At its core, meditation is about training your awareness through cultivating a practice that connects mind and body. Contrary to some thinking, meditation is not about “clearing your mind” – it’s about learning to be aware of the activity of your mind; learning to notice and observe your thoughts, feelings and sensations and recognizing their interconnectivity – and over time, attaining the ability to direct your attention and energy in intentional and healthy ways.
Meditation can be different things to different people. And with so many different styles of meditation it can be even harder to sum it up in a one size fits all way. Among the popular styles are mindfulness, transcendental, spiritual, focused, movement, mantras, progressive relaxation, loving-kindness, visualization and more.
Learning any form of meditation and reaping the benefits takes time and practice – like any other activity. Anchoring all meditation practices is our breath. It’s something we all have, it’s wherever we are and it creates an ever-present focal point that can both give us tremendous insights into our state of being and also help us change our relationship with the world around us.
