Totally Meditation

Totally Meditation A2Z

What is Meditation and Why is it Important?

Meditation is a state of peace. This occurs when your mind is quiet and calm, yet still very much aware. It can be practiced in a number of different ways and for a number of different purposes. It can help with relaxation, relationships, and sleep, for example.

It also elevates your levels of self-awareness and mindfulness. Meditation has been shown to have profound emotional and physical benefits, including improved immune function and decreased pain and inflammation at a cellular level. It can even improve self-control and the ability to regulate emotions. Productivity and memory improvements have also been noted as well as many other benefits. It can take years to master the techniques behind some of the more advanced meditations, but with others you may see results in minutes.

Here is a quick overview of the types of meditation covered by TotallyMeditation.com

Breathing Meditations: Often the first stage of any meditation practice, breathing meditation stops the distractions that surround us and make the mind clearer and more lucid.

Stress Relief Meditation: Meditation can ease the effects of stress on your body and mind. Stress relief mediation works by activating the body’s natural relaxation response to bring it back into a balanced state of equilibrium with the mind.

Relaxation Meditation: Similar in many ways to Stress Relief Meditation, relaxation meditation is a great tool for releasing tension and anxiety in the muscles of the body. It allows the mind to become calmer and trains the unconscious mind to stop interpreting tension as a threat to the body (fight or flight response).

Mindfulness Meditation: Simply put mindfulness meditation means maintaining a moment to moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment without judgement. The focus is on the present rather than the past or the future.

Pain Relief Meditation: Whatever your ailment, pain relief meditation can help to lessen the severity of the pain by focusing one’s awareness on something else such as breathing through the pain rather than medicating for it. It teaches you how to work with intense and unwanted sensations without succumbing to them.

Relationships and Meditation: Through meditation we can gain a greater insight and awareness of our thoughts, feelings and habits and can begin to improve them. When it comes to our relationships, meditation can improve our mood, empathy and acceptance of others. All are key elements for healthy and happy relationships.

Movement Based Meditation: As the name suggests, this type of meditation is carried out while on the move. Walking meditation is a common form of this practice. It is the practice of being aware of the act and experience of moving right down to the feeling of the ground and the smell of the air.

Meditation and ADD or ADHD: Meditation is the ideal self-care tool for those suffering with ADHD as it creates a moment of peacefulness amongst a constant sea of non-stop going. Studies have shown it is beneficial in improving self-control and attention, reducing impulsiveness, bettering decision making, and increasing levels of serotonin.

Seniors Aging and Meditation: As we age it becomes even more important to find ways to reduce pain and anxiety that do NOT require more medication. Meditation is a skill that once learned can (with practice) help us reduce our reliance on pain and anxiety medication. Fewer drugs means fewer of the side effects those medications can bring.

Sleep Meditation: There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to sleep. Not only can poor sleep make you really cranky, it can also lead to issues with concentration, depression, anxiety, and more. Sleep meditations can be exercised through deep breathing, muscle relaxation meditations, or guided visualizations, among others.

Meditation Podcasts: When you are looking for a meditation on the go, auditory instructions, or interviews about meditation we have helpful, easy to follow podcasts of various lengths.<

Meditation Videos: If you are more of a visual learner or simply want to have the basics demonstrated in an easy to follow format, our meditation videos will come in very handy.

Browse Our Meditation Articles, Videos and Audios:

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Meditation with other people

Yesterday I spent some wonderful time in meditation with 2 other people. This has prompted me to include a new section about group meditation.

I find that spending time in meditation with other people can be a very enjoyable experience.

  • Being with other people who are participating with me in something I love enhances my feeling of connectedness. (I wonder if this is why so many people are drawn towards religion in general; most religions I am familiar with have an element of community.)
  • Having a few minutes after the meditation session to discuss what came up for us (for people who WANT to share. Forced sharing seems counter productive) can be enlightening.
  • For people who have trouble “finding the time” to meditate it can be very useful to have a specific time and place to meet. It adds a social element and incentive to practice.

How do you find people to meditate with?

  • Your community may have night classes held  in Secondary or Post-Secondary schools. You could check with your local school board to find what is available in your area.
  • Some Churches offer meditation sessions, either as a separate group activity or as a part of the Church service. This may mean becoming involved with another church in addition to your regular one.
  • There are a lot of groups to be found on various social media sites. You could try checking out meetup.com, linkedin.com or facebook.com as a starting point.

Personally, my first choice would be seeing if my local School Board offers meditation classes. My assumption is that the instructor would have gone through at least a basic screening process in order to be accepted as an instructor.

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Buddhist Walking Meditation

I would like to give you a variety of different kinds of meditations to choose from, including those I am not personally familiar with. (I enjoy sitting meditations best because I find it easier to concentrate).

For people who have trouble sitting still for that long, this 3 minute video is for you 🙂 It gives general instructions for practicing a moving meditation, as well as written instructions you can print out. This simple easy to follow instruction video does not include a guided meditation, but rather just the “how to” instructions. This site also offers several other meditation instructions you may want to check out.

Buddhist Walking Meditation

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Breathing Part 3

This meditation is great for people who hold a lot of tension in their muscles. It focuses on muscle relaxation and will likely take 5 – 7 minutes

I use this one sometimes to help me sleep, so I will give you the laying down instructions. (This can also be done sitting in a chair with your feet on the ground, hands open in your lap. If you prefer that version, adjust your visualization to match your sitting position.)

Lay on your back, close your eyes and breath in and out as you would naturally for 4 – 8 rounds, paying attention to your breath – where in your body do you feel it? What do you notice about your breathing?

Breath in to the count of 4 and out to the count of 4. Do this 4 – 6 times.

Breath in counting slowly to 4, filling first your belly with air, then your lungs, hold for 2 counts and slowly breath out.

With the next long deep breath, instead of counting, imagine the oxygen flowing to your feet, relaxing them, “melting” your feet into the floor.

With the next deep breath, imagine the oxygen flowing to your calves, relaxing them so they melt towards the floor.

Breath deeply, relaxing your knees and thighs. Let your upper legs relax so that your feet naturally fall pointing slightly out.

Continue this way until you get right to the top of your head. Progressively relaxing:
Lower back, and deep belly
Mid back and internal organs
Chest and upper back
Shoulders
Arms
Neck
Face

If there is any particular part of your body where you hold a lot of stress feel free to spend extra time letting your breath relax that area.

Remember if you have any physical discomfort pay attention to your body and adjust your position; after all it is a lot easier to relax muscles when you are comfortable 🙂