Learning Meditation Techniques
Topic: Meditation Techniques
There are techniques in yoga and meditation that will help get rid of pain and we show you how here. These techniques are easy and quick to do and they are simple enough for anyone to learn. Throughout the world, this has been an age old stress relieving and healing modality that has been practiced by almost all of the religions and cultures. What meditation does - never mind if it is used for spiritual, religious or just relaxation purposes - is to make the mind calm by focusing on a certain object.

Different types of meditation are available and may be performed with chants, meditation music or in absolute silence. You can also focus on a picture or concentrate on your own breathing cycle and posture. The main thing here is the fact that you need to be undisturbed so finding a quiet place is necessary. Once you have decided what it is you want to focus on and where you are going to practice it, make yourself comfortable- not too much so you fall asleep. Done right, this gets you into a detached state even though you are aware of what is going on around you - this is a relaxed rather trance-like state. The majority of people's experience with mediation has been limited to the Alpha State. However, there are two much deeper states where the mind is able to become calmer still.

In many religions, learning meditation is part of the spiritual practice. These include Judaism, Sufism and mystical Christian traditions. However, meditation is mostly associated and linked to Buddhism and yoga. When it is used within the actual context of the teachings of Buddhism, it can be an indication of directing or controlling one's mind inward in an actual quest for enlightenment. You can meditate anywhere and in any posture - while lying back, walking, sitting, whatever - however, the best position would be 'zazen' or sitting down.

The benefits of meditation have been researched and put down in a study by Harvard professor, Herbert Benson. The studies that have been conducted have shown that even twenty minutes can really help to reduce your blood pressure, your breathing and heart rates, slow the metabolism and reduce the muscle tension. On attaining a deep state, mental pictures, swirls of color or a voice speaking internally may arise. Some of the follow-on studies have reflected that guided meditation can also help to relieve anxiety and stress, migraine, headaches, depression, fatigue, chronic pain, and insomnia.

As you become happier, healthier and you being to realize that you possess a much greater self-awareness, all of the other benefits of meditation are going to start to naturally follow: for example, an improved mental functioning is going to mean a greater intuition as well as a much greater access to the unconscious abilities and resources. While traditionally transcendental meditation was a tool to get you to a higher spiritual level, today it is also used to help you manage the stresses and tension that are a part and parcel of the modern lifestyle. You can lead a stress free life if you combine yoga sessions with meditation.