Meditation is a technique that allows one to move the mind to a state of calm and relaxation, through methods that involve posture and focus of attention to achieve peace and inner peace, bringing various benefits such as stress reduction, anxiety, insomnia, to improve focus and productivity at work or studies.
Although it is more easily practiced in classes and places of your own, with an instructor, meditation can also be done in other environments such as at home or at work, for example.
To learn to meditate alone, it is necessary to practice daily the techniques that will be taught, for 5 to 20 minutes, 1 or 2 times a day.
So the step by step to meditate consists of:
1. Reserve a time
One should reserve 1 or 2 times throughout the day to get off for a while. It may be when you wake up to start the day with less anxiety and more focus, in the middle of the day, to get some rest from the chores, or when you lie down, to calm the mind before bed.
Ideally, a period of 15 to 20 minutes is a great time to bring the maximum benefits of meditation, but 5 minutes are enough to allow a journey into yourself, achieving tranquility and focus.
To avoid worry over time, you can program an alarm clock on your phone for as long as you want to keep meditating.
2. Find a quiet place
It is recommended to separate a space where you can sit with a bit of tranquility, such as a room, a garden, a sofa, also possible in the office chair itself, or even in the car, after parking before going to work, for example .
The important thing is that you can preferably be in a quiet environment with minimal distractions to facilitate concentration.
3. Adopt a comfortable posture
The ideal position for the practice of meditation, according to oriental techniques, is the lotus posture in which one is seated, with legs crossed and with feet on thighs, just above the knees, and with the spine erect .
However, it is not mandatory, and it is possible to sit or lie in any position, including a chair or bench, as long as you are comfortable, with your spine erect, shoulders relaxed and neck aligned.
You should also find a support for the hands, which can rest on the lap, with the back of one over the other, or one on each knee, with the palms down or up. Then you should keep your eyes closed and allow your muscles to relax.
4. Control breathing
It is important to learn to give more special attention to breathing by using the lungs completely. A deep breath should be drawn, drawing the air using the belly and thorax, and a slow and pleasurable exhalation.
Breath control may not be easy in the beginning, which happens with practice, but it is important that it is comfortable and not forced, so that it does not become an unpleasant moment. One exercise that can be done is to count to 4 in inspiration, and repeat that time to expiration.
5. Focus attention
In traditional meditation, it is necessary to find a focus to maintain attention, usually a mantra, which is any sound, syllable, word or phrase that must be repeated several times for it to exert a specific power over the mind, and to assist concentration for the meditation.
It should be vocalized or thought by the person doing the meditation and preferably, if it is a mantra of origin in Buddhism or yoga, be taught in the correct way by a teacher. The "om" is the best-known mantra, and has the power to bring inner peace during meditation.
However, it is also possible to have other types of focus for attention, such as an image, melody, a feeling of breeze on the skin, breathing itself or even some positive or objective thinking that you want to achieve. The important thing is that, for this, the mind is calm and without other thoughts.
It is very common for several thoughts to arise during meditation, and in this case one should not quarrel with them, but let them come and then go. With time and practice, it becomes easier to concentrate better and avoid thoughts.
Key health benefits
With the daily practice of meditation, it is possible to perceive a better control of the thoughts and maintenance of the focus in the activities, besides bringing other benefits, such as:
- Aid in the treatment of depression and decrease of the chances of relapse;
- Control of stress and anxiety;
- Decreased insomnia;
- Improvement of focus and performance in work and studies;
- Helps in controlling high blood pressure;
- Greater glycemic control in diabetes;
- It helps in the treatment of eating and obsessive-complusive disorders.
Thus, even though it is a technique of ancient oriental traditions, meditation is fully applicable on a daily basis to improve well-being and quality of life. See the benefits of other alternative health practices, such as Yoga and Ayurvedic Medicine.
