-Sitting: Choose a straight-backed chair, like the one you use at your computer or dining room table, and avoid leaning against the chair back. Place a cushion under your buttocks, if the chair surface is hard. Touch the floor with your feet, and open up a little space between your knees. Resist the temptation to slump or lean from side to side--common habits of habitual chair sitters.

 

4. Lying Down: If you have back problems that make it impossible to sit for long periods of time, by all means meditate lying down—it’s a perfectly legitimate position. Best to lie on your back, either on a firm mattress or a carpeted floor, with your arms at your sides. To help you resist the temptation to fall asleep, keep your eyes open, and meditate earlier in the day, rather than right before bedtime.

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8 tips for optimizing your meditation

Meditation is actually quite simple. All you need is a quiet, comfortable place to sit (or lie down) and 10-20 minutes of your time. Just follow the instructions provided in the audio, and you’re on your way. Here are a few tips to help make your meditation easier and more enjoyable:

1. Experiment with different sitting positions until you find one that allows you to sit up straight with the maximum comfort. Generally, it’s best to avoid cushy armchairs or loungers because they encourage sleepiness and interfere with your breathing.
2. You can meditate with eyes open, half open, or closed, but choose one position and stick with it for the duration of the meditation. If you tend to be sleepy (or meditate lying down), keep your eyes open. If you’re easily distracted, keep them closed.
3. Rest your tongue lightly on the roof of your mouth (if that doesn’t make any sense to you, just let your tongue be natural), and either fold your hands in your lap or rest them on your thighs.
4. Once the meditation begins, avoid the temptation to squirm or constantly change your position. Remain relatively still but relaxed - but if the discomfort becomes too great, by all means shift from time to time.
5. Find a comfortable, quiet corner or niche in your home, away from computers, TVs, and other distractions, and designate it your meditation spot. As you keep returning to this spot to meditate, you’ll come to associate it with a calm, relaxed state of mind and body.
6. Choose a particular time each day to meditate, and stick to it as much as possible. First thing in the morning or shortly before bed are popular times, though don’t wait until you’re too sleepy. Regularity, repetition, and consistency are key (you might find it helpful to use a timer to alert you when the session is over).
7. If you find yourself stiffening up when you meditate or have difficulty relaxing, practice the deep relaxation exercise provided with your meditation. Also, you might want to engage in some basic stretching or yoga to lengthen your spine and loosen your hips. Consult a yoga teacher, or use the exercises provided in Meditation For Dummies.
8. Some pain and discomfort are inevitable when you sit without moving, no matter how careful you may be to find the most comfortable position. It’s an integral part of the meditation experience to avoid constant fidgeting, shifting, or repositioning. Instead of immediately reacting to the discomfort, be aware of it and how it affects you. If the pain becomes too intense, by all means move—with awareness, of course. Gradually you’ll become more accustomed to sitting through mild discomfort.

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How to deepen your practice

Probably the most important element of any meditation practice is the consistency with which you do it. Just as you can’t work up to a marathon if you run a mile or two every now and then, or learn a language if you pick up a phrase book when you happen to feel like it, you won’t reap the benefits of meditation if you do it intermittently or halfheartedly. Better to sit for 10 minutes daily four or five days a week than to meditate for an hour on the weekend. In one ground-breaking study, employees at a biotech company who meditated 20 minutes a day for eight weeks were significantly happier than before they began—and remained so for months.

As you become more accustomed to sitting regularly, you can gradually extend the length of your meditation from five or 10 minutes to 15, 20, or longer. As with running, don’t push yourself, but play gently at your edge. As your awareness strengthens and deepens, you can experiment with more advanced meditations that expand your capacity to be present for more and more of your moment-to-moment experience. Or you can explore meditations for particular purposes like healing or performance enhancement.

Above all, enjoy your meditation, rather than making it another burden on your interminable to-do list. It’s an opportunity to pause from your endless labors and take a few moments for yourself to breathe, relax, and just be. Do it regularly, and over time your practice will naturally deepen — and you will reap the benefits that meditation has to offer.

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How to make sure you're doing it right

The truth is, as long as you’re following the instructions, there’s no way to do it “wrong.” In fact, the tendency to keep checking up on yourself to make sure you’re doing it right, though helpful at first to ensure you’re following the guidelines, ultimately becomes a hindrance to relaxing into your meditation and just letting it happen. Once you’re sure you understand the basics, stop judging, evaluating, or monitoring your meditation, and simply do it. As I mentioned earlier, do it regularly, and over time your practice will naturally deepen. If you’re not sure of yourself, read the following checklist and listen to the audio instructions again.

Many neophyte meditators believe that they somehow need to stop their thoughts in order to have a successful practice, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The point is not to stop your thinking, which is impossible in any case, but to allow thoughts to come and go naturally as you keep coming back to the focus of your meditation—be it sensations, a mantra, an image, or an idea. Eventually you become less and less enmeshed in your thoughts, and your mind tends to feel quieter and less cluttered, but thought almost never ceases entirely.

Another common mistake is to believe that you need to stay rigidly focused on the object of your meditation without wavering. In fact, your attention will inevitably wander off and get lost in thought — just gently bring it back, again and again. Just do your best, and you’re doing it “right.”

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Meditation checklist

1. Find a quiet niche or corner
   If possible, set aside a space that?s exclusively devoted to your meditation practice and far from disturbing noises and other distractions. Wherever you sit, it?s best to minimize background sounds like TV, computer, music, loud voices, and ringing phones.
2. Settle into a comfortable position
   Explore different sitting positions and choose the one that suits you best. If you have back problems, feel free to meditate lying down on a relatively firm surface. If you?re new to sitting still or meditate for long periods of time, you can expect some mild discomfort, no matter which position you choose.
3. Straighten your spine without tension
   Imagine that you?re being pulled up toward the sky by a string attached to the crown of your head, and feel your back naturally fall into alignment. Or imagine that you?re a large tree with roots that extend deep into the earth and branches that reach toward the heavens.
4. Check your eyes and hands
   You can keep your eyes closed (if you tend to get distracted), half open, or wide open (if you tend to fall asleep). But whichever you choose, stick with it for the duration of the meditation. Fold your hands comfortably in your lap or rest them on your thighs (or at your sides, if you?re lying), with your tongue resting on the roof of your mouth.
5. Relax your body and take a few deep breaths
   Let go of any tension or effort, as much as possible, and allow your body to settle. Inhale and exhale deeply a few times, then let your breathing be natural. No need to manipulate or control it in any way.
6. Shift your position as little as possible
   Feelings of restlessness and mild discomfort are common in meditation, but resist the impulse to move or fidget constantly, which just agitates the mind. To use an ancient metaphor, when the pool of the body is still, the mud and silt of the mind naturally settle to the bottom. If you?re in pain, however, feel free to shift to a position that?s relatively pain-free.
7. Not too tight, not too loose
   If you?re too relaxed, you may fall asleep or lose focus. If you?re too tight or rigid, you may never experience the peace and ease of being that meditation offers. The key is to be relaxed yet alert. If you need help with relaxing, do the deep relaxation exercise provided with this application. Ultimately, of course, mindfulness meditation itself gradually relieves your stress and leaves you feeling more relaxed.
8. Practice regularly and consistently
   Just as running a mile a day is better for your body than running five miles once a week, meditating daily for 10 or 20 minutes is more effective than meditating once a week for an hour. If possible, set aside a particular time each day to meditate, and stick with it. Regularity and consistency are crucial in reaping the benefits of meditation.

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