When I began my Mindfulness journey 2 years ago, I knew very little about meditation and the different types of it. Like many, I understood the basic practice of meditation as sitting down with a good posture, for 5/10 minutes.
I certainly did not fully understand the true benefits of this practice, nor the fact that you don’t necessarily have to be sitting down to meditate. There are, actually, many forms of meditation. Fast forward a year and as I began to teach and fully embrace and appreciate Mindfulness, through an 8 week course, I learnt about the different forms of meditation and I have simplified them in the list below:
Guided meditation – listening to a calming/soothing voice, that gently guides your attention to where it needs to be, throughout the practice.
Non-guided meditation – being able to conduct your own meditation practice by either listening to some calming music, or silence.
Body scan mediation – A scientifically proven meditation, that can reduce stress. This is a much longer meditation that focuses on your body and usually is around 30 minutes, but can be longer.
Visualization meditation – a form of guided meditation that has the intent of listening to a story; imagining feelings in a more visual setting.
Walking meditation – Going on a much slower paced walk, taking in fully your surroundings (including sounds) with each step being focused on the here and now.
Sitting meditation – sitting in a chair or fixed position, while meditating.
Shower meditation – A recent discovery for me. Using your shower routine as a meditation practice – imagining the cleaning process as a form of inhales and exhales; and also a way to keep your mind in the present moment.
If you find yourself struggling to incorporate mediation into your daily routine, you can try any of the above styles, to find out which one works best for you. There really is no one size fits all, and one must perservere also, because there truly are many benefits associated to meditation which is not only an important part of mindfulness, but is also time well spent, as it is yourself who will reap the long term benefits.
Jem Girl at the Piano 