Your Guide to Meditation

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years in the Buddhist world and has recently made its way westward as an effective response to stress, anxiety, and the pressures of life. Stress inhibits the body's ability to defend itself against free radicals and other factors that make us susceptible to disease. Anecdotes from workaholics everywhere are testament to the calming, sometimes life-saving power of meditation. The Mayo Clinic reports the effects of meditation to include the following:

Gaining new perspective on stressful circumstances
Building stress-management skills
Increased self-awareness
Focus on self-awareness and the present
Reducing negative emotions

Meditation is a complementary medicine for our minds, but for our bodies as well. Some studies have shown that meditation may help cure the following:

Asthma
Anxiety disorders
Depression
Fatigue
High blood pressure
Sleep problems

For more information, see this comprehensive guide to understanding the health benefits of meditation.

Kinds of Meditation

Here we will explore two kinds of meditation— mindfulness of breathing and walking meditation. Mindfulness of breathing is meant to draw our thoughts away from the stimuli that assault us daily and bring the focus inwards through an acute awareness of the breathe.

Step 1: Breathe

Begin by closing your eyes, finding a comfortable seat (preferably with legs crossed, in lotus position if you know how), and following your breath. Count after each exhalation, once you reach 10, begin again. You will notice your mind wandering, maybe frantically at first. To attempt to think about nothing is a very difficult thing indeed. This is a good step in awareness, to realize just how distracted the mind is and how little control a person can have over its direction.

Step 2: Unawareness

Continue to count breaths, but this time before each inhalation. This distractedness is the mind becoming unaware, but as soon as we realize this we can regain control of it and choose to become aware again.

Step 3: Becoming Aware

Stop counting, and just follow the breath. As soon as we realize we have been distracted it is time to reign in the thoughts and direct them inward towards the body. It is important here to keep from being hard on yourself for being distracted, frustration will work counter productively in this process. Be kind to yourself and accept your responses as they come.

Step 4: Anchor Awareness in the Breath

Now that you can feel the difference between mindfulness and unawareness, try to connect your awareness to the breath. Stay present as you follow the sensation of air traveling through your nose, and out of your mouth. If you don't lost track of this, sever connection with this, it is easier to find a peaceful rhythm where frantic distracted thoughts do not interrupt your practice, thoughts of what happens elsewhere and at other times. It is all superfluous; the only thing that matters is this each moment as it passes. You will most likely fall away and become distracted again fairly easily, but the breath can bring you back and with practice you will be able to focus for longer priods of time.

After a while, you will learn control over the directions of your thoughts and your emotional response to stressful situations. Becoming present will help you maintain a state of contentedness as you learn to accept the obstacles that life, and even this small practice, present you with. Lastly, you will learn to concentrate and let distractions fall away which can alleviate stress and anxiety and help you handle what is normally overwhelming.

For more advice, visit the Wildmind guide to Buddhist meditation.