People can be exposed to stress in all areas of life. It is seen that people today experience more stress than in the past and that different problems arise and diseases increase due to this situation. For this reason, people can get some support to reduce the stress they experience, or they can get rid of such situations by meditating. It is one of the most commonly used methods and experiences to find inner peace.
Meditation, which also means deep thinking, is defined as mind-control techniques and experiences through which an individual can experience inner peace and different states of consciousness, as well as self-awareness and presence. It is also known as a type of belief and healing method in different cultures. It is mostly practiced in a quiet environment and has many variations. It is usually done to focus and understand the mind by feeling the presence. Inner peace and serenity are aimed.
How to Meditate? What are the Techniques?
It is an effective method that a person can do to find inner peace, mature and realize themselves. There are some situations that need to be considered in order to achieve these and how it should be done. If these situations are taken into consideration, positive results can be obtained.
The situations to be considered before starting are as follows:
A Peaceful and Quiet Environment
It is important to create a quiet and calm environment for beginners to focus. For this reason, items such as phones, televisions and computers should be avoided. The person can turn on some music in the background at a soft volume.
Comfortable Clothes
Depending on the weather, the person should choose clothes that will not get cold or sweaty. It is also important to choose clothes that are loose and not uncomfortable.
Duration of Meditation
It is usually recommended 2 times a day for 20 minutes. However, this may vary depending on the person's wishes and needs. Beginners can start with 5 minutes at first to avoid too much difficulty and increase this over time.
Body Flexibility
Staying in a single and fixed position can be boring and uncomfortable. To prevent this situation, the person can do stretching movements before the application. If it is to be done sitting, the inner leg should be warmed up and stretched. Since you will be sitting in an upright position, the back muscles should be relaxed and flexible.
Finding a Suitable Position
If the person prefers a fixed and passive posture, they should find a position that is suitable for this posture and that will not disturb them for a long time. For long-term practices, it is necessary to sit cross-legged and sit on a chair, ensuring that the bones are not disturbed. It is important to keep the spine erect and to exert minimum effort during this posture.
Keeping the eyes closed
In the beginning, it is important to keep the eyes closed to avoid attention problems and to ensure concentration. In the future, the eyes can be kept open. However, it is also important not to dive into one place to see the whole.
After the situations given above are realized and done, the answer to the question "How to meditate?" can be listed as follows:
Clearing the Mind from Thoughts
Although it is considered a difficult subject for beginners, it becomes easier over time if you focus on an object. Experienced people can do this very easily.
Breath Tracking
Breath monitoring and management allows you to be aware of your breathing. To increase concentration, focus on the breathing movements by setting a point above the belly button. Diaphragmatic breathing should be used.
Repeating Mantra
A mantra is also known as an instrument of the mind and can be a repetition of a sound or a word. Repeating a mantra calms and focuses the mind. People in a deep consciousness and heightened awareness do not experience repetition.
Focus on the Object
If done with the eyes open, it may also be a good choice to select an object and focus on that object. However, the important thing is to see the object without straining the head and neck. The object should be at eye level.
Imagining in the mind
Another way to increase awareness is to imagine and visualize in the mind. The aim of this method is to create peace and calmness in the mind and move into the deep phase. One can imagine birdsong, the beach and the wind. It is also the feeling of the senses as visualization. It is important to smell and see the imagined object.
Body Scanning
One of the ways to move into the deep phase is to scan the body. The aim here is to explore all the points on the body and to relax the mind when the body is relaxed. For this reason, every single point from the toes to the roots of the hair should be felt and relaxed.
Benefits of Meditation
It has been reported with neurological imaging techniques that brain waves of the individual are affected when done regularly. Research has proven that high blood pressure is regulated, heart rhythm is balanced and as a result of these conditions, cardiovascular diseases are reduced and improved, the cognitive and emotional part of the brain is activated, muscle tension and stress are reduced.
In addition, the benefits of reduced stress levels are as follows:
- Decisions are made quickly and accurately
- Increased levels of happiness
- Improvement of memory
- Faster learning
- Increased focus and concentration
- Improved problem solving
- Increased capacity of the brain
- Physical and mental recovery
- Increased creativity
- Reduced stress-related aging
- Reduction of anxiety problems
- Accepting changes more easily
- Increased self-discovery and awareness
- Improved and increased social relations
- Increased success rate in work and education
In addition to such benefits, it also allows the person to lead a stress-free and quality life by increasing inner peace and awareness.