What is the best type of meditation?
Meditation offers time for relaxation and heightened awareness in a stressful world where our senses are often dulled. For someone who meditates, the practice offers a chance to improve physical wellbeing and emotional health. However, there is no “right way” to meditate, meaning people can explore the different types until they find one that works for them.
Loving-Kindness Meditation
Also known as Metta meditation, this form of meditation aims to cultivate an attitude of love and kindness toward everything
- While breathing deeply, practitioners open their minds to receiving loving kindness, and send messages of loving kindness to the world, to specific people, or to their loved ones
- In most forms, the key is to repeat the message many times, until the practitioner feels a loving kindness
Body scan or progressive relaxation
Progressive relaxation is meditation that encourages people to scan their bodies for tension and release it
- The goal is to notice tension and to allow it to release
- Some forms of progressive relaxation require people to tense and then relax muscles
- Others encourage a person to visualize a wave, drifting over their body to release tension
Zen meditation
This is a form of meditation that can be part of Buddhist practice. The goal is to find a comfortable position, focus on breathing, and mindfully observe one’s thoughts without judgment.
Mindfulness meditation
This is a form of meditation that urges practitioners to remain aware and present in the moment
- Rather than dwelling on the past or dreading the future, mindfulness encourages awareness of a person’s existing surroundings
- It has been extensively studied and shown to reduce fixation on negative emotions
- Improve focus improve memory lessen impulsive, emotional reactions and improve relationship satisfaction
Transcendental Meditation
The goal is to transcend or rise above the person’s current state of being
- During a meditation session, practitioners focus on a mantra or a repeated word or series of words
- Meditation is a process-oriented undertaking that focuses on the moment, not on the results
- Enjoy the moment and remain in the present moment
Breath Awareness Meditation
A form of mindful meditation that encourages mindful breathing
Kundalini yoga
A physically active form of meditation that blends movements with deep breathing and mantras