Meditation practice

 If I were to suggest any single practice to a stranger, it would probably be meditation.  It really is just a staple practice that brings benefits from the first time you do it to the last, for everyone.  And it really both surprises me and makes me sad when people say they don't like meditation.

I feel like there is a huge misconception about what meditation is.  You say the word meditation, and many people immediately think of robed monks, sitting in stillness and silence, for hours on end, with the goal being to empty your mind and have no thought.  And while this is absolutely ONE form of meditation...there are a million more!  If you have tried to meditate before, and felt like you didn't succeed at it, then you should absolutely try it a different way!

Before I start talking about variations of meditation or about why a regular practice is important, I first want to touch on what it means to meditate successfully.  Meditation isn't like many other practices that have a success parameter.  In fact, I'd be willing to say that there is no way to fail at meditation (besides never trying it *grin).  

So, what can meditation do for you?  There are a ton of benefits that can be gained through meditation, from lowering stress and anxiety, improving your mood, enhanced thinking and even pain reduction.  While once it was more of an esoteric practice, today many doctors recommend meditation as a helpful practice (to go alongside traditional medical procedures).

One of the things I find most appealing about meditation is that it is available to everyone.  It doesn't take any special equipment or training.  You don't need a teacher (although there are many great teachers out there and lots of people find having a teacher useful).

Not only can you literally start wherever you are, whoever you are, but there are so many different ways to meditate, there is absolutely something for everyone.  I suggest trying a couple of ways, whatever sounds the most interesting to you...and also trying a couple that sound either very different or maybe not that appealing to you.  Sometimes, we surprise ourselves, and something that we didn't think would work for us ends up being amazing.

One of the first types of meditation I learned was a body scan relaxation technique.  With a body scan, you start at one end of your body, and go part by part, simply putting your attention in that part of your body.  It can be helpful to notice any sensations you feel in that area, from pain or itchiness to warmth or pressure.  You can add in relaxation by deliberately relaxing each part as you go (if you struggle with this, try tensing each part first, then relaxing it).

Another form of meditation I learned early on is active meditation or moving meditation.  I used to run track, and it was very easy to slip into this type of meditative focus while running (especially since I was a long distance runner).  I also find it easy to access this type of meditation when doing anything repetitive that doesn't require much thinking (like washing dishes or shuffling cards).

A very popular style right now is mindfulness meditation.  This involves being open to all your senses in the present moment, including your thoughts.  But, instead of following your thoughts (letting one lead into the next), when you become aware of your thoughts, you notice them and then let them go.  This definitely (at least for me) takes some practice, and I've learned that adding in labeling (when I have a thought I label it:  past/future, helpful/unhelpful or whatever categories you feel fit).  Note, it's really interesting to see what your most common types of thoughts are, once you start labeling.

Focused meditation involves picking a focus and trying to fill your awareness with just that one thing.  This is one I often see mentioned in Pagan books as the candle exercise, where you sit with a lit candle in front of you and just look at it.  You might have also heard about it as breathing meditation (where your breath is the focus).  I really like using an auditory focus, whether that means picking some kind of white noise (like nature sounds), music or even just focusing in on what you can hear in the world around you.  This is a really great way to meditate if you are in a noisy environment, because you use what might have been a flaw to your benefit!

I'm really just touching the surface of the many types of meditation out there, and it would be impossible for me to cover them all.  But what I really want to bring up is that regular meditation practice is where meditation shines.  As I said before, you can gain benefits from your very first meditation session, but the more times you practice, the easier it will become, and the more deeply you will feel the benefits.

I also feel like regular practice allows you to try different things, whether it is whole new styles of meditation, alterations to a practice you regularly do or simply using a different focus.  And making your meditation a regular practice allows you to make the most of the time you do spend meditating.  I feel like spending ten minutes a day meditating is better than spending an hour once a week meditating (and it's often easier to sneak in ten minutes a day than to find a whole hour you can devote).

It may be helpful to think of meditation as a toolkit, and each time you practice you are making your tools a bit better.  Each different type of meditation is a different kind of tool, and some may be better than others in different situations.  So, not only does repetition make you better at meditation, variety makes you more versatile.  

If you have been wanting to get into mediation (or maybe you already are, but haven't broadened your practice yet), then I encourage you to give it a go!  Remember, you can keep trying different ways until you find the ones you like best (though I still encourage you to keep poking at the ones that are less appealing, just to make sure nothing's changed).  And every time you sit to meditate...you are winning!