5 Unique Forms of Meditation and Their Benefits
5 Forms of Meditation and Their Benefits: A Therapist’s Guide
From my own personal experiences and as a therapist, I’ve seen firsthand how beneficial meditative practices can be for people. That being said, let’s be clear that meditation isn’t about sitting cross-legged on a pillow chanting as incense fills the air. I mean, it certainly can be (and I won’t lie that it sounds peaceful), but there’s much more to meditation than that one form.
Today, I want to explore some lesser-known yet powerful forms of meditation. First, let’s refresh our understanding of what meditation really is and how it fits into the broader concept of mindfulness.
What is Meditation, Really?
Let’s imagine something together.
You’re sitting in stop-and-go traffic for miles on your way to something important. Your mind quickly begins to focus on your never-ending to-do list, the looming work deadline, that argument with your partner earlier in the day, the pile of laundry that’s been taunting you all week, and the fact that the food you thought could make it to Friday most certainly has gone soggy and icky. At this point, your shoulders are up to your ears, your jaw is clenched so tightly you can feel it in your teeth, and you feel like you’re going to combust if one more thing happens. Sound familiar? You’re physically present, but mentally you’re everywhere but in that car.
Or, imagine you’re in the dead center of your favorite farmer’s market. There’s vibrant colors in every direction you look, so many different scents filling the air, and a million different conversations you could hop into. You begin to get lost in the sensory whirlwind with your ears jumping from stand to stand, your eyes taking you all over the place, and suddenly you’re not even sure what you were about to do.
But what if you could take a breath, press a pause button, and come back to yourself in the present moment? You ground in the warmth of the sun coming through your car windows or the savory scent of fresh bread with children laughing at the stand you’re next to.
Hitting that button to center in the moment without all the mental chatter is mindfulness in action. Being mindful literally means being in the present moment. Meditation is simply one form of mindful practice that involves focusing your attention and awareness on the moment you are physically in. The bonus is that, in doing so, we feel more emotionally calm and mentally clear.
Meditation in particular typically involves dedicating time to focus your attention in a non-judgmental way. It’s a skill we can all develop that helps us to observe our thoughts and feelings before (or without) taking action.
So why is meditation good for you? Today, we’re going to talk about five forms of meditation practices and their unique benefits on physical and mental health. Something I think is important to remember is that while meditation benefits for the brain and mind are clear, different practices will resonate differently at various times in life. Experiment and try things out until you find what works best for you today.
Oh, also, it’s okay if it feels awkward at first! Most new things do.
Why is Meditation Good for Stress?
Our fast-paced, always-on-and-accessible world is a stress breeding ground. There’s many positives that come from the way our society has evolved, don’t get me wrong. But a challenge is that stimulus is never-ending. Meditation activates the body’s relaxation response which provides the body with much needed adjustments like releasing accumulated muscle tension, lowering cortisol levels and promoting the release of calming hormones, and even reducing blood pressure in the moment.
Even more, with consistent practice meditation helps to shape a new relationship with stress itself. It can shift from a lurking monster to simply another sensation that you experience (like contentment, fatigue, annoyance or success). Meditation can help us amp up the skill of observing our thoughts without getting wrapped up in them.
A common analogy for meditation (and mindfulness at large) is like learning to surf. When surfing, you move with the waves rather than fight against them. In other words, we learn to go with the waves of life and let them pass (and eventually cease to exist) as opposed to being tossed around by them.
Walking Meditation: Mindfulness in Motion
What it is: Walking meditation is a practice of connecting with your body and environment. Walk like you typically would, but be intentionally slower and focus your attention on your breath as well as the physical sensations you experience. For many, it is easy to start with feeling your feet and legs and go from there.
Why it works: This practice combines the benefits of bodily movement and mindfulness which is particularly helpful for anyone who finds stillness challenging. Integrating physical activity while maintaining focus is a great way to build mindfulness into daily activities.
Key benefits:
Reduces experience of anxiety and therefore stress levels (a key reason why meditation is good for stress)
Improves balance and bodily awareness
Enhances abilities to focus and concentrate
Helps brain function by integrating physical and mental tasks
Best times to use it:
During breaks at work (like lunch) to refresh your mind and body
As part of a routine at the beginning or end of your day
To transition from work to home life
When feeling restless
When having excess energy or a need to boost your energy levels
Real-life example: Alex is a software developer who struggled with traditional seated meditation. "My mind would race, and I'd get antsy until I was too distracted to keep going.” After trying walking meditation, Alex found her groove. "It's like my body's movement gives my mind permission to slow down.” Now, Alex takes a mindful walk before important meetings, helping her arrive refreshed and focused.
Laughter Meditation: Joy as a Practice
What it is: This continues to be a more unconventional meditation practice, but one that people continue to love once they try it out! In laughter meditation, the goal is basically to force laughter until it becomes real (which it will).
Why it works: One of the cornerstones of anxiety is that our brain cannot discern real danger/threat from perceived/imagined danger/threat. The same is true for laughter; our brain and body experience forced laughter as real laughter. When we laugh, our brain releases endorphins (aka feel-good chemicals) which counterbalance the production of stress hormones. When combined with intention and mindful breathing, this is a great hack for relieving stress and enhancing one’s mood.
