Many people suffer from anxiety these days, but very few of them seek a solution. Fortunately, in today’s stressful world, it is possible to overcome stress and anxiety with the help of various types of meditation.
Meditation can provide us with the right opportunity to get peace. Research shows that the benefits of meditation are not only limited to controlling anxiety, but also help to maintain mental health and increase satisfaction with life.
In this article from mrdervish, you will get detailed information about the types of meditation and how to do each of them. The purpose of this article is to help you choose the best type of meditation. Accompany us to the end of this article.
Types of meditation
Educators, spiritual leaders, and mental health experts have designed dozens of meditations. The existence of this variety shows that a certain type of meditation is more suitable for each person according to his personality and lifestyle. However, there is no single way to meditate, which means you can try different types of meditation to find what works for you.
We can categorize meditation into different types based on different factors and it is not like it has only one type of category. Therefore, in the following, Mrdervish will introduce you the types of meditation in different categories.
1- Types of meditation based on “method of doing”
The first category of meditations is based on the method of doing them. In general, based on this factor, meditations are divided into 2 categories:
Guided meditation
In this exercise, you meditate with the help of an instructor. Now, this guidance may be in the form of an audio or video or participation in a meditation class.
Unguided meditation
In unguided meditation, you do the meditation steps by yourself and do not get help from a guide. Basically, if you are at the beginning of meditation, it is better not to go for this method. Because there is a possibility that remembering the steps will distract you and you will lose the essence of meditation. It is better to play a meditation song while doing this method.
2- Types of meditation based on “how to position”
The second category, meditation, is based on the method of the body position in which you want to meditate and reach mindfulness. In short, 3 methods included in this category:
Doing meditation while lying down
especially for doing sleep meditations, lying down meditation is recommended. In this type of meditation, you lie in a quiet place and go through the process of calming the mind.
Sitting meditation
It can be said that the most common method of meditation is sitting meditation. In this method, you sit on a chair or on the floor, preferably a soft and calm place, and perform the meditation steps.
Walking or standing meditation
In this method, you try to bring your mind to the present moment and meditate while you are standing or even while you are walking, by paying attention to the world around you, paying attention to your body and feelings.
3- types of meditation based on “goal” (main category)
We can say that the main category of meditation is based on its goals, which includes a large number of types of meditation. In the following, we will briefly introduce them to you:
Breathing meditation
Breathing meditation is recommended especially for people who have just entered this space. It is extremely easy and simple to do this meditation method. In this method, we focus on the breaths we take to achieve relaxation.
Sleep meditation
Meditation for Sleep is mainly done to calm the mind while sleeping at night. It is recommended especially for people who face insomnia.
Morning meditation
Meditation in the morning is recommended to start the day with a lot of energy. If you are going to choose meditation as your morning routine, it is better to choose morning meditation.
Concentration meditation
In this type of meditation, we mostly try to focus on something specific and ultimately help to increase our concentration power.
Stress reduction meditation
If you are facing stress problem for any reason and you feel bad, Stress reduction through mindfulness meditation will help you. Also, doing this meditation continuously helps us to reduce stress in our daily life in general.
Relaxation meditation
One of the most common types of meditation, in which we relax our mind by doing something like focusing or even visualizing.
Meditation to overcome social anxiety
Social anxiety is actually anxiety about the attention and judgment of others. Continuously doing this type of meditation helps to reduce stress caused by other people’s attention. For this reason, it is recommended to include this meditation in the daily schedule of people who are going to give a presentation or speech, or those who are constantly in the community.
Meditation to get rid of embarrassment
This type of meditation, like the previous method, helps to relieve stress and increase human self-confidence.
Gratitude Meditation
In this meditation, we pay attention to the things and people that we should be grateful for in life. In this way, we feel better and our mood improves dramatically.
Mindfulness meditation
Of course, most meditations bring our mind to the present moment, but this meditation is special for when you feel that your thoughts are too scattered and need to come to the present moment.
Pain Relief Meditation
If you are experiencing pain in your body, meditation for pain reliefwill help reduce or even eliminate it by taking your focus off of it.
Body scan meditation
This is one of the most common types of meditation for beginners, which is easy to do and gives peace to your mind. In this method, we focus on body parts to bring our mind to the present moment.
Loving-Kindness Meditation
In this meditation method, we try to release good feelings like kindness and direct them towards ourselves or others.
Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress
4- Types of meditation based on “point of focus”
Well, you see, basically in meditation we give our attention and focus to something so that we can get rid of disturbing thoughts and come to the present moment. Teaching meditation to children in order to help them get rid of negative thoughts and behaviors, build self-confidence and concentration and etc. Now, what exactly is our attention, it itself causes a category of meditation types:
Breathing meditation
The most common example of this category is meditation in which we sit or lie in a quiet corner and then focus on the breaths we take to bring the mind to the present moment and calm it down.
Meditation focusing on the body
In this method of meditation, we focus on different parts of the body, from the toes to the muscles, knees, stomach, and finally the head. (Body scan meditation)
Meditation with focus on an external object
In this method, we focus on something like a flower or anything else with open eyes.
