Meditation, including mindfulness meditation, can be self-guided or led by a trained practitioner. Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace, 2005 (1st ed. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment. One of his most powerful and widely shared mantras-or “poems,” as he often calls them-to recite while meditating is:īreathing in, I calm my body. The Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh (who at the time of this writing is 94 years old!) has garnered a loyal following and widespread recognition for his extraordinary wisdom and observations about life and death. All forms of meditation can utilize mantras or longer statements that help you center yourself as you embrace awareness of the present moment. There is a type of meditation that relies heavily on mantra: words or short phrases that you repeat over and over in order to help you turn inward. Practicing breathwork and noticing your breath as you inhale and exhale can aid in this journey. Through mindfulness meditation, you expand your consciousness out - beyond the rough edges of the world and your own fears and worries - in order to achieve a greater state of stability. Why Practice Mindfulness Meditation?īy paying attention to your thoughts and feelings without letting them rile you, you cultivate a deeper awareness and resiliency that allows you to stay calm and centered as you move through your day, encountering new and sometimes stressful stimuli. Instead of engaging these thoughts and feelings by interpreting, judging, or otherwise letting them affect you, you simply observe them at a distance. At its heart lies an emphasis on developing an awareness of the present moment.Īs you practice this form of meditation, you tune into - or become mindful of - any emotions that are moving through your body and any thoughts that are passing through your mind. Mindfulness meditation has its origins in ancient Buddhist teachings and is perhaps the most popular type of meditation in the West. Despite their differences, each is focused on shifting your consciousness so that you can find presence, awareness, peace, and calm. You may have heard of transcendental meditation, focused meditation, movement meditation, mantra meditation, and mindfulness meditation, among others. Meditation is a practice that trains your attention and awareness in ways that help you achieve clarity of mind and emotional stability (and beyond).ĭifferent types of meditation use different modes of training to achieve that end. People can practice exercises in mindfulness meditation, the scientific literature concludes, to effectively alleviate the severity of some of today’s greatest psychological stresses. One large-scale review out of Johns Hopkins (of 47 different trials with 3515 participants) published in the JAMA in March 2014 found that “mindfulness meditation programs had moderate evidence of improved anxiety, depression, and pain.” The scientific evidence is impressive, too. You probably know at least one person who has a semi-regular meditation practice and who sings its praises. The anecdotal evidence underscoring meditation’s benefits is compelling. It’s one that helps us connect with our true selves and the world around us, it eases our anxiety and stress, and it promotes a sense of peace and wellbeing - even gratitude. The way we practice meditation (and why we practice meditation) - our appropriated version - certainly looks different from how its original manifestation, a fact compounded by the variety of meditation techniques that exist.īut meditation, we’ve come to realize, is a deeply powerful practice. However, it’s only been within the past decade or so that meditation has entered the Western mainstream. Since then, there have been surges in its popularity, most notably in the 1960s (just ask yer mom). It first reached the Western world in the 18th century, when a subset of its guiding principles began influencing Western philosophical circles. With its origins in Southeast Asia, meditation has been around for millennia. In the post, I pit two of the most popular apps against each other - Headspace vs Calm - and take a look at a close third, InsightTimer. I’ve tried upwards of a dozen meditation apps since my sleep really tanked about four years ago. And, thankfully, these apps are also proving to be astonishingly effective. Feeling stressed out, anxious, and generally frazzled by all the things you have to balance - kiddos, work, bills, deadly viruses, the mess that is your home? Did you think you’d have your shit together by now? Welcome to da club.įortunately, a growing cadre of meditation apps are positioning themselves as antidotes to our rising overwhelm and malaise, tailoring their offerings to tackle specific issues like financial fears and managing uncertainty.
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