By simplesmartscience.com

 

People like you and I have been using meditation as a tool for thousands and thousands of years. Meditation is a way of training or redirecting the mind for many people. Just as exercise and movement have been shown to benefit the body, meditation is one compelling way to train the mind. Meditation has been proven to provide numerous health benefits and deep healing.

 

The recent rise and interest in meditation stemming from the growing civilization need to slow down and seek balance with more in-depth studies of the practice. 

 

In a world bombarded with notifications, warnings, and deadlines, we have lost control of focus and attention, leading to stress and a lack of productivity.

 

Your interest could be to commence on a meditative activity. If it’s so, you are lucky because several excellent benefits can be achieved through meditative practice. Whether you want to have better health, deal with stress, achieve better focus, or recover from a chronic condition, mediation can benefit you.

 

 

Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-doing-yoga-inside-a-room-3094215/

 

Positive effects of meditation include Low blood pressure, Less stress, Reduce chemical stress in the blood, enhanced healing and repair, Better concentration and attention, Less anxiety, heightened sense of awareness, and It hurts less.

 

Modern research reveals long-term effects on the positive functions of the brain and the immune system. Other cultures, religions like Buddhism and theories use meditation to release attachment to anything material and simply achieve presence at the moment. Whatever your motive, you will get huge benefits from meditation.

 

Meditation should not stress you out! Instead, its healing power should envelop you with consistent practice. A great way to start is merely finding a quiet space, sitting in a chair, closing your eyes, and focusing on your breathing. “Get air in through your nose, get it out through your mouth.” If you can do that, then you are already practicing the meditation diversion technique!

 

TYPES OF MEDITATION INCLUDE:

 

Different types of meditation have various healing power effects on people’s nervous system, body, and soul. 

 

Transcendental

 

It is a method of achieving a greater sense of peace and tranquility in everyday life, not to mention the benefits of presence (which seems to be harder to achieve today). Whether you’re looking for greater meaning, looking for relief from anxiety, or hoping to slow down your quick thoughts, a transcendental meditation experience can help.

 

Transcendental meditation involves quietly repeating the mantra for 15 to 20 minutes a day and is usually done sitting with your eyes closed. It is one of the most commonly used meditation techniques.

 

Passive meditation

 

It could also be called meditation without a mantra. Since we do not force the mind to think of the mantra, we allow it to think about its wants. However, we need to notice or be aware that it is thinking. But since the mind can only do one thing at a time, whether it is thinking or conscious, it must move back and forth between these two states. Think, then remember or realize that he is thinking, thinking again, becoming aware also, and so on.

 

Passive meditation requires less concentration than active or mantra directed meditation. In this area, the mind is at liberty to choose by picking and following a specific topic, with the only requirement being to stop now and then and remember what it is thinking. This might seem easy, but on the contrary, it isn’t. This is because the mind is an influential thinker, even an animator. It can generate or manifest a spectrum of thoughts, plenty of memories, images, and intrigues, from excellent, sublime, full of love and fun to not so wonderful, sublime, caring, and fun. Therefore, it can evoke such strong emotions that frequent pauses are needed to stop the show and allow the mind to remember that it is just a show.

 

Guided images

 

Their focus is based on practices involving the five senses, which trigger messages that are healings to the mind and body positively. The practice is often replaced by visualization, self-hypnosis, and guided meditation, but it has its own set of techniques. The benefits of guided images are enormous: research from psychology experts shows that practice can reduce fear and anxiety in life, reduce the frequency of headaches, and it has been shown to reduce psychological suffering in cancer patients. Also, it is a practice that can be introduced into your daily care at any time and aids with brain function. 

 

Physical relaxation

 

 

Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-woman-doing-meditation-3059892/

 

Picture yourself expressing a tough day, and everything seems to be going wrong.

 

Trying to meet up with crucial timings, several members of your team have been declared ill, and you have just learned that you have to give a presentation the next day.

 

When faced with such situations, your heart may speed up, your breathing may become fast and shallow, and you may even feel like you can’t handle the task. According to health professionals, these are feelings that occur when your body is preparing to attack its challenges, like the popular answer “fight or flight.” There are several physical formats to apply to handle such events in life, such as deep breathing, Progressive Muscular Relaxation, Centering (which can increase your concentration and keep you stable).

 

Active meditation

 

Active meditation is a great way to incorporate a mindfulness-based “zen time” into a busy day. It’s also the perfect way to meditate and achieve stress reduction if you’re the type who doesn’t like to sit for long.

 

Indian spiritual guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, before he died in 1990, was also referred to as merely Osho, invented active meditation that could still exist in our present days.

 

 “You are born of art; you develop in it. Therefore, traditional methods have to change according to the current situation,” Osho explains. He further describes how, when Westerners first contacted Japanese monks, they could not understand why monks imagined the thoughts came from their belly and not from their brains. What nonsense! He quotes them. “How can you think of your belly?”

 

Osho designed active meditation and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to calm the mind and shift the focus to the heart and stomach. We all have a gut feeling in situations which is often accurate. Active meditations help take advantage of these feelings and pay less attention to the chatter that is going on in our brain. A practical way to incorporate active meditation into daily life is through book clubs. Book clubs are a great way to engage the body’s mind while remaining calm, collected, and in control. 

 

Conclusion

 

Depression has always been a significant health issue in humans regardless of age, resulting in higher challenges in illness affecting the heart and sometimes leading to death. With constant practice, the healing power of meditation can help stop cases from leading to depression because of its effect on the mind and ways of assisting people in controlling their reactions to stress and anxiety. These are the significant triggers of depression, and meditation can help control them.

