A Guide to Meditation
- Dec 5, 2016
- 3 min read
While researching for my piece 'Gnosis: A Path to Spiritual Enlightenment', many of my sources spoke to me about how they practice meditation as a part of their spirituality.
I decided to take a look at the practice myself and see if it was something that I could get into.
Through my research, I found that there were three major types of meditation.
Mindfulness Meditation: Meditating by focusing your attention on a process, such as your breathing pattern, and repeating or visualizing a mantra.
Moving Meditation: Using repetitive movements to gain awareness of your body. Think of yoga or Tai Chi as an example.
Concentration Meditation: This is more religious in nature. Concentrate on a prayer and completely shut out the outside world. Nothing exists but the prayer as you speak to your divine being.
I decided to start with the easiest form (for me), which was moving meditation. I have had some experience with yoga in the past, both at the gym for a workout and at home for relaxation and stretching. I decided to do the only routine that I really know, which is the Surya Namaska, a.k.a Sun Salutation.
Check out this video which will guide you through the Sun Salutation. I had to give myself a little refresher too.
My body felt SO GOOD after doing this for the 10-ish minutes it took me. My goodness, I felt like jelly. But at the same time, it felt like every muscle and every inch of my skin was suddenly awakened. I went off to school an hour later feeling like I could take on the world. It was awesome.
Next, I tried my hand at mindfulness meditation. I live in a really small townhouse with my parents, and as such I didn't have an optimal, relaxing place to do this. So instead, I sat on my bed, lit a candle, and put on this soundtrack. (Note: I did not meditate for the full 3 hours of the recording.)
As someone who easily gets caught up in my own thoughts and anxieties for what feels like every moment of everyday, I was really surprised to feel how quickly all of that melted away. Truly, I felt like my brain had melted down my spine and into my body. I was lost in the vibrations of the ambiance and the distinct in-and-out beat of my breathe.
I was drawn out of my meditation (rather abruptly) by an alarm I set on my phone about 45 minutes in. I felt like I had resurfaced from a lake or climbed out of a pool. It's hard to describe, but it felt like I had to pull myself back into the real world after the alarm went off. After my mindfulness meditation, I just flopped onto my bed and laid down for a while, thinking about school and my future. I found that I wasn't feeling as scared or anxious as usual, and I actually felt really happy.
Both of these methods were great for me. Unfortunately, I never experienced the concentration meditation like I originally planned. This was mostly due to the fact that I wasn't able to schedule things with a peer who offered to guide me (a non-religious) person through some of the prayers that she typically uses in her meditations. Stay tuned, part 2 will come someday soon!
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