I’d like to talk about making a meditation practice easy on yourself as well as easy to integrate into your daily life. I’d like to start with what I consider the three easiest forms of meditation, which are guided, mantra, and zen.
In a guided meditation you are prompted so you’re not losing the battle with the monkey mind. YouTube has a vast array of free guided meditations from which to choose. Play around with different topics, narrator voices, background music, etc. Find what most appeals to you, what is soothing, and doesn’t distract you. Here’s a great one from my friend Colette Baron-Reid that’ll help you release stress.
The next type of meditation I’d like to discuss is the mantra style of meditating. A mantra is a verbal or mental repetitive phrase, word. or sound. Mantra meditation can often be found using a mala which is a string of beads. To use the mala, you turn each bead in between your middle finger and thumb and repeat your mantra (either out loud or in your head) once on each bead. I, personally, use this type of meditation with a mala bracelet. When I’m working on something specific that I want to achieve within myself, a mala bracelet and mantra often are very helpful in getting me in the right mindset. I’ve found a simple Om meditation works really well here… check this out.
The final form of meditation I’d like to share which is easy yet brings about wonderful results is zazen. Zazen (or zen) is a Zen Buddhist form of breathing meditation. While I don’t often strictly follow this form of meditation due to physical restrictions, I do, however, wholeheartedly believe in the focused breathing technique – especially for stress relief and building mental focus. Here’s a simple description…
Regardless of what type of meditation you choose, if you commit to a regular practice you’ll reap great benefits. Now, go forth and relax.
