What is Mindful Meditation?
Mindful meditation is meditation that involves focusing on one’s breathing. It has many benefits, including helping with stress, anxiety, depression, and more. There are many ways to practice mindful meditation, including mindful breathing techniques that help the meditator focus on their breath.
You can practice mindfulness meditation in any position, but is often done sitting down with the back straight and eyes closed or open. The goal is to focus on your breathing and not let your thoughts distract you from this process.
The Benefits of Mindful Meditation in Your Everyday Life.
Mindful meditation is a type of meditation. So you can benefit from it like any other meditation. Some of its benefits include:
- Helping with stress
- Reducing anxiety
- Increasing self-awareness
- Improve relationships
- Fighting depression and many more.
Its unique quality is its effect on daily life. By learning to control one’s breath and being mindful about actions, food, and routine, one can improve productivity, save time, and be more efficient in all disciplines.
Read more on the effects of meditation on your brain.
How to Practice Mindful Meditation In 30 Minutes or Less.
Mindful meditation focuses on the present moment. You can practice it anywhere, anytime. There are different ways to practice mindfulness meditation. Here are some of the most popular methods:
Guided meditation
Guided meditation is great for people who are starting out. A guide or recorded audio narrates the steps of the meditation, as well as its benefits. They ask you to control your breath, keep a check on the intervals, and try to invoke peaceful emotions by explaining calm scenes and tips to focus the mind on positive emotions. There are several apps that help if you want to try them.
The benefit of the guided technique is that the guide does not let the meditator’s mind wander to useless things. This exercise can vary from 15 minutes to hours as it fits.
Sitting meditation
The first step to practice sitting meditation is to find a comfortable position. You can sit cross-legged on the floor or on a chair or lie down with your back supported by pillows or blankets. Next, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Try to breathe deeply and slowly, paying attention to the sensations of each breath as it comes in and goes out.
You can do it in a quiet place or at the sound of a soothing track. While controlling your breath, try focusing only on the body and things associated with the immediate environment. It keeps a check to keep the mind in the present and has positive thoughts. You can start doing this with short spans of 10 minutes and gradually increase your capacity.
Walking meditation
Mindful meditation is practical for everyone, as you can practice it literally anywhere. You can do it while sitting on a bus, in the office, or even walking. Practice the same techniques to control your breath as guided meditation or sitting meditation. You can be in the present by focusing only on the things in front of you and not thinking about anything separated by time and place.
For people who lack time, walking meditation can save them from having to dedicate a schedule. Also, it helps in meditating on the things found in nature.
Body scan meditation
A body scan is a technique in which, along with the breathing exercises, the meditator has to limit their thoughts to their bodily activities. In an order, you can start with the head and go downwards, or start with the toes and end with the head. Meditating while focussing only on the body is great for achieving spiritual awareness. Also, the meditator can practice observing the entire universe in their body, which helps in having an awakening.
You can do it sitting in a comfortable position or lying down, but mind that it produces the best results if you are in an asana where the body symmetry is maintained. Some preferable asanas are:
Sukhasana Or Easy Pose
Tadasana or Mountain Pose
Padmasana or Lotus Pose
Shavasana or Corpse Pose
It is one of the best mindful techniques for fighting anxiety and improving focus as it involves a patient and ordered flow of thoughts.
There are several other techniques that you can try or even invent, one that works for you. The important thing is to keep the mind focused on the present and have positive thoughts about processes, actions, and outlook on life.
How To Worry Less With These 7 Easy Breathing Exercises.
- Breathing in for 4 seconds, holding for 2 seconds, and breathing out for 8 seconds
- Place your hands on your stomach, and slowly breathe in deeply through your nose and out through your mouth
- Imagine that you are filling up a balloon with air from the bottom to the top of the balloon
- Focus on breathing deeply from your diaphragm
- Count to 5 as you inhale and count to 10 as you exhale
- Close your eyes or look down at the ground in front of you
- Imagine yourself being in a peaceful place like a lake or mountain
Conclusion: Start Today And Discover The Many Benefits of Mindful Mediation For Yourself.
Mindful meditation is one of the best ways if you want a visible positive change in your life. As discussed, it emphasizes exercises that help the mind focus on the present. By practicing it, you are training to think before you act and be patient. Also, it develops reason, helps maintain time management and healthy food habits, and improves emotional quotient. If you want to experience these effects, start now on the path of this spiritual journey, and you will begin witnessing changes within the week.
Read more on how to start a spiritual journey.
Read more on how meditation and self-reflection can help you develop self-awareness.