Five Easy Meditations

By Amber Michelle

If the thought of meditating conjures up visions of Yogis standing in tree pose for hours on end allowing their minds to go completely blank, it probably seems totally intimidating. And while there are certainly people who devote their life to meditation and seem to live in an advanced state of being, the fact of the matter is that meditation is actually very simple, I know because I have had a daily meditation practice for 35 years. Here are a few things I've learned. 

You need very little to get started, it’s free and the benefits are tremendous. Meditation has been scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety, induce better sleep and concentration, decrease blood pressure and possibly help fight addictions.  

There are two requirements to get started: First, make the decision to meditate. Second, find a quiet place where you will be uninterrupted. Some people like to meditate in the morning to set the tone for the day, other people like to meditate at night to release accumulated stress from the day. There is no right or wrong time, it’s simply a matter of what you are more comfortable doing and what works with the rhythm of your life. How long and how often you meditate is also up to you. Some people may like to meditate daily, or even twice a day, others may prefer weekly, or during a time of crisis or particular stress. Again, it’s whatever feels right to you. You can sit, or lay down, you can keep your eyes open, but it’s easier to escape from the world if you close your eyes. If you have a crystal, rock or something that you like to hold while you are meditating, by all means use it. It will give you a point of focus to keep you on track and as you meditate with it over the long term, it will also serve as a prompt to start meditating.

 If you are thinking of starting a meditation practice, would like to meditate more often, or just want to try it out, following are a few easy meditations to get you on the path to calmness and inner peace.

Breathing. This is a very simple meditation. Breathe in something positive and breathe out the negative. For example, breathe in love, breathe out loneliness. Breathe in calm, breathe out chaos. Breathe in serenity, breathe out stress. Start by making a list of feelings and emotions that you want in your life with a corresponding feeling or emotion that you want to release. When your list is done, go to your quiet meditation space and get comfortable. Take a deep breath in through your nose and let that breath fill your lungs and belly then exhale slowly through your nose or mouth. Repeat three times, then continue to breathe in that pattern while you breathe in your positive feeling and breathe out what you wish to release. Do this for as long as you want. If you run through the list, start over and go through each feeling/emotion again, until you feel ready to stop. Watch out, this meditation may make you fall asleep.

The word. If you want to meditate with other people this is a good one. Select a word that resonates with you --- some examples of words to use are love, peace, calm. Get comfortable and repeat the word over and over in your mind until you feel ready to stop. If you are doing this meditation with other people, you may want to say the word out loud. You’ll find that it becomes a very relaxing chant. When you do this meditation for the first time, it may feel like you’ve been sitting there focusing on your word for hours, when the reality is that you’ve only been doing it for a couple of minutes. Try to keep going for five minutes. However, you may find that you have to work your way up to those five minutes, don’t stress about it. Just remember, like any form of exercise, meditation takes practice, the more you do it, the easier it gets and the more staying power you will have.

Send blessings. This is particularly good if you are feeling angry at someone or unsettled. This is something you can do walking down the street or in the shower. Send a blessing to someone you know, such as blessings to Andy, blessings to Lisa, blessings to Grandma, blessings to my cat. Keep going until you have blessed all of your friends and family. If you are angry with someone make sure that you send that person blessings, it will help release the feelings that you are hanging on to and you’ll feel much better. If you see that person again, you may notice that your feelings towards them has changed.

Change your attitude with gratitude. Focusing on what you do have in your life, rather than what you don’t have, will automatically lift your mood. Be grateful for the big, obvious things in your life like a comfortable place to live and delicious food to eat, friends and family. Remember to be grateful for small things too, such as the pretty cup that holds the coffee you drink, or the beautiful new flower on your favorite houseplant. I once took a class where the instructor asked us to make a list of 300 things that made us grateful. It took a few days to put the list together, but it’s amazing how much there is to be grateful for each day.

Protection. The world seems to be a very scary place these days and you may feel as if you need some extra protection to face the day. You can protect yourself by surrounding yourself with white light. Get settled in your meditation space. Then visualize yourself surrounded by white light as you say silently or aloud, “wrapped in white light I am safe from all harm.” Allow that light to wrap around you as if you are inside an eggshell or a tent. Keep repeating the phrase and seeing the light around you until you feel done. You can also wrap your loved ones in white light as well. 

You may find that as you meditate other thoughts creep in, distracting you from your meditation. No worries, it happens to even the most seasoned meditators. All you have to do is focus back on the mediation and keep going until you are ready to stop. The more you meditate the easier it will become and before you know it, meditating will be just like breathing.