{"id":918,"date":"2020-07-31T15:53:36","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T15:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaka.in\/?p=918"},"modified":"2020-07-31T16:07:38","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T16:07:38","slug":"a-beginners-how-to-meditation-techniques-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eindiatoday.com\/myspaka\/a-beginners-how-to-meditation-techniques-benefits.html","title":{"rendered":"A BEGINNER\u2019S HOW TO MEDITATION : TECHNIQUES, BENEFITS"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\r\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>4 Minute, 6 Second <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\n

Meditation is a way of training the mind, close to the way exercise is a way of training the body. But there are plenty of meditation techniques \u2014 so how do you learn to meditate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In the context of Buddhism the term ‘meditation’ is similar to a term like ‘football’ in the United States. It’s a family of things, not a single thing, “Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D. , director of the University of Wisconsin’s neuroscience lab told The New York Times. And different activities of meditation require different mental competences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONCENTRATION MEDITATION<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Concentration meditation involves focusing on a single point. This could entail following the breath, repeating a single word or mantra, staring at a candle flame, listening to a repetitive gong, or counting beads on a mala. Since focusing the mind is challenging, a beginner might meditate for only a few minutes and then work up to longer durations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this form of meditation, you simply refocus your awareness on the chosen object of attention each time you notice your mind wandering. Rather than pursuing random thoughts, you simply let them go. Through this process, your ability to concentrate improves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mindfulness meditation encourages the practitioner to observe wandering thoughts as they drift through the mind. The intention is not to get involved with the thoughts or to judge them, but simply to be aware of each mental note as it arises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through mindfulness meditation, you can see how your thoughts and feelings tend to move in particular patterns. Over time, you can become more aware of the human tendency to quickly judge an experience as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. With practice, an inner balance develops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some schools of meditation, students practice a combination of concentration and mindfulness. Many disciplines call for stillness \u2014 to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OTHER MEDITATION TECHNIQUES<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are various other meditation techniques. For example, a daily meditation practice among Buddhist monks focuses directly on the cultivation of compassion. This involves envisioning negative events and recasting them in a positive light by transforming them through compassion. There are also moving meditation techniques, such as tai chi, qigong, and walking meditation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BENEFITS OF MEDITATION<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If relaxation is not the goal of meditation, it is often a result. In the 1970s, Herbert Benson, MD, a researcher at Harvard University Medical School, coined the term \u201crelaxation response” after conducting research on people who practiced transcendental meditation. The relaxation response, in Benson\u2019s words, is \u201can opposite, involuntary response that causes a reduction in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, studies on the relaxation response have documented the following short-term benefits to the nervous system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n