Preparing for meditation or what you need to know.
Why meditate – with stress from stress in everyday life, meditation is an excellent relaxing remedy, relieving daytime stress, plus it helps to suppress fear and anger, cope with troubles, understand and accept other people, feel compassion for oneself and others, educate in oneself the best qualities are love, kindness, forgiveness, joy and peace.
Meditation does not replace prayer, but enriches and complements it. For here work with the body is added, which serves as our vehicle for feelings and emotional states, and through influence on which it is easier to achieve an impact on our mind and thinking.
Everyone has their own individual experience, which is collected in pieces as a puzzle as it deepens into different aspects of the phenomenon and studies more densely thematic information, gaining new experiences and sensations.
The main goal of meditation is finding peace and being able to disconnect from vain life. In every religion you can find your own particularities of meditation, and in their practice understand that spiritual wisdom comes from the same source and why this source is the heart of man.
What is important is the regularity of classes and perseverance to continue and get results. Many people are “weaklings”, because they do not cope with many trials of life. It’s easier for them to take cover with a blanket and sleep more to get away from their problems instead of doing it – go to work, take a new challenge, wash the car or do the project. And more often we complain not because we want to do this, but simply because the burden of problems is very great and piles on us with its heap. We need time to rest and regain strength. Meditation is an excellent tool for this, it helps to relax and find peace, in order to cope with their affairs with enthusiasm and joy.
Getting rid of stress, anxiety and depression, restoring our strength and connecting us to our wise, loving and compassionate inner “I” – this is what gives short daily meditation.
So, meditation is focusing on one’s own thoughts, planning or projecting the mind, healing, long-lasting concentration of attention.
During traditional meditation, we concentrate for a long time on prayer, mantra or breathing, a candle flame or a point on the wall. Thus, we force our minds to forget about the past, stop planning for the future and concentrate entirely on the present. This restores our strength, calms the mind both during and long after classes.
Most people begin to practice meditation to relax, to find peace of mind, lost because of everyday bustle. Stress torments both the body and the mind. He deprives us of joy, love and kindness. A tired person, in a state of stress, easily annoyed, angry, lends itself to envy and fear. His patience is at the limit, and this affects the relationship with the closest people.
Harmonization of the inner self, the awakening of love and kindness, is the main aspect of meditation. We need to heal and renew ourselves. Our life is a constant struggle with stress and we can use meditation to calm down physically, mentally and emotionally. Its main advantages are stress removal and calming of the nervous system. At the physiological level, meditation normalizes many functions of the body:
– calms and stabilizes the nervous system,
– reduces the level of cortisol, the main stress hormone,
– relieves muscle tension,
– normalizes blood pressure,
– reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood,
– increases the level of serotonin – a neurotransmitter, often associated with a sense of happiness.
A person becomes calm on all planes – mental, emotional, physical, spiritual. Feeling inner peace, he becomes more alive and full of energy. With difficulties, he is already able to cope without anxiety and fear. As the feeling of inner joy and peace increases, it becomes easier for him to show his love, kindness, patience, wisdom and compassion. He connects with his inner self and understands that it is these qualities that are his true nature.
Various techniques of meditation are designed to calm the mind in order to better understand its nature and its connection with the cosmos. Through meditation we unite with our consciousness, gain love, joy, sincerity, wisdom, ability to compassion and forgiveness. Thanks to meditation, we can feel that God lives in the soul of each of us. We discover our own divine potential. Christians call it the Holy Spirit, the consciousness of Christ. Buddhists – the nature of Buddha or emptiness. Taoists – Tao or mystery. But whatever it is called, its meaning remains the same.
You can start meditation classes to get rid of stress, but very soon you will feel what happens to you is beyond your daily existence and this experience will begin to pervade all aspects of your life. Negative habits will go aside, relations will improve, and the joy of life will increase. The feeling of well-being is contagious and very soon you will feel the need to meditate every day and will be able to find time for it in your busy schedule.
Possible questions for beginners. How to start meditating.
To begin, you need to choose a convenient position for you and a reception or method of meditation. Over time, when you catch the essence and start to enjoy the process, you can try a variety of types of meditation.
The time of meditation – you can start from three to five minutes, gradually increasing the time of minutes to fifteen or twenty or longer as far as you are comfortable.
Movement – ideally sit in a pose without movement, but if your nose itches, scratch it, trying to follow and understand your movement.
Distractions – if you are interrupted by a call, a child or a dog, switch to a situation, and then go back to meditation or continue later.
A place – it is best to choose a secluded place in the house, on the nature, park, church or temple, even in the office during lunch break. You can meditate on an airplane, train, etc.
What to expect – everyone has their own experience, so it is better to relax, follow the instructions of the chosen meditation and be open to any opportunities and experiences.
Disconnection from thoughts – beginners find it very difficult to stop thinking, thoughts are part of the process, you can just watch them or “distract” yourself into concentration on the account of breaths, breaths, mantra, prayer, etc. Once you have realized yourself in your thoughts, go back immediately to the object of concentration. The main thing is to pacify your mind, you can not get rid of thoughts, but your mind can become much calmer. Over time, it will be easier.
What you need – a rug or chair, a rug, earplugs, a blindfold, a pillow. In addition, you can light incense or incense sticks, candles, turn on the sound of bells or meditative music.
The beginning – at first it is necessary to relax, each muscle of the body, one after another, breathe deeply, slowing and calming the breath.
Postures are the simplest ones, lying in the pose of a corpse or sitting in a lotus pose or simply on a chair. Sedentary postures are better, as when lying down you can fall asleep, they can be used before bedtime for relaxation or with insomnia. You can raise your legs on a chair or on a wall for a better rest of your legs.
I will describe the simplest position of sitting on a chair , since a beginner may not be comfortable in the lotus position. Here you need to sit up straight (back and spine should always be straight), deeper into the chair (not from the edge), under the back, you can put a small pillow or cushion, shoulders relaxed, hands lay comfortably on the lap palms up, head directly on the same line with spine, relax your face and neck, close your eyes, direct your gaze into the heart area. Concentrate on your breathing or perform one of the meditations.
You can also meditate standing , which easily allows you to perform meditation in the queue or while waiting to quickly feel the surge of energy.
Pose of Tadasan – Pose of the Mountain
Standing right we feel strong, like mountains, we have a close connection with the earth and a craving for heaven. Place the legs parallel to the legs slightly apart, straighten up, tighten the abdomen and back, pull the shoulders back and down, relax them, stand straight, keep the head on one line with the spine, relax the face and neck, hands freely hang down along the body.
Focus on the position of the body, feel the energy in the feet and feet that connect you to the ground. Realize the center of your body at the base of the spine and pelvic area, feel the energy emanating from this center.
Calming the mind
Our mind thinks completely independently. We analyze the past or endlessly worry about the future. We do not even know where our thoughts come from. Consolation of the mind is a priority task and we must completely detach ourselves from all worldly things. All spiritual teachings require a person to completely empty the mind, because only the silent mind can realize God, Buddha, Tao, or nature. Next, I will describe several techniques that help to calm the mind.
Sit in a convenient position for you to meditate and watch your breath, let the mind continue to wander its own way. Every time you become aware of your thoughts, try to gently turn your attention to breathing. Thus, you will learn to be aware of thoughts, but not attach importance to them. It’s just a thought. As this meditation progresses, your mind will become more and more calming.
Control of breathing is called pranayama, with its help you can effectively calm the mind.