 

Many leaders like Sogyal rinpoche, Lucio Bizzini, Edel Maex, Khandro Rinpoche, etc., to mention a few, have used meditation to get by in various sects of life and have motivated a lot of people in the process.  Some people also use nootropics to help them feel better daily and improve cognitive ability over time, and when used right, nootropics can work magic!

 

The healing power of meditation helps slow down the world; it helps slow down your world. It enables you to reconnect with who you are, what you value, and what matters to you. Meditation practice reminds you that you have the power to slow down and pretend to be your healer and to control your chaos for your well being.

Jennifer Miranda

Jenn took her very first yoga class in 2012 while searching for a fitness
routine that would improve her strength and flexibility. After that first class,
she got hooked. Yoga changed her life not only because of the physical
benefits of doing yoga but she also discovered that yoga has greatly improved
her mental focus and self-awareness. Because of this, she decided to share
her practice with others. Jenn completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training
in April 2017 and is a registered yoga instructor (RYT-200) with the Yoga
Alliance.

Jenn’s ultimate goal as a yoga teacher is to lead students towards a deeper
level of physical fitness and healthy lifestyle along with mental peace. She
loves to help beginners feel comfortable in their practice and learn essential
postures while motivating and challenging the more experienced yogis and
ensuring a safe practice for everyone. Maintaining her own personal practice
while learning and gaining inspiration from other yogis enables her to design
innovative, energetic, and fun sequences that are fit for all levels.

Jenn is also a professional portrait photographer and her love of both yoga
and photography paved the way for Yoga Photography. The skills she has
acquired over the years allow her to best capture yogis demonstrating beauty,
strength, and grace through movement.

Carrie Del Purgatorio

Carrie has had a consistent, daily, at-home yoga and meditation practice for many years and was finally inspired to take her love of yoga to the next level and embark on teacher training in 2022. She enjoys teaching a more powerful yoga flow with a strong focus on breathing. Carrie firmly believes that a little self-love goes a long way, and she feels extremely grateful to be able to share her practice with people.

Camille Alonso

Camille is a Holistic Health Coach, 235RYT (235 hour Registered Yoga Teacher),
Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, and former Pastry Chef. She received her 200RYT at Indigo Yoga in 2018 and studied meditation at Kripalu in 2019. She then earned her Integrate Nutrition Health Coach Certification at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

She is also a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America with a Bachelors in Baking Pastry Arts and Business Administration. Camille began her yoga and meditation practice in 2009 when she was dealing with chronic panic attacks. She found that through mindfulness practices she could feel like herself again. She is now inspired to guide clients through a relaxing and peaceful practice and leave them with tools to help manage stress and anxiety.

Theresa Conlon

Theresa is a Yoga Alliance certified instructor (200-hour RYT) who has been teaching since 2013. She is skilled in various yoga styles including Hatha, Ashtanga, Vinyasa Flow, Restorative, and Meditation. Theresa also brings an extensive dance background to her yoga practice, which includes teaching both modern dance and ballet. She has over 40 years of dance/theater performing experience and currently showcases her choreography as part of Bergen Dance Makers, a dance collective in northern New Jersey. Theresa’s yoga classes offer a calming mix of traditional asana postures and creative movement flows, supported by energy-moving breath. Students of all skill levels are invited to find ease and peace in their bodies/minds/spirits through the joyful bliss of yoga movement.

Carrie Parker Gastelu

Carrie Parker Gastelu, E-500 RYT, has been teaching yoga since 1993. Carrie began her journey when Yogi Raj Mani Finger initiated Carrie into the ISHTA Yoga lineage after training with Mani’s son, Yogi Raj Alan Finger. In addition, she has studied many other yoga traditions as well as anatomy, physiology, movement, and awareness practices to create an eclectic style all her own. She is known for her honest, non-dogmatic yet passionate approach.

Carrie is a regular speaker and contributor at conferences, websites, and print publications and has been featured in Fit Magazine, the Yoga Zone Book, and in the Yoga Zone Video, “Flexibility and Stress Release.”

Lisa Podesta-Coombs

When Lisa found yoga in 2008, she started to find herself again and it set her on a path of health and healing. She received her 200HR RYT certification from Raji Thron of Yoga Synthesis, and her 30HR Chakra Yoga Teacher Training certificate with Anodea Judith and holds a Y12SR (Yoga of 12 Step Recovery) certification. She is also a Holistic Health Coach (certified through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition). Lisa believes we’re all on a journey of learning how to trust ourselves; she helps her clients build that trust by supporting them in creating better habits for a better life through various functional movement modalities like yoga, barre, Pilates & strength training, mindset, and whole food nutrition.

Forever a student with a passion for people, holistic health, and self-actualization, Lisa is always embracing opportunities to advance her education to better serve; Ayurveda workshops & immersions have been of particular interest as she continues to deepen her knowledge of and experience with food as medicine and she recently completed Unleash Her Power Within, a transformational program of rediscovering our truest selves, powered by Tony Robbins.  

As she continues to give herself space and grace to nourish her natural self and actualize her potential, Lisa continues to share the gift of movement as medicine to inspire authenticity & health in body, mind, and spirit. You can expect mindful, accessible, dynamic, playful, and uplifting classes from Lisa.

Roberto Reynoso

Roberto Reynoso completed basic training in 2017 at Jaipure Yoga in Montclair. The training was Hatha Vinyasa based. Roberto has created his own style from the various styles of yoga he has loved practicing. He is well-versed in Iyengar, Vinyasa, and Restorative Yoga. He hopes to teach poses and themes in each class that inform, challenge, and guide students toward a better understanding of how to make the shapes and the anatomy behind the poses. He hopes to help students find more space when they leave and also hopes to help people grow in awareness through breath, alignment, and movement.