Sitting in meditation can be hard as hell. Most of us experience several obstacles before we really get into that quite state of mind: The back starts hurting because your hips don’t want to relax in that crosslegged meditation seat or the mind is jumping around like a monkey in your head trying to drive you insane! Luckily there are a lot of different techniques to tame the monkey in our head and bring us back to calmness and the peace within.
The Secret of Meditation is not the sitting itself but the awareness about the fact that we are master of our selves and enabled to conquer the mind.
Happy through Meditation
In buddhism meditation is a big part not only on a spiritual but also on a cultural level since it belongs to everyday life of people at all ages. The peaceful posture of a meditator is that state that Buddha once called pure bliss or simply: happiness. This state of joy is hidden in each of us but the hustle and bustle in the everyday life makes us forget about it.
Meditation allows us to sink in the moment being fully present and grateful for the proof that we are alive!
Meditation against stress and headache
Happiness might be greatest goal of all – but especially in the context of business and its ambitions we lose the true essence of life. Always driven by the pressure to perform and fitting in the image of society we lose the ability to be aware of the only thing that we really own: the here and now.
The constant overload of our brain strains our nerves until we feel permanently stressed. This we will not only feel through the negative vibes of people that are stressed out but also through headache or insomnia. Our system needs time to process the impressions that we consume throughout the day performing in the outer world. Thoughts, images and emotions in our head prevent us from sleeping and taking away the time to regenerate.
Meditative techniques are more and more used as tools in the business context in order to prevent ourselves from illnesses such as burn-out and depression.
Through continously meditating we are creating a space that allows us to make us aware of the things happening in our mind. Staying in this mind space we are able to explore what is happening in our mind and what soaks our energy without us even recognizing it. Techniques which are focussing on the breath can bring us into a present state of mind without being overwhelmed by the rapid chaos in our head.
Breathing meditation for relaxation
Our breath is the perfect tool to communicate with the parasympathic nervous system which is the part of our nervous system that we need for regeneration and relaxation – all that we need to survive in the complex life out there.
The constancy our breath conveys calmness to our system and helps us to relax. In conscious breathing pauses and meditation we can directly communicate with the nervous system in order to suggest the feeling of serenity.
How to use the breath as your relaxation tool:
Mindful Meditation for more Awareness
Being aware means being present. Mindful meditation techniques enable us to be fully present allowing ourselves to rest in the present moment without feeling disturbed by outer influences, thoughts or emotions.
Buddha and other great teachers reached spiritual enlightment by just using techniques of mindful meditation. But even in normal life we as “normal human beings” are having this small moments of enlightment throughout the day without noticing them consciously. In meditation we are learning to dive consciously in the present moment and the feeling of bliss. Meditation is a reminder of the beautiful gift of happiness that lays within you.
Meditation in Movement
In Yoga philosophy taught by Patanjali (which is the philosophical school of yoga that is mostly taught in the western world) Dharana (concentration) is the primary stage of actual meditation. We normally use concentration when we are trying to deal with challenging tasks or when we are learning new things.
We need concentration to learn new movements or sequences. Concentration enables us to stay focused and to fade out outer circumstances.
Monotonous movements such as we do in running, cycling or swimming even out on a physical level and bring our mind into a meditative state.
Yoga als Warm Up zur Meditation
In yoga we consciously come into a pose in order to stay in it for a couple of deep breaths. The mindfulness that we use to get safely in a posture is one of the most important aspects of meditation. On one hand we are using the asanas in yoga to stretch our back and hips in order to prepare our body for the seated meditation but also to give us the right mindset for the ultimate meditation.
Read more about Hatha Yoga and its background here:
