What Are the Types and Benefits of Meditation?

Meditation is an activity that will help you clear your mind and reduce your stress, making you feel better. There are many meditation techniques that will guide you through the path of calming your mind. There are excellent health benefits of meditation that you can achieve by practising these exercises regularly.  

Read more to know about various meditation techniques and their advantages. 

When it comes to meditation, there is no 'right way to practice. You can try different forms and then pick up the ones that benefit you the most.

Below you will see 5 different types of meditation that you can practise:

1. Mindfulness Meditation

This form of meditation involves paying attention to the present moment. This helps you to stay aligned with your thoughts. You can practice this form of meditation anywhere. There is no such mandatory checkbox you need to tick off before opting to be mindful.

• Origin: 

The origin of mindfulness meditation can be traced back to 2500 years, in the ancient eastern and Buddhist philosophies.

• How to Practice: 

You can practice being mindful both formally and informally. Formal mindfulness is more structured and follows a certain pattern. 

People who practise formal mindfulness generally keep aside a slot from their usual day to practice this form. They sit in a specific posture and intentionally strive toward understanding their mind. 

In the case of informal practice, one can opt to practice wherever they wish to and whenever they might be free. With this form of meditation, you have to intently practice being focused and less reactive towards your environment.

• Benefits: 

A few benefits of practising mindfulness meditations include reducing stress, improving your ability to concentrate, and enhancing cognition. 

2. Zen Meditation

It is a traditional Buddhist practice with a spiritual purpose that will help you to uncover the aspect of clarity and workability of the mind. People who practice this form of meditation aim to experience the awakening of their minds.

• Origin:

The origin point of Zen meditation can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty around the 7th century in China.

• How to Practice:

There are three existing ways to practice Zen meditation.

1. Quiet Awareness- In Japan, this practice is known as shikantaza, meaning ‘to just sit’. There are no such specific goals. All you have to do is allow your mind to just be.

2. Observing Your breath- To practice this form of meditation, you have to sit in the position of Burmese, Seiza pose or lotus pose. For your comfort, you might use a cushion or a padded mat. Now attentively focus on your breath and observe how your belly area moves with each breath.   

3. Intensive Group meditation- Known as sesshin by the Japanese, this form of meditation involves a rigorous practice of group meditation in temples and centres. Lasting for about 30-50 mins, it includes walking meditation and a few short breaks for meals. During meal time, meditators sit in silence and feed themselves from oryoki bowls.

• Benefits:

Practising Zen meditation will help you to expand your attention scope. Other benefits of the meditation include increasing the flow of subjective awareness, perceptions, emotions and thoughts.

3. Mantra Meditation

A mantra can be a syllable, a word or a phrase that the meditators keep repeating during meditation. The mantras can be chanted, whispered, spoken, or repeated in our minds. In recent years chanting mantras have also been included in being mindful. 

• Origin:

The origin of mantras is found in the earliest inscription of Vedic literature. The sound ॐ (Aum, Om) is known to have originated from Earth. This is the simplest mantra which, on chanting, produces reverberation that helps to calm your mind and body. The Buddhists and the Hindus were the first to incorporate such techniques in their spiritual traditions.

• How to Practice:

Follow the steps below to practise this form of meditation-

Step 1: Choose a mantra that aligns with your intention.

Step 2: Select your comfort space and be mindful of your intention.

Step 3: Sit up straight and focus on each breath.

Step 4: Commence your mantra meditation by repeating your selected mantra.

• Benefits:

It is a well-known fact that chanting helps to reduce anxiety and slow down racing thoughts. For some people, the benefits of the meditation include overcoming insomnia and sleeplessness.

4. Body Scan Meditation

The practice of body scan meditation falls under the umbrella of MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction). This form of meditation is a variation of Burmese Vipassana. It involves being aware of our body's physical sensations as a method to stay mindful.

• Origin:

The origin of this meditation technique can be traced back to the Vipassana meditation practiced in present-day Myanmar. In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn introduced MBSR which would focus on the body scan meditation. He recommended this form of meditation specifically for people suffering from chronic pains.

• How to Practice:

Steps to practice body scan meditation are as follows-

Step 1: Take a comfortable seat and try to relax while gently lowering your eyes.

Step 2: Be aware of how you are feeling. Observe the weight on the chair and practise a few deep breaths. 

