Ommmmmmmmmmm. Or, as I used to call it, zZzZzZzZzZ.
Meditation is only for yoga teachers and hippies and bald people in robes, right? Well maybe not.
I tried meditating at least 5 times before I found a practice that made me feel calm and focused. Mostly, I just felt silly… counting down the minutes until I could stand back up, pat myself on the back and check off the box on my to do list that said, “Get Zen up in this b*tch.”
I was more than a skeptic. I was a tried and true disbeliever. But, when you research success and happiness for long enough, you start to see patterns, strategies, and habits that you can’t ignore – and meditation was one of them.
Almost ALL of my Happiness Gurus meditate – regardless of their growth category of expertise! Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins, Hal Elrod, Elizabeth Gilbert, Gretchen Rubin, Tara Milhem, ..and of course, the reason why 50% of all skeptics are convinced to do anything… Oprah. (Disclaimer: that is a made up Oprah-statistic, but it’s probably true…)
Now that we’ve established that there MUST in fact be a connection between meditation and happiness/success, let’s talk about it’s relationship to Spirit Month.
One of the coolest things about meditation is the opportunity to quiet the constant buzz of your thoughts to listen for the whisper of your spirit.
Back up. I’m not saying I receive direct visits from Jesus or anything. I DO, however, believe that your soul has a lot to say if you are calm and focused enough to listen. It doesn’t happen in the same way for everyone, but the answers to most of your wishes and worries can be answered by looking within instead of on …Facebook, for example. (Unless you found this article through Facebook… in which case, ignore me… some answers are on Facebook).
Now, let’s get to the experiment, shall we?
6 Types of Meditation (5 days each): 30 Day Challenge
I’m a big believer in the power of a 30 Day challenge, in fact, I run monthly fitness challengesand have personally had and witnessed extraordinary results. So what’s say we try a little 30 day Meditation challenge and spice it up?
Below are just 6 of the many meditation styles and techniques that exist. I encourage you to look up videos and a more in depth history of each practice before starting your challenge so that you may receive the full spiritual benefit! It is not timed, so do the amount of meditation that suits you, whether it be 2 minutes or an hour.
1. Mindfulness Meditation: This form of meditation has become quite a movement in the US. Originating from traditional Buddhist practices, it is the practice of intentionally bringing awareness to the present moment, focusing on your breath, and refocusing there as distractions and thoughts arise.
2. Metta Meditation (Love & Happiness Meditation): During this meditation practice, you are focused on wishing love, kindness, happiness and general well being on each individual that crosses your mind. This is a time to channel positivity and radiate your energy towards your loved ones.
3. Mantra Meditation (OM Meditation): This technique uses the repetition of a mantra (syllable or word), creating a mental vibration that brings the mind into deeper levels of awareness. You can use “om” or other mantras. You can say the mantra outloud or repeat it silently.
4. Yoga Meditation: There are countless different yoga meditation techniques. Among the most popular are Kundalini (aimed at awakening the dormant kundalini energy at the base of our spine), Chakra (focusing one one of the seven chakras or “centers of energy” in the body), and Third Eye meditation (focusing on the space between your eyebrows, meant to calm your thoughts). Here is a short 2-minute video to get you started!
5. Guided Visual Meditation: This practice is particularly recommended to reduce stress and anxiety. Once you are no longer burdened by the stresses of the physical and emotional world, you will then be open to receiving the spiritual benefits of meditation. Here is a video that I love.It is 30 minutes, which is somewhat long, but even 5 minutes of it is very therapeutic.
6. Binaural Beats Meditation: If you’re a true happling, you know I f*cking love science. This particular meditation is that perfect harmony of science meeting spirituality. Binaural beats are the signaling of two frequencies presented separately to each ear. This is done to create alpha waves (the brain waves associated with initial levels of meditation). They are created when your brain detects the phase variation between the frequencies and tries to reconcile that difference. Groovy, right? Most Binaural Beats Meditations that I’ve found are actually done during sleep. If you want to give it a try, here is an 8-hour long recording for your meditation pleasure!
Despite everything I’ve told you, the universal truth is…
“To verbalize a spiritual experience is an attempt to describe the indescribable.”
I encourage you to try it yourself! Post “N’amaste calm” in the comments below if you’re joining me in this challenge! Let us know what’s happyning with your results. What was your favorite Meditation technique?
