Meditation is a process, a journey, rather than a goal or a destination. It basically consists of paying attention to your breathing and letting go of distracting thoughts. It sounds simple but sometimes it takes years and years of practice to accomplish this quieting of the mind. The process does have many benefits. It allows your mind to become calm and your mind and body to become deeply relaxed, resulting in a reduction of stress, a clearer mind, increased concentration, sharper focus and enhanced memory.
"So, how can this help me lose weight?" You ask.
For starters, it reduces stress and, therefore, reduces cortisol, a chemical byproduct of stress that tends to help the body produce blood sugar from proteins and use the excess glucose for fat production. Cortisol is also believed to increase the desire for and consumption of high-fat foods which you will want to avoid.
Meditation also allows you to reach a level of relaxation that allows your subconscious mind to retain and act upon suggestions about staying in control of food and eating, to increase metabolism, to love exercise and to shed those excess pounds.
And meditation sets up a mindset of relaxation and a feeling of well-being for the day which makes it easier to stay on the program you have chosen to help you create that slender, healthy body you desire.
How do you start meditating? Ten meditation techniques are listed below to help you get started.
Meditation Technique #1 Be Consistent
Choose one time of day that you can easily work into your schedule. The benefit of meditating at the same time each day is that your biorhythms will naturally adjust to it as a habit, like waking, eating and falling asleep. Your nervous system will grow accustomed to meditating at a particular time allowing you to enter deep meditative states more easily.
Make sure your phone is turned off. If you have children, set aside a time when they're at school or asleep.
Meditation Technique #2 Create Your Space Create a boundary between you and the outside world even if you're only meditating for ten minutes.
Meditation Technique #3 Where to Meditate?
Reserve a special place in your home to meditate. It can be as simple as setting aside a comfortable chair or pillow, or an entire room if you have the space. Place a candle, flowers, or any special items that have spiritual meaning for you on a table as an altar.
Creating a place that is reserved for meditation helps because Spiritual Energies gather in the place where you meditate; making it easier each time you sit in the same spot. Like going to a temple, church, or place of worship, with regular practice all you will need to do is sit in that place to feel settled, calm, and relaxed.
It can take many months of meditation to attain theta levels consistently during your meditation practice. Sacred Ground helps you to achieve those levels sooner, so that you can begin to experience the life-changing benefits. Whether you're a new meditator, or are experienced, let Sacred Ground take you to your inner world.
Meditation Technique #4 Create a Reverent Atmosphere
Invent your own soothing ritual before you meditate. Maybe it's at night after a bath, or at dawn before the rest of the world is awake. Light a candle, take a few deep breaths, and dedicate your meditation to the unfoldment of your highest potential. Say a prayer, chant or burn some incense if you wish. A tranquil and reverent atmosphere helps to induce a meditative state. Some people find Meditation Music helpful.
Meditation Technique #5 Position Yourself for Meditation
Sit with your spine straight. Use pillows behind your back for support if needed. It's important to have your spine straight so energy can travel freely up and down your spine. You may sit cross-legged or on a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the floor. You can also lie down, placing a pillow under your knees. If you tend to fall asleep when meditating, it's best to sit up so you can stay awake.
Tip: Theta is the frequency of meditation. Because theta is right on the edge of delta, associated with sleep, it's common for beginning meditators to drift into a nap instead of meditation. If you fall asleep easily when meditating try using Brain Power. It harmonically layers theta waves with very high beta frequencies to keep you awake and alert.
Meditation Technique #6 How Long Should I Meditate?
How long you meditate each day depends on you. A good beginning is 10 to 15 minutes per day. You might find that you naturally expand your meditation time by adding five minutes here and there. Another way to expand the time you meditate is to set a goal of adding five minutes each week until you adopt a natural rhythm of twenty to thirty minutes. One of the pitfalls of beginning meditators is to be too ambitious. Trust your intuition and start off with an amount of time that feels comfortable for you.
Advanced meditators usually spend an hour per day in meditation. If you can gradually work up to forty or sixty minutes the better your progress will be. Consistency brings remarkable long-term benefits.
The key is to do it every day. The effects of meditation are cumulative. Richard Davidson, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin says, "Modern neuroscience is showing that our minds are as plastic as our bodies. Meditation can help you train your mind in the same way exercise can train your body." Therefore, each and every minute you meditate you're enhancing the biochemistry of your brain, building muscles that increase your mental, emotional and spiritual potential.