Step 3: Shift your focus all through your body. Take each body part into consideration and notice how they feel. From your feet to your legs, keep moving upwards towards your belly, chest, shoulders and arms. 

Keep scanning and moving upwards till you reach your head. Spend a few seconds on each body part and attentively observe them. It's okay if what you feel is not intense.

Step 4: There will be moments where you will find your thoughts wandering aimlessly. Know that it is natural. Consciously track your thoughts back and start scanning from where you left.

• Benefits:

Practising body scan meditation will help you significantly reduce stress and anxiety. The quality of your sleep will get better. 

For people with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), body scan meditation has proven itself efficient in managing the symptoms.

5. Loving-Kindness Meditation

Loving-kindness meditation is a special method to practice self-love and self-care. The benefits of the meditation include enhancement of overall well-being and stress reduction. 

People who practice this form of meditation regularly increase their capability to be more forgiving and help them connect better with the people around them. Even though it might seem quite an easy approach, reaching a place where the flow of love comes naturally might need some conscious practice.

• Origin:

The practice of loving-kindness meditation is known to have existed before the time of Buddha. It is a part of the Buddhist philosophy. This very idea can be found in the texts of Hindu and Jain scriptures.

• How to Practice:

You can practice this form of meditation in various ways. All of these methods to practice loving-kindness meditation are based on Buddhist traditions.

Below you will find the steps to practice this particular form of meditation-

Step 1: Make some time for yourself.

Step 2: Sit with your eyes closed, take a few deep breaths and relax your muscles.

Step 3: Visualise yourself experiencing total mental and physical wellness.

Step 4: Thank yourself for every aspect of who you are and feel your love for yourself.

Step 5: Focusing on inner peace, breathe out the stress and anxiety you might feel and breathe in self-love.

Step 6: Repeat positive affirmations that align with your thoughts and goals.

Step 7: Lastly, take in all the warmth and compassion you feel for a few moments while drifting your attention towards inner peace.

• Benefits:

Practising loving-kindness meditation can help you to soothe your mind and decrease the feeling of suffering. It helps cultivate appreciation, joy, satisfaction and self-acceptance. Here are a few other positive benefits of practising loving-kindness meditation-

• Reduces negative emotions
• Silences the inner critic
• Enhances the ability to be compassionate
• Helps to feel closer and more connected with nature
• Significantly reduces migraine pain and any tension
• Lowers chronic pain
• Slows down the process of ageing

If you are here looking for how to begin meditation, you must have heard about all the exceptional advantages of meditating. It helps to calm your mind and release stress and anxiety you might feel daily. It is also widely known to offer you inner peace and soothe your thoughts. You might want to practise meditation for any of these reasons.

Though the benefits of daily meditation are too many to count, it takes quite a good amount of discipline to stick to this practice in the long run.

If you are a beginner, follow the steps below to begin this life-changing practice and find out ways to stick to it-

• Make sure to set out your intention. With proper intention, you will find sufficient amount of willpower to not only start the practise but also stay committed to it for a long time.
• Carve out an allotted time from each day when you can freely indulge in this practice. 
• Conduct the needful research to understand which meditation type works best for your cause.
• Follow the steps to practice the same regularly. As you keep observing the benefits of meditation, you will no longer need any reminders to keep continuing.
• After a few months, meditating will be a part of your daily routine, just like having meals. In this time, you will begin to see the differences, which will be the biggest factor in motivation.
• You will find multiple guidance videos and apps on the internet to assist you in this self-exploration process. 
• Another good tip is to hire someone to help you with any questions that might arise in your mind at the beginning of your journey. 
• Lastly, you should trust the process. Making a good habit, like meditating regularly, might take a while before it finally feels like another activity of your day. But don’t worry, you will get there in time.

Other than the specific benefits that you can achieve by practising a particular type of meditation daily, there are quite a few overall meditation benefits as well-

• Increases immunity
• Lowers blood pressure
• Helps to fight symptoms of IBS
• Improves general well-being
• Helps to manage stress and anxiety

Meditation is an age-old practice whose benefits can be equated to medicines, or even better for some people. With time the benefits of meditating have spread worldwide. Nowadays, multiple gurus are holding seminars and talks about this ancient practice.

To truly understand the health benefits of meditation can have on our mind and body, you need to make it a part of your daily life. Not only will it help lead a better life but a longer one too.