Meditation by focusing on the task or the world around
In this type of meditation, which is often said to be a method of mindfulness, we focus on what we are doing, such as washing dishes or the world around us.
5- Religious meditations
It is interesting to know that famous religions in the world sometimes have meditation! In the following, we will briefly introduce the types of religious meditation:
Christian meditation
In this meditation, people often achieve goals such as thinking in the Bible and other spiritual matters.
Jewish meditation
This meditation is also done with the aim of achieving spiritual things and is sometimes accompanied by prayer.
Sufi Meditation
Sufis practice many practices called meditation or similar actions. For example, meditation with zikr and so on.
6- “Non-scientific or ancient” meditations
Well, some types of meditations are non-scientific types of meditation. In fact, these meditations pursue goals that are not confirmed by science. Therefore, we call them non-scientific meditation.
Qigong meditation
In this method, they try to release the internal energy of the body by focusing on a point near the navel. This meditation is one of the Chinese meditations.
Daoism Meditation
Daoism is an extremely popular Chinese philosophy. The philosopher Lao Tzu, who is the originator of this philosophy, is considered one of the first people who probably invented or at least promoted this type of meditation.
Chakra meditation
Aim of this meditation is opening the chakras and regulating their activity.
Third eye meditation
A type of chakra meditation in which we try to use our concentration to open the third eye.
Nada Yoga
This type of meditation is based on a hypothesis that says that everything in the world is formed based on sound vibrations called Nada.
7- Other categories and types of meditation
Yoga meditation
In yoga classes, the class members meditate with the help of the instructor. Of course, in these classes, each instructor may perform a specific type of meditation. But most of them get help from meditation exercises along with doing physical exercises that need to focus on the body.
TM meditation
The Transcendental Meditation technique (abbreviated as TM) is a popular method in which, along with meditation, a person utters a specific word or mantra.
Visualization meditation
In this meditation, we visualize a pleasant scene in our mind and even create details such as breeze and temperature. It can be said that this exercise is a subset of relaxation meditation.
Which type of meditation is right for you?
Some examples of types of meditation
Well, after all this, let’s experience some examples of meditation together to get to know them better. Stay with Mrdervish.
1- Body scan meditation
Follow the steps below to do this meditation
- Sit or lie down in a quiet corner.
- Choose a place that doesn’t bother your body.
- Close your eyes and think of your toes in your mind.
- Imagine that every breath you take into your body sends the energies towards your toes.
- You may feel your fingers go numb over time.
- After a few seconds (10 to 50 seconds), bring your focus to the soles of your feet and on them.
- Then focus on your legs, muscles, knees, thighs and back of thighs, hips, stomach, chest and neck in order.
- After gradually concentrating on each part, probably something between 5 and 10 minutes has passed,
- Now take a few deep breaths and slowly pay attention to the world around you, such as your body’s feelings or sounds, and open your eyes.
2- Square breathing technique
This breathing technique greatly helps to reduce stress and reduce thoughts. to do that:
- Sit in a quiet corner
- Focus on the breath you take
- Take a few deep breaths
- Now, inhale the air for 4 seconds
- Hold the air in your body for 4 seconds
- Exhale for 4 seconds
- Continue this exercise for 2 to 10 minutes.
3- Focus meditation
As we said above, concentration meditation is one of the most common types of meditation:
- You can choose an object to start with
- A raisin, a flower or a fruit
- Sit somewhere quietly and try to pay attention to it
- What does it look like? What colors used in it? How does it feel to touch it?
- smell it, touch it, feel its temperature and experience it fully,
- See it like you’ve never seen it before.
- Try not to judge it, i.e. you don’t need to call it beautiful or ugly, neither fragrant nor smelly.
- Stay in this position for 2 to 10 minutes.
you say
Was this article useful to you? In this article, we acquainted with the types of meditation and then we examined some examples of meditation which were among the best and most common methods of meditation. Finally, if you have any questions or comments, I am waiting for you in the comments section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is meditation?
Meditation means focusing the mind on the body; So that you focus all your attention inside yourself so that you can finally reach physical and mental peace.
What are the benefits of meditation?
Meditation reduces stress and anxiety and increases self-awareness. People who meditate have higher concentration power and are less likely to suffer from memory impairment in old age. Meditation improves sleep quality and helps reduce pain and control blood pressure.
How long does it take for the benefits of meditation to become apparent?
Most of the researches that have investigated the effects of different types of meditation have shown that the benefits of meditation can show themselves quickly. Some people have reported seeing positive effects after a meditation session.
During meditation, stress decreases and the feeling of relaxation increases. With the passage of time and increasing practice, these positive feelings will last longer and continue outside the meditation sessions.
What is the best time of day to meditate?
Choosing the best time depends on various factors including your daily schedule. You can meditate at any time of the day that is most convenient for you. Some people consider the morning to be more suitable for meditation; Because they can start a better day with the help of it.