Key benefits:
Release tension in the body from stress
Improve mood and social relationships
Long-term meditation benefits include increased positive outlook, optimism, and resilience to stress
Best times to use it:
Early in the mornings for a positive start
When in need of a quick reset
Times of heightened stress or sadness
Real-life example: Tom felt ridiculous forcing themself to laugh at first. This normally serious, routine individual powered through, though. “Soon, the fake laughter turned real. I even found myself smiling more throughout the day.”
Candle Gazing Meditation (Trataka): Finding Focus in the Flame
What it is: Trataka is an old meditation technique that utilizes the sense of sight to slow the mind. On a whole, this practice involves staring at an object without blinking for as long as possible. Once you need to blink, keep your eyes closed and continue to visualize the object. Trataka is most often (and effectively) done by gazing into a candle flame. However, similar benefits can be achieved by looking at a specific star in the sky, the tip of one’s nose, or even a dot on the wall.
Why it works: This is one of the best meditation practices for strengthening concentration, willpower, and visual memory. By focusing our attention on a single, unchanging object, our brain is forced to redirect its thoughts from whatever stressor or worry was at hand to the present moment.
Key benefits:
Improves concentration and memory
Long term meditation benefits can include reduction in eye strain and headaches
Meditation helps brain function by strengthening neural pathways associated with visual processing, memory, and focus
Best times to use it:
To wind down, especially before sleeping
Prior to particularly creative activities
When wanting to improve focus for a specific task
Real-life example: Emma is an artist who struggles with creative blocks from time to time. “My mind always feels clearer after doing this. It’s as if the flame burns away all the clutter in my head and my ideas can flow more easily.”
Sound Bath Meditation: Immersion in Healing Vibrations
What it is: This practice quite literally refers to being “bathed in sound”. Often done while lying down for optimal relaxation and comfort, sound bath meditations utilize various instruments (like singing bowls, gongs, and chimes for the most part) to create an immersive experience of differing sound waves. That being said, living in the technological world we will live in, there’s a bunch of ways to access these sound waves from the comfort and privacy of your own home.
Why it works: These specific sound waves are shown to help induce the meditative state we tend to think of when we think about mindfulness and meditation in particular. This helps even the most beginner beginners experience the benefits of meditation as the body responds to the relaxing stimulus.
Key benefits:
Promotes deep relaxation further reducing anxiety and stress
Improves sleep quality
Enhances mood
Best times to use it:
When feeling overwhelmed and/or anxious
Following a stressful event as a reset
Before bed to improve sleep (Pro Tip: particularly helpful for recovering from jet lag!)
Regular practice for overall well-being
Real-life example: Maria has struggled with chronic insomnia on and off for as long as they can remember. They had heard about sound meditations, but wrote it off as some new-age woo-woo stuff. Once they tried, though…”It’s like the sound waves came into my body to make all the stress flow out. I actually didn’t wake up anxious in the middle of the night for the first time in a long time.”
Visualization Meditation: Manifesting Your Best Self
What it is: This form of meditation is all about creating a mental image. Typically, this is what people might refer to when they say “Think of your happy place”. Visualization meditation involves creating a detailed mental image of a place/person/thing that brings you peace and/or a desired outcome.
Why it works: This type of mindfulness engages all your senses therefore engaging multiple areas of the brain. Similar to the technique above, this works well to redirect anxious thoughts. It also helps to create new neural pathways around task performance. This is primarily because, again, as we imagine things our brain reacts as though we are actually experiencing it.
Key benefits:
Increases motivation
Enhances learning and skill acquisition
Meditation benefits for the brain include increased activity in the areas of the brain associated with attention, decision-making, and sensory processing.
Best times to use it:
Before taking part in a challenging task
When learning a new skill
Prior to an important event
As a reset break
Real-life example: Casey has severe test anxiety and began using visualization meditation to help feel more confident and calm going into exams. “I would always freeze up once the test paper hit my desk. It’s like my mind would go completely blank despite studying for hours. Now, I feel a sense of calm when I take a deep breath and recall what I visualized.”
The Long-Term Benefits of Meditation: A Gift to Future You
So far we’ve focused on more immediate benefits of meditation practices. However, meditation offers really advantageous long term benefits as well. We’ve touched on the structural changes in the brain that can occur in time with consistent meditation practice. Studies show that regular practice can:
Improve cognitive function
Increase emotional regulation and resilience
Promote a more positive general well-being
Improve skills related to learning and memory
Reduce rumination and negative self-talk
Improve decision-making
Increase emotional awareness and intelligence
These meditation benefits for mind and brain accumulate over time allowing us to bask in real-time relief as well as lasting positive changes. From how you think, to how you feel, to how you may interact with the world around you, consistent mindfulness is a gift you can give to yourself.
TLDR: Why Meditation is Good for You
To be clear, meditation is not and should not be about entering a transcendent state of a perfectly still mind. Can that happen? Sure, for some. And yet many of the benefits can still be experienced simply by cultivating awareness and presence in the everyday moments of life.
Meditation doesn’t make problems go away or stop happening; it gives us space and clarity to handle things as they come up. It’s a new perspective, a moment of peace, a touch of calm.
So whether you want to explore meditation to help with stress management, simply want to see how it helps your general outlook, or anything else, I don’t doubt that there’s a form (or 5) of meditation out there that will help. Let me know how it goes!
If you are wanting to continue and expand on this type of work in therapy to help manage the anxiety and stress of life, I’d love to join you! I currently provide therapy in New Jersey and Massachusetts. Reach out to me here for us to get started.
As always, take good care of yourself
-Elise
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