Meditation Technique #6 Sit, Breathe and Relax
When you meditate, take long slow deep breaths. Send the breath deep into your abdomen and then breathe out. Each time you breathe in imagine cleansing energy infusing your body. When you breathe out, ask your body to let go of tension and stress.
Tip: To quiet a busy mind count each exhalation, starting with one going up until ten, then begin the cycle all over again. If you forget where you are, go back to one and begin again. Do this for ten minutes to slow down mental activity. In the beginning many thoughts will come and go. When you notice you are thinking, bring your attention back to your breath. Linger on the peaceful space that lies between your thoughts. In time the space will expand.
Meditation Technique #7 Relax with a Body Scan
A body scan calms your nervous system, releases tension and helps you feel embodied - sometimes we spend so much time in our heads that we forget we have a body. Practicing this exercise for five or ten minutes is a meditation in itself. It's also a wonderful way to settle down before you meditate.
To begin, direct your consciousness to explore your left foot. Feel the physical sensations inside and around your foot. Then move your consciousness up your left leg, to your knee, thigh and into your left hip. Imagine traveling through the arteries, tissues and bones. You might come across energy blocks or areas of numbness. You might feel tingling vibrations, as the cells come alive from your conscious attention. Observe the sensations. Experiment with how you can tell muscles to relax and let go simply by directing your will.
Do the same with the right foot and leg up into your right hip. Direct your awareness to the root chakra area - abdomen and buttocks. Next explore your stomach, heart and chest, traveling up to your throat. Then move down to your left hand, feel the sensations in each of your fingers, and travel up your arm to your left shoulder. Repeat with the right side. Explore your neck and throat; notice how you can relax and expand your throat. Travel into your brain, let your face and jaw relax. Allow the muscles around your scalp, temples and forehead to soften and relax.
Tip: EEG (electroencephalogram) research has revealed that when the forehead, temples and scalp are relaxed, theta activity moves more easily into the frontal cortex. When those muscles relax you are able to go deeper into a meditative state.
Meditation Technique #8 How to Deal with the Mind
Gain the benefits of meditation even if you're a new meditator. Balance your Chakras, become positive and reduce anxiety; strengthen your immune system, and develop your creativity, just by listening to Deep Meditation.
The first goal of meditation is to notice and quiet random thoughts. In his book, Learn to Meditate, David Fontana, Ph.D. says, "By watching your thoughts and learning to identify them as distractions you have begun the path of meditation."
As you practice meditation you'll become aware of how your mind runs around in circles with many different thoughts and memories. At first your mind will be like a chatterbox, shifting from one concern to another, this is natural. You might catch yourself thinking about work or solving problems. You might worry about something that hasn't happened yet or remember things you forgot, like paying your credit card bill.
Meditation Technique #9
Label Your Thoughts Observe the quality of your thoughts and then label them. "These are busy, work thoughts," "These thoughts are negative and limiting," or "Here we go again with my To Do list." Then gently return your attention to your breath and expand into the space between your thoughts.
Each time you identify the quality of your thoughts, you are making enormous strides in meditation that will inevitably unfold in your life. In time you will become a keen observer of your inner world. You'll notice when you've fallen into negative thinking and you'll learn to redirect your attention to thoughts that expand and enhance your sense of self.
The highest level of thought is positive. Positive thoughts soothe your nervous system and encourage states of wholeness and well being. If negative emotions arise, such as anger, regret, fear or sorrow, label them and then gently shift your attention to something positive.
Meditation Technique #9
Meditate Upon Your Divine Self
A powerful practice is to meditate upon your divine self, the self who holds vast potential and gifts. Use your imagination to discover the magnificent being within. Drink from the well of knowledge that will multiply your joy and fulfillment in life. Exploring and contacting your divine nature is what meditation is all about. Guided Meditations that will help you create nurturing states of being and contact your higher self: Guided Meditation, Retrieve Your Destiny, Fulfill Your Heart's Desire, Living Prayer.
Meditation Technique #10
Finish with Feeling At the end of your meditation session, just sit for a moment, feeling the energies moving in your body. This pause before you leap back into the world allows you to integrate the meditation session into your daily life.
To get started meditating check out the Center for Meditation & Transformation http://www.brainsync.com/medctr_main.asp experience a free online guided meditation, visit the reading room and learn more about meditation.
Kelly Howell, founder of Brain Sync is internationally acclaimed for her pioneering work in healing and mind expansion. Her clinically proven, Brain Wave Audio Technology is used in hospitals, biofeedback clinics and by physicians and psychologists throughout the world. For more see http://www.brainsync